Page 2462 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 1 July 2008
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MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank Ms Porter for the question. I am more than happy to inform the Assembly of the success of ACT capital works projects at Friday night’s MBA awards. It is interesting that on Friday night we debated the budget and were aware during that particular debate of very serious doubts being cast by the opposition on the government’s ability to deliver capital works. There was a very interesting comparison of the meagre capital works budgets of successive Liberal governments during their period in government with the record of this government, exemplified by the fact that in this last financial year this government delivered $340 million of capital works on the ground as against a Liberal Party average of somewhere in the order of $60 million a year during their period in government.
It is interesting that this government over the last financial year delivered on the ground in capital what the Liberal Party in government delivered in five years in toto. It gives some interesting comparison of the capacity or interest of the Liberal Party in infrastructure and capital that in five years in government they managed to deliver only the amount which we delivered over the last financial year.
In the context of that particular debate it was quite ironic that, as the Liberal Party were berating this government and this government’s performance and actually drawing attention to the paucity of their own effort, the Master Builders Association presented its most significant awards night. I think we all regret that we were unable to attend this year.
I was particularly regretful, in light of the fact that two ACT government projects, most specifically, the Gungahlin Drive extension project, received the ultimate honour from the construction industry within the ACT. The Gungahlin Drive extension project was voted project of the year by the Master Builders Association. The ultimate, the crowning acknowledgement or achievement of the annual Master Builders Awards is, of course, the project of the year.
This year the project of the year within the Australian Capital Territory was an ACT government project, namely, the Gungahlin Drive extension. It is a significant acknowledgement by the construction industry within the Australian Capital Territory of this government’s ability to successfully deliver capital projects, indeed, major capital projects.
I think there is no greater proof of this government’s capacity to deliver a major project of outstanding quality than the fact that the Master Builders Association would grant the major civil project award, indeed, the major construction project award over the last year to the Gungahlin Drive extension—an ACT government project, and a very significant project that delivered seven kilometres of road and 10 bridge and underpass structures. It was an extremely complex project involving traffic management and major intersections and construction of various bridge types, including the 74-tonne super T spans—the largest made—and four bridges within 50 metres at three different levels. Considerable consultation was undertaken and it is a great acknowledgement of this government’s capacity to deliver major projects.
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