Page 3986 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 15 Sept 2009
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The Chief Minister’s eye for detail is interesting, given his comments in recent days about snooping through the bins of the agencies. The Chief Minister, in today’s Canberra Times, is quoted as saying:
You’d be surprised the extent to which I do stick my nose in. I ride my bike all around town. I observe all the works for which I am responsible across the town. I often go out and inspect road works, tree plantings, the arboretum, Mulligans Flat, Tidbinbilla. I’m forever sticking my nose in, and I do that at the arboretum. I keep an eye on what’s going on.
It is interesting, is it not, that he sticks his nose into all these little issues that he has a particular interest in but, when it comes to, say, a dam that is now going to cost the taxpayer at least $363 million—we do not know what the final cost will be; that is the current estimate, $363 million, for an enlargement of Cotter Dam—
Ms Gallagher: Not things like $100 million for Tennant? You do not like that, do you?
MR SESELJA: I will address that in a moment. It is interesting that the Treasurer throws across a number on Tennant and she seems to have some certainty about that number. Apparently that number is spot-on; we can accept that number absolutely, with absolute confidence. But when it comes to the Cotter, the initial estimate was $120 million or $145 million; then it was $250 million; now it is out to $363 million and counting.
We have a government that actually takes no responsibility. We have ministers that take no responsibility. We have ministers that it would appear do not stick their noses in when it comes to these issues. It seems that they barely even ask any questions on this.
It is interesting to look at the Chief Minister’s comments on this. We have not had some of the same comments from the Treasurer. But the Chief Minister said, in relation to the blow-out, that he is disappointed but retains confidence in Actew, “though there are aspects perhaps in communication in relation to this and perhaps in their cost estimates that on reflection need a deep review”.
So we need to drill down a little on that. What was it about the communications with Actew that was lacking? The Treasurer said, in answers to questions today, that she was receiving the minutes of the board meetings, as a shareholder. Presumably the Chief Minister was receiving the minutes of the board meetings, as a shareholder. The question is: what was in those minutes? Was there anything in those minutes that suggested a cost blow-out? Was there anything in those minutes that suggested that this continual cost blow-out was actually going to get bigger and bigger?
Was there anything prior to the date—I forget the date that the minister told us in question time today but it was some time late in August when she found out—in the minutes for either the Chief Minister or the Treasurer that raised concerns? Was there anything that they should have been sharing with the community? Was there anything that they should have been asking hard questions about to the board? Was there anything that they sought clarification on? Did they say to Actew, “But we have
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