Dr WOODRUFF question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
You have moved heaven and earth to fulfil your commitment to a stadium at Macquarie Point.
Yesterday, in a briefing with departmental staff, Greens MPs heard about all the activity being undertaken by public servants to make this happen. We heard agencies are being pulled off their regular duties for day‑long workshops to develop plans. Multiple and specially dedicated staff are being required to prioritise a response to the 130 problems the TPC has identified with the stadium.
At your direction, the public service is pulling out all stops to make the stadium happen as you promised. But your government also promised to close Ashley Youth Detention Centre by late last year. Despite repeated statements of your intention, Ashley is still open and now will not close until 2028.
Premier, what about that promise? Why are teams of staff not being pulled off regular duties and expected to overcome hurdles in less than two months to achieve it? Does it not just show how rotten your priorities are –
The SPEAKER – The time for asking the question has expired –
Dr Woodruff – Why have you not pulled out all the stops to close AYDC like you have done to ram through your stadium?
The SPEAKER – The time for asking the question has expired. It ended with the question about why staff were not focused on this project.
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the member for highlighting the very good work of our public service. The public service engaged with the Bridgewater bridge, the new Brighton school, the new school at Legana, the upgrade of the Mersey Community Hospital and the Mental Health Precinct under minister Jaensch’s portfolio. I commend minister Jaensch on securing some $150 million plus for youth detention facilities. I thank minister Jaensch for the work done and for working with our hardworking public service on this very important matter.
We are committed to closing Ashley. It will be closed. We are committed to building a new facility at Pontville – a facility that is about ensuring that the young people who enter it are supported when they leave it to be more productive members of our community. That is why it is key in the design infrastructure and the work that is being done. There is a huge amount of work that is being done; it is the focus of the public service as there are lots of focuses of the public service.
For a day in government, there are many issues that our public service put their attention to, and I commend them for that and that hard work, including the Pontville facility. Great work, in actual fact. The best that you could do to ensure the timeliness of the project is to support minister Jaensch’s legislation.
