Dr WOODRUFF question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
The conflict in the Middle East has driven up construction prices worldwide, and no‑one believes your cost estimate of $1.13 billion from November last year still stands. Your government is defying the parliament’s call to provide an updated cost estimate for the stadium. It’s a disgraceful way to treat the parliament and Tasmanians. Your promise to spend no more than $875 million in taxpayers’ money, with funding for essential services being slashed across the board, means every dollar matters, and Tasmanians are paying big‑time.
This morning you committed to giving an update when the work is complete and before a contract is signed, noting that you’ve made and broken multiple promises on the stadium already. What does that mean exactly? Will you commit now to telling Tasmanians, the people footing the bill, the final stadium cost before the contract is signed?
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the honourable member for your question and noting you reflected on the budget and community services. Our budget delivers economic growth and invests in essential services. Two‑thirds of this budget will be spent on health, education and public safety: $15 billion into health expenditure, growth in funding when it comes to health ‑ over $10 million a day. Every single day we are investing in our health system. To put this into context, when we came to government, we were investing $5.8 billion into health. It’s now $15 billion into health, and that’s a 59 per cent increase, so we are delivering.
It’s been a great opportunity in the last few weeks to visit many health settings with the honourable Health minister: Campbell Town, North West Regional Hospital, Deloraine Hospital, the North East –
Dr WOODRUFF – Honourable Speaker, 45, relevance. This morning the Premier made a commitment, and I’m asking him to provide details to Tasmanians about that. He’s been general and waffling before ‑ can he please be precise about what that commitment will be?
The SPEAKER – Thank you, honourable member. Just to remind the House, as noted in the House of Representatives Practice (7th edition): as long as the minister or the Premier is addressing the relevant policy area, the answer is relevant. The Premier is addressing the relevant policy area and in response to your question, but there are other forms of the House, if members do not agree with the Premier’s or the minister’s response. Premier, I ask you to resume, please.
Mr ROCKLIFF – Thank you. I know the Greens value process. We are in the middle of a live tender procurement process at the moment. You know exactly what you’re doing in terms of trying to spike this project by spiking the procurement process –
Dr Woodruff – No. It’s just rubbish what you’re saying.
Mr ROCKLIFF -Don’t do that. Because your deputy leader said so.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER – Order. Again, I ask all members in the House to settle and to show respect to the honourable Premier, who is on his feet right now.
Mr ROCKLIFF – We acknowledge the motion that was passed in the House, thank you very much. As outlined during the debate, there are significant commercial, procurement and probity considerations associated with releasing or developing detailed cost information during a live procurement process. What you are doing is damaging Tasmanians and Tasmanian taxpayers. These risks are unchanged by parliament’s motion, and the government has worked through the most appropriate way to respond. The Macquarie Point Development Corporation –
The SPEAKER – The Premier’s time has expired.
Supplementary Question
Dr WOODRUFF – Honourable Speaker, the Premier didn’t answer the question. This morning he made a public commitment to providing an update to Tasmanians and I asked you to provide exactly what that means. Will it be, as your words seemed to suggest, the stadium cost before a contract is signed? Will you provide that, the contract cost, before it is signed?
Mr ROCKLIFF – I refer you to the chair of Macquarie Point Development Corporation, Kim Evans, answering the Public Accounts Committee. As I understand, he said there will be an update in a few months.
Dr Woodruff – What does that mean?
Mr ROCKLIFF – It means that.
Dr Woodruff – The cost? That’s what people should know.
Mr ROCKLIFF – I can’t be any more technical than that.
The SPEAKER – Order. Dr Woodruff, this is your first warning. I do ask that when somebody is on their feet, interjections are to cease. You can ask further questions, there’s other forms of the House.
Mr ROCKLIFF – Thank you, honourable Speaker. The Macquarie Point Development Corporation has continued to work with its legal and probity advisers, consulted the Department of Treasury and Finance, and assessed the procurement implications of preparing and releasing a revised cost estimate during the current tender process. The advice I’ve –
The SPEAKER – The Premier’s time has expired.
