Mr EDE - 1994-06-30
Mr Speaker, just to nail this down, every time there is a contract of this nature ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is the Leader of the Opposition asking a question?
Mr EDE: I am directing my question to the Minister for Transport and Works.
The contract specifies the date of final completion, the handover date. In fact, there are a number of dates throughout the contract.
Mr Finch: They are different dates.
Mr Perron: Prolongation?
Mr EDE: Yes, and that is when the date is changed. In that case, all the dates in the contract are not deleted. Instead, a new date is set and the dates in the contract are changed. The fact that the contract has already run over time does not mean that there is no date. A new date has been set. We are asking the minister what that new date is.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, is the Leader of the Opposition asking for a handover date or a date for the completion of construction? He speaks of a few of the possibilities. At present ...
Mr Ede: The minister should be able to give us each of them.
Mr MANZIE: The Leader of the Opposition can ask for them specifically. He talks about handovers and then he talks about construction ...
Mr Ede: No, I did not. I would like the handover date and the date of final completion.
Page 26
Mr MANZIE: Mr Speaker, I should not have to bandy words across the Chamber because of the Leader of the Opposition's interjections.
The latest construction completion date has been set at 30 July, but that may vary. I make the point also that one cannot say that costs will be automatically higher as a result of an extension of time. As I pointed out, liquidated damages will apply if any extensions of time are attributable to the performance of Tipperary Developments, Multiplex or its subcontractors. That is part of the contractual processes. If extensions of time are brought about by other reasons, and there could be many of them, then those kinds of liquidated damages would not apply. As those circumstances can be assessed only when they occur, it is stupid to assume that it will automatically cost more.
There may be variations. Who knows? All that I know is - and I can be very firm in saying this - that the building will be opened on 18 August. If the Leader of the Opposition has some problem with not having a date nailed to the wall, so be it but it is incorrect to say that I am refusing to provide the information. I am providing the most up-to-date information that is available to me. I do not think that the Leader of the Opposition would want me to begin inventing information or to provide information that is contrary to the advice provided to me simply for his gratification, and I do not intend to do that.
Mr Ede: The minister has given us one date. He does not know the others.
Mr MANZIE: If he cannot accept circumstances as they stand, then the problem is on his side, not ours. He should settle down a little and realise what a fool he has made of himself in the past by making crazy accusations. He should accept the fact that the new Parliament House and the new Supreme Court exist, that they will be magnificent assets for our community for many generations to come, that their construction ...
Mr Ede: Territorians will have to pay for them for many generations to come.
Mr MANZIE: ... provided economic activity and employment opportunities for many Territorians, and that we have had the lowest unemployment rate in the most severe depression Australia has had since the 1930s. All of that indicates that the ...
Mr Coulter interjecting.
Mr Ede: It does not generate any revenue.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is too much cross-Chamber chatter.
Mr MANZIE: ... processes for constructing those buildings were well-founded by this government.
Page 27
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is the Leader of the Opposition asking a question?
Mr EDE: I am directing my question to the Minister for Transport and Works.
The contract specifies the date of final completion, the handover date. In fact, there are a number of dates throughout the contract.
Mr Finch: They are different dates.
Mr Perron: Prolongation?
Mr EDE: Yes, and that is when the date is changed. In that case, all the dates in the contract are not deleted. Instead, a new date is set and the dates in the contract are changed. The fact that the contract has already run over time does not mean that there is no date. A new date has been set. We are asking the minister what that new date is.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, is the Leader of the Opposition asking for a handover date or a date for the completion of construction? He speaks of a few of the possibilities. At present ...
Mr Ede: The minister should be able to give us each of them.
Mr MANZIE: The Leader of the Opposition can ask for them specifically. He talks about handovers and then he talks about construction ...
Mr Ede: No, I did not. I would like the handover date and the date of final completion.
Page 26
Mr MANZIE: Mr Speaker, I should not have to bandy words across the Chamber because of the Leader of the Opposition's interjections.
The latest construction completion date has been set at 30 July, but that may vary. I make the point also that one cannot say that costs will be automatically higher as a result of an extension of time. As I pointed out, liquidated damages will apply if any extensions of time are attributable to the performance of Tipperary Developments, Multiplex or its subcontractors. That is part of the contractual processes. If extensions of time are brought about by other reasons, and there could be many of them, then those kinds of liquidated damages would not apply. As those circumstances can be assessed only when they occur, it is stupid to assume that it will automatically cost more.
There may be variations. Who knows? All that I know is - and I can be very firm in saying this - that the building will be opened on 18 August. If the Leader of the Opposition has some problem with not having a date nailed to the wall, so be it but it is incorrect to say that I am refusing to provide the information. I am providing the most up-to-date information that is available to me. I do not think that the Leader of the Opposition would want me to begin inventing information or to provide information that is contrary to the advice provided to me simply for his gratification, and I do not intend to do that.
Mr Ede: The minister has given us one date. He does not know the others.
Mr MANZIE: If he cannot accept circumstances as they stand, then the problem is on his side, not ours. He should settle down a little and realise what a fool he has made of himself in the past by making crazy accusations. He should accept the fact that the new Parliament House and the new Supreme Court exist, that they will be magnificent assets for our community for many generations to come, that their construction ...
Mr Ede: Territorians will have to pay for them for many generations to come.
Mr MANZIE: ... provided economic activity and employment opportunities for many Territorians, and that we have had the lowest unemployment rate in the most severe depression Australia has had since the 1930s. All of that indicates that the ...
Mr Coulter interjecting.
Mr Ede: It does not generate any revenue.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is too much cross-Chamber chatter.
Mr MANZIE: ... processes for constructing those buildings were well-founded by this government.
Page 27
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016