Mrs BRAHAM - 2006-03-30
We have heard a lot about the Northern Territory budget at the moment. Can you tell me how much this government has actually spent on the waterfront development so far? Have the funds been taken out as a loan, or out of Consolidated Revenue and, if so, is this why departments have had their budgets slashed? If you cannot give me the figure now, will you at least get back to us later and tell us how much?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have to address the first issue of agencies having their budgets slashed - not at all. We have heard …
Mrs Braham: Well, that is what they say.
Ms MARTIN: What I have said to agencies, ministers and CEOs is: ‘You will live within your budgets’. We have had good growth budgets in the Northern Territory. We put figures in here all the time. In Health, there has been 43%, strong growth in Police, strong growth in Education, strong growth in other areas. Quite reasonably, I have said to CEOs and ministers: ‘Manage within the dollars that you have been given. No slashing of budgets – manage within the dollars you have been given’.
There are different components to the waterfront. There is the convention and exhibition centre, which we do not pay for, for three years. Okay, so no payments for that for three years, it is being built by the consortium - under way now. Terrific. The other aspect is the community infrastructure, and that is something that we are paying for, like a capital works program. We had two sums to cope with that payment in deficit to the next two budgets …
Mrs Braham: How much?
Ms MARTIN: The sum for the community infrastructure is $94.6m. The minister for planning and infrastructure has carriage of the project, like a capital works program, at the moment. It is $94.6m, and that is paid for over the next two-and-a-half years.
Mrs Braham: Out of?
Ms MARTIN: Out of the ordinary budget. However, we have a special allocation which we will see as deficits in two years, which we have had in the forward estimates and which were put there in last budget.
Those payments will be made. They will be finished in the next two years and we will have a terrific waterfront. We will have the community infrastructure of the seawall, the wave pool and the public areas. We will have a convention and exhibition centre, which we will start paying for then. TOGA, as part of the consortium, is building the hotel and the first stage of the residential.
Mrs Braham: Can you give us a figure on how much to date you have spent?
Ms MARTIN: I do not know whether the minister can. If the minister can, and because Planning and Infrastructure has carriage of that, I will pass that answer to the relevant minister.
Dr BURNS (Planning and Lands): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. To date, it is a bit over $20m, approximately $23m. There has been a lot of construction activity at the waterfront. The pad has been completed by Macmahon NT. There is quite a large amount of work there. Piles are now being constructed by the joint venturers, Sitzler/Barclay Mowlem. Quite a lot of work has been done on the 650 m seawall and the rock armour.
Stage 1 of McMinn Street upgrade commenced in January. Local construction company, Wolpers Grahl, are undertaking that work. BMD Constructions commenced looking at the ground water on the site in January. Advance Civil Engineering Pty Ltd is doing the water mains. There is quite a lot of work going on there.
It was my pleasure, a week or two ago, to visit a local steel fabrication company which has a multimillion dollar contract to fabricate steel. Once again, this is a government that is financially responsible. The economy is growing, people are in work, and local businesses are flourishing. It is a great project and I urge everyone to get behind it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have to address the first issue of agencies having their budgets slashed - not at all. We have heard …
Mrs Braham: Well, that is what they say.
Ms MARTIN: What I have said to agencies, ministers and CEOs is: ‘You will live within your budgets’. We have had good growth budgets in the Northern Territory. We put figures in here all the time. In Health, there has been 43%, strong growth in Police, strong growth in Education, strong growth in other areas. Quite reasonably, I have said to CEOs and ministers: ‘Manage within the dollars that you have been given. No slashing of budgets – manage within the dollars you have been given’.
There are different components to the waterfront. There is the convention and exhibition centre, which we do not pay for, for three years. Okay, so no payments for that for three years, it is being built by the consortium - under way now. Terrific. The other aspect is the community infrastructure, and that is something that we are paying for, like a capital works program. We had two sums to cope with that payment in deficit to the next two budgets …
Mrs Braham: How much?
Ms MARTIN: The sum for the community infrastructure is $94.6m. The minister for planning and infrastructure has carriage of the project, like a capital works program, at the moment. It is $94.6m, and that is paid for over the next two-and-a-half years.
Mrs Braham: Out of?
Ms MARTIN: Out of the ordinary budget. However, we have a special allocation which we will see as deficits in two years, which we have had in the forward estimates and which were put there in last budget.
Those payments will be made. They will be finished in the next two years and we will have a terrific waterfront. We will have the community infrastructure of the seawall, the wave pool and the public areas. We will have a convention and exhibition centre, which we will start paying for then. TOGA, as part of the consortium, is building the hotel and the first stage of the residential.
Mrs Braham: Can you give us a figure on how much to date you have spent?
Ms MARTIN: I do not know whether the minister can. If the minister can, and because Planning and Infrastructure has carriage of that, I will pass that answer to the relevant minister.
Dr BURNS (Planning and Lands): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. To date, it is a bit over $20m, approximately $23m. There has been a lot of construction activity at the waterfront. The pad has been completed by Macmahon NT. There is quite a large amount of work there. Piles are now being constructed by the joint venturers, Sitzler/Barclay Mowlem. Quite a lot of work has been done on the 650 m seawall and the rock armour.
Stage 1 of McMinn Street upgrade commenced in January. Local construction company, Wolpers Grahl, are undertaking that work. BMD Constructions commenced looking at the ground water on the site in January. Advance Civil Engineering Pty Ltd is doing the water mains. There is quite a lot of work going on there.
It was my pleasure, a week or two ago, to visit a local steel fabrication company which has a multimillion dollar contract to fabricate steel. Once again, this is a government that is financially responsible. The economy is growing, people are in work, and local businesses are flourishing. It is a great project and I urge everyone to get behind it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016