Ms WALKER - 2010-08-17
Budget 2010-11 saw a record investment by the Henderson Labor government in infrastructure projects across the Territory. What will this mean for the residents and businesses in Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question, which is very important. Budget 2010-11 was all about responding to the global financial crisis. It was this responsible government on this side of the House which saw the need to invest money into our business community and our construction industry through infrastructure projects. It was a record budget.
Coupled with that, we had the massive spend on Power and Water - $1.6bn over five years going into Power and Water; vitally needed. That work is going on in a whole range of areas across the Northern Territory. We have power generation upgrades at Channel Island and Weddell. Unfortunately, despite part of those upgrades and the works going on, we had an outage the other day. I sympathise with people who had that short outage, but you cannot fix 26 years of neglect overnight. We are fixing the power system, the water system and the sewerage system - 26 years of neglect from the CLP.
A good chunk of that money is going into Alice Springs. Alice Springs is a great community. They deserve first-rate power, water and sewerage facilities, and we are investing in Alice Springs. The Ron Goodin Power Station has come to the end of its life. Those generators belong in a museum, not in a power station, and we have decided to build a new power station. That is great news for Alice Springs.
The new Owen Springs Power Station is a $136.4m project – a massive injection into the Alice Springs community. There are many local trades which have gained work there. Ross Engineering has a significant part of that work which has brought the town alive. They had a recent information day and we hope to have an open day there so everyone can see this massive investment from this government into that area.
There are also upgrades at the Lovegrove Zone Substation and the Roe Creek Bore Field. There is $19m going into the Roe Creek Bore Field. The power reticulation has also been upgraded. This is really good news for Alice Springs and shows our government’s commitment.
Whilst the CLP will neglect Power and Water, we will invest in it. Where they will get rid of Power and Water jobs, we will recruit. We will invest money, they will strip money out. Ultimately, their current position is to privatise Power and Water, and that means higher power, sewerage, and water prices.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question, which is very important. Budget 2010-11 was all about responding to the global financial crisis. It was this responsible government on this side of the House which saw the need to invest money into our business community and our construction industry through infrastructure projects. It was a record budget.
Coupled with that, we had the massive spend on Power and Water - $1.6bn over five years going into Power and Water; vitally needed. That work is going on in a whole range of areas across the Northern Territory. We have power generation upgrades at Channel Island and Weddell. Unfortunately, despite part of those upgrades and the works going on, we had an outage the other day. I sympathise with people who had that short outage, but you cannot fix 26 years of neglect overnight. We are fixing the power system, the water system and the sewerage system - 26 years of neglect from the CLP.
A good chunk of that money is going into Alice Springs. Alice Springs is a great community. They deserve first-rate power, water and sewerage facilities, and we are investing in Alice Springs. The Ron Goodin Power Station has come to the end of its life. Those generators belong in a museum, not in a power station, and we have decided to build a new power station. That is great news for Alice Springs.
The new Owen Springs Power Station is a $136.4m project – a massive injection into the Alice Springs community. There are many local trades which have gained work there. Ross Engineering has a significant part of that work which has brought the town alive. They had a recent information day and we hope to have an open day there so everyone can see this massive investment from this government into that area.
There are also upgrades at the Lovegrove Zone Substation and the Roe Creek Bore Field. There is $19m going into the Roe Creek Bore Field. The power reticulation has also been upgraded. This is really good news for Alice Springs and shows our government’s commitment.
Whilst the CLP will neglect Power and Water, we will invest in it. Where they will get rid of Power and Water jobs, we will recruit. We will invest money, they will strip money out. Ultimately, their current position is to privatise Power and Water, and that means higher power, sewerage, and water prices.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016