Infrastructure Plan to Cost $200,000

It is staggering admission of failure that after 7 years in office the Labor Government is now throwing almost $200,000 at a southern consultancy to develop a '10 year infrastructure plan' for the Territory.

"It just goes to show how inept this Government actually is,” says Terry Mills, Leader of the Opposition.

"What has this Government being doing for the last 7 years?

"The Minister for Infrastructure, Delia Lawrie, boasts of spending $3.3 billion since 2001. The ad hoc nature of that expenditure is now plain for all to see.

"Had Labor bothered to develop an infrastructure plan when it came to office we wouldn't be facing the prospect of heavy industry lining our harbour.

"Indeed, Labor actually inherited a fully developed plan for a heavy industry precinct at Glyde Point. All it needed to do was construct the transport corridors and power linkages but even that simple task was beyond this lazy Government's capacity.

"Nor would Darwin be in the grips of a land shortage that has driven the price of a family home out of the reach of young families.

"Adding insult to injury for those young families, the squeeze on residential land for development has seen Darwin become the most expensive city in which to rent a family home.

"Under Labor the number of executive level public servants has exploded, yet apparently there isn't the expertise necessary within the entire NT public service to develop an infrastructure plan.

"That is a terrible indictment of Territory Labor's public sector recruitment performance.

"The Minister should explain why the Department of Infrastructure doesn't have the capacity to develop an infrastructure plan for the Territory?

"On the 28th of March the Chief Minister put his hands into the taxpayer's till and threw $250,000 at a southern consultant to work out a greenhouse gas plan for the Territory.

"One can only assume that Territory Labor doesn't trust Territorians to do the job.”

2008-04-10