❓ Question regarding potential cost blowouts for the southern rail line project, specifically the CBD tunnel. Minister's answer deflects, attacks the opposition, then provides a partial explanation of cost increases due to project changes and escalation factors.
AnsweredQoN 1173Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the minister to recent claims by a group of construction and engineering experts that the cost of Labor’s southern rail line may blow out to more than $2 billion and the minister’s response that the experts on the southern rail line project, put together, have had experience in constructing 200 tunnels. (1) Will the minister table advice from her experts that the tunnel under the central business district will not cost more than the $200 million that has been budgeted for? (2) If not why not? (3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(1) Will the minister table advice from her experts that the tunnel under the central business district will not cost more than the $200 million that has been budgeted for? (2) If not why not? (3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(2) If not why not? (3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(1) Will the minister table advice from her experts that the tunnel under the central business district will not cost more than the $200 million that has been budgeted for? (2) If not why not? (3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(2) If not why not? (3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(3) Can the minister confirm that the cost of the city tunnel has already blown out by $48 million since the minister announced the tenderers just five months ago? Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
(1)-(3) I thank the member for this question. I have been feeling very neglected. The Opposition has been rampaging from Esperance to Wyndham saying that the rail link is the worst possible thing in the world, but, interestingly, the Opposition has not asked a question on it for probably six months. I do not know whether that is a reflection of the forensic capacity of members opposite or because they know that the fast, direct rail link will be a great boon to this State. We know that members opposite are a very confused lot and the Leader of the Opposition, as we set out yesterday, has made - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: Answer the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I will answer the question, but the member for Carine can give me a minute. The Leader of the Opposition said that, initially, his party would build a rail line to only Thomsons Lake, then think about whether it would continue it to Rockingham, and then think again about continuing it to Mandurah. At the same time, the member for Carine is racing around saying that the Opposition would build it even more quickly than this Government will build it. It is very difficult to get a handle on the Opposition’s position. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: You love to misrepresent people in this House. It would be a fine thing if you answered the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I am being a bit indulgent. The member for Carine so rarely asks me a question that I am using this opportunity to get all this information out. With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
With regard to the figure of $248 million, I understand that the member for Carine is a bit confused due to the quality of the article in The West Australian this morning, which is the source of most of her research. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I would like to answer the question. When the member for Carine is finished I will respond. Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas: I understand it is a combination of the two packages. I would like to know why the two packages have been combined. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: The $248 million includes the original figure for package F. The estimated cost to build the rail link from the Narrows to the Northbridge tunnel is $200 million. The amount of $129 million was factored into the master plan for cost escalation, which must be shared among the five packages. The escalation factor must be added to the $200 million. The figure of $129 million is listed separately from the list of the packages on the master plan. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition, this Government is prepared for escalation. The $129 million that appears in the supplementary master plan must be distributed among those projects that were not let at that time. The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
The second point is that we moved the rail works between the Narrows Bridge and the Perth yard out of package A. The original plan was that package F would entail the building of the box and the two rail stations. We then thought that package A, which covered the delivery of the rail, would include the delivery of the rail from Mandurah. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: I can hear the Leader of the Opposition cackling again. The difference between him and a chook is that a chook does productive things like laying eggs. Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr R.C. Kucera: It is coming. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: It will be a scrambled egg! The member for Carine is genuinely interested in this issue and deserves an answer. The idea was that package A would involve all the rail works. Based on the advice received during discussions with industry, it was determined that it would be more manageable if package F involved not only the box but also the rail works through that route. They are the two reasons for the difference in cost. One is the sharing out of the $129 million of escalation money and the other is that the rail works from the Narrows Bridge to the Perth yard is now included in package F rather than package A. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: If we provide an explanation of 25 words or more it challenges the concentration powers of the Leader of the Opposition. I have more confidence in the ability and the desire of the member for Carine to understand the detail of this project. One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
One of the four experts who were involved was a town planner. As much as I admire town planners and work with them a lot, I do not think that town planners are what we could call civil construction experts. I am amazed that someone of Paul Murray’s experience did not notice that little difference. One of the gentlemen who is a civil engineer and who has been wheeled out from time to time by the Opposition as an expert, is Mr Peter Bruechle. We have letters from Mr Bruechle in which he refers positively to the William Street option and the tunnel. He was so enthusiastic about the tunnel that he wrote to the Government and said that he wanted the tunnel to start at Richardson Street and extend all the way from South Perth under the river. Now this very same Mr Bruechle, who wanted a gigantic tunnel, is saying that it will be too difficult to build a small tunnel. Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Mr R.F. Johnson: Table the advice. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN: We have tabled the advice. It is in the supplementary master plan. The costings for that tunnel area, as indeed for the rest of the project, have all been overseen by a reputable firm of current, contemporary civil construction engineers in Evans and Peck Management. The Government is working very hard to have this project completed on budget. So far, almost half a billion dollars worth of contracts have been let and they are all on budget.
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