❓ Opposition Leader McGowan questions Premier Barnett about the secrecy surrounding cabinet decisions to allocate funds for refurbishing Muja A and B power station. Barnett acknowledges $23 million allocation in July but denies secrecy.
AnsweredQoN 280Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MUJA AB —
REFURBISHMENT
280. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I ask a supplementary question. I refer to the cabinet
decisions to spend extra money on refurbishing Muja A and B, made in July last
year and in December to January 2012–13. How much money was decided to
be spent on each occasion and why were those decisions kept secret from the
Western Australian public?
REFURBISHMENT
280. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I ask a supplementary question. I refer to the cabinet
decisions to spend extra money on refurbishing Muja A and B, made in July last
year and in December to January 2012–13. How much money was decided to
be spent on each occasion and why were those decisions kept secret from the
Western Australian public?
AnswerView source ↗
I do not think there was any great secret. In July around $23
million was allocated, but I do not have any other figures.
Mr M. McGowan : But
they were kept secret.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
do not know what the Leader of the Opposition is talking about. I do not think
there was any secret about the fact that $23 million was allocated. Extra work
was being done in Collie. I imagine that everyone working on the site and in
Collie would have been aware of that. At the time the $23 million was
considered acceptable and was within the contingency risks on the project. The
first discovery of the corrosion was at the base of the boiler tubes on unit 3.
When people went back and looked at units 1 and 2, they discovered not just a
few feet but 66 feet of corrosion. That was the unacceptable safety risk.
With respect to the other decisions, I do not have that
detail in front of me, but $23 million was allocated in July 2012.
million was allocated, but I do not have any other figures.
Mr M. McGowan : But
they were kept secret.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
do not know what the Leader of the Opposition is talking about. I do not think
there was any secret about the fact that $23 million was allocated. Extra work
was being done in Collie. I imagine that everyone working on the site and in
Collie would have been aware of that. At the time the $23 million was
considered acceptable and was within the contingency risks on the project. The
first discovery of the corrosion was at the base of the boiler tubes on unit 3.
When people went back and looked at units 1 and 2, they discovered not just a
few feet but 66 feet of corrosion. That was the unacceptable safety risk.
With respect to the other decisions, I do not have that
detail in front of me, but $23 million was allocated in July 2012.
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