Another Foley costing blunder
Posted on 10 Mar, 2010
Treasurer Foley has displayed his incompetence and negligence for all to see after admitting he had not undertaken a separate government costing of the Rann Government’s supposed $450 million Adelaide Oval redevelopment.
“In December last year, Mr Rann and Mr Foley outlined a detailed “fly-over” plan to the media and the public and said the project could be delivered for $450 million,” Shadow Minister for Finance Rob Lucas said today.[1]
“On Monday, when the Liberal Party raised the issue of a $100 million blowout in costs, Mr Foley’s defence to the media was that the $450 million was not a government estimate, but was an estimate provided by football and cricket authorities.
“Mr Foley appears to be saying that football and cricket authorities walked through the door with a plan they claimed would cost $450 million and Mr Rann and Mr Foley have, without doing an independent government costing, simply promised $450 million of taxpayers’ money.
“No wonder Mr Rann and Mr Foley have plunged the state into deficit and are in the process of doubling South Australia’s debt to $6.8 billion.
“Put simply, Mr Foley has promised $450 million of taxpayers’ money to a project without undertaking a separate government costing of the project and simply relying on an estimate evidently provided by two sporting authorities.
“No other Treasurer in our state’s history would have ever promised $450 million for a project without such a limited level of investigation and due diligence.
“It is now evident why Mr Foley has refused to provide details of the Rann Government’s costings of the project – because he hadn’t ensured any government costing had been done!
“Yet Mr Foley has had the gall over the last two weeks to demand details of Liberal costings on various projects.
“If Mr Foley doesn’t have a government costing of this project, how would he have any idea of whether or not there is a blowout in the project?
“It’s no wonder Mr Foley made his embarrassing bungle on Saturday when he said the “ballpark” estimate for the project was $500 million.
“Put simply, Mr Foley now has no credibility at all on the issue of costings.”
[1] Please refer to Mr Rann’s “Adelaide Oval Redevelopment fly-over”, YouTube