Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

But, because of ridiculous haste, major mistakes have been made at every step of the process. I appeal to the minister to take the time to actually get it right. The tendering is being compressed into ridiculously short time frames and builders are telling me that the template designs are being changed, leaving program managers unsure about which building is actually being offered to each school, even within a week of when the tenders are due to close. As a result, builders are inflating their prices to cover contingencies and also to meet the travel and accommodation costs of moving workers across the region. There seems to be a complete lack of understanding within the Victorian state government about the impact of the rollout of this program or the capacity of the local community to handle all the work at the same time.

We need to consider the regional implications of this program and whether the regional building industry can cope with the amount of work that is being shovelled out the door. Once you get an out-of-town firm coming into a smaller regional market to complete these jobs there is a complete distortion of the local market. You will end up with workers being taken from existing firms. It will destabilise the local workforce and profits will head straight out of town. The system that is being employed of packaging projects and then offering them for tenders is convenient for the government and may suit these ridiculous time frames but it will not deliver value for money or support local jobs. As much as there are issues with the tender process, value for money and the capacity of local builders to secure the work, there is also an issue with the facilities that are being offered.

I have mentioned already the concerns expressed to me by several smaller schools that there would be no local jobs created if all they receive is a portable building on the back of a truck. This is one of the most galling aspects of the program. It reflects the complete lack of understanding on the other side of the House of how our small communities actually work. If this money were made available to the school councils themselves they would use it to leverage off other fundraising activities and secure local traders who are sympathetic to the school’s needs. Our country communities have a great capacity to stretch a dollar further. I am certain that we would end up with better quality projects and more value for money if small schools in particular have the chance to set local priorities. Trusting local school councils to deliver local solutions to their own problems would be a far better approach than that being undertaken by the government.

Schools in my electorate which are entitled to much larger sums of money—up to $2 million and $3 million—are being pressured to accept template designs which do not meet their needs. As I have previously told the House, when the Prime Minister talks about shovel-ready it means ‘shovel the money out the door and cross your fingers that some of the projects actually hit the mark’. There should be a more strategic approach to this program. Our local communities should have more control. I urge the minister to take the time to get it right. (Time expired)

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