Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

My question is for the minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Minister McCarthy. Recently, Dr Nicholas Gruen, an independent economist, handed down his report on the Macquarie Point precinct, and the results were damning. Dr Gruen's report found that the Macquarie Point precinct project has the hallmarks of mismanagement and that the site selection process was hasty and partial. He found that the project will suffer a massive budget blowout costing more than a billion dollars. But, given the Albanese government has stumped up $240 million of taxpayers' cash for the project, the federal government has skin in the game. Has the federal government reviewed Dr Gruen's report—because, apparently, you do this all on experts—or is the government comfortable with pouring money into a project that has an unrealistic budget, an unrealistic timeline and no social licence from the people of Tasmania?