Senate debates
Wednesday, 24 September 2014
Matters of Public Interest
Western Australian Government
1:43 pm
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I wish to make a contribution today while I have time before question time. We are well aware of some of the political stench coming out of New South Wales. I have been on the record more than once saying that, if politicians have been found guilty of any corrupt behaviour, the so-and-sos should be chucked in jail and the key should be thrown away. I make no mistake about that. I do not care if they are from my side of politics, being Labor, or from the other side, being Liberal. If the Liberals were playing cricket, once you had 10 out you would change batting. The Liberals have got 10 so far, not to mention a Premier as well. We are also missing an Assistant Treasurer at this stage, but we will see where that takes us.
I want to talk about the great state of Western Australia because there is a bit of a political pong coming from that side of the continent. Under the leadership of the Premier Colin Barnett, a few of his Liberal-National ministers have got themselves in a little bit of a pickle and, quite rightfully, the public should know what has led to this pickle.
I will talk about not only the Premier and the Liberal-National government in Western Australia losing our AAA credit rating but also a number of high-profile classic stuff-ups, if I can use that terminology. The $300 million wasted on a failed recommission of the Muja Power Station is just one of them, but there have been numerous broken promises from the last election that led to cuts in education and health and, sadly, cuts to infrastructure. At the time of the March 2013 state election, the Premier was gallivanting around the state of Western Australia, bragging about all these wonderful infrastructure projects he would build if he was elected, but he failed to point out the small print—that they would only happen as long as a Liberal government would fund them federally. Of course, we know what happened there: it did not. Some of these projects include the airport light rail being delayed by two years, and, of course, the MAX light rail is unfunded, unstarted and unlikely to be completed anywhere near 2018.
I want to talk about a certain building development in the north-west town of Karratha. This is no surprise to the West Aussies because it has been reported through the Western Australian media. It has escaped the attention so far of the federal media, to the best of my knowledge. Thirty million dollars of taxpayers' funds has been poured into a commercial property development that has become no less than a white elephant in Karratha. I actually feel sorry for the current minister, Minister Redman, because he has taken over the portfolio of Regional Development, which he inherited from the previous, National minister, Mr Brendan Grylls. There was $30 million of taxpayers' money poured into this building and part of the deal was to provide housing, but it has been such a white elephant that a heap of these units are left over. It was reported in yesterday's West Australian that Minister Redman, to save some face, is desperately trying to push Chevron into purchasing some of these units. Chevron have turned around and said, 'No, thank you'—I do not know the exact words, but I assume that they have woken up to the fact that they do not want to be caught up in any of this overpriced housing that the government thought was a good idea to buy at the time.
It is only my opinion—it is not the opinion of my party—but I believe this white elephant was funded by taxpayers' money so that Mr Grylls and Mr Barnett could shore up Mr Grylls's transfer from the electorate of Central Wheatbelt, I think, out near Merredin. I am not sure of the name of the seat, sorry, but he wanted to move to the seat of—what is that seat?
Joe BullockGlenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Thank you, Senator Bullock—Pilbara. It has had a few name changes. Karratha is in Pilbara. I will give the Senate some time lines to paint the picture of how this pong is starting to take shape. On 25 March 2010, in a joint Mr Barnett-Mr Grylls media statement, Finbar, a development company, was named as the preferred developer for a Karratha high-rise project, to be called Pelago West. According to the media statement:
Pelago West, rising eight stories, is the first stage of the $225 million project, which will eventually comprise 292 residential apartments and 22 commercial lots with mining projects in close proximity and offering some residents sweeping views of red desert, the nearby Karratha Hills and Nickol Bay.
I am quoting the description by the minister and the Premier at the time. But on 21 April, about a month later, in parliament, Mr Grylls announced that LandCorp would sell two development lots in Karratha to Finbar as part of the deal. Mr Grylls said that the project would be delivered through the Royalties for Regions Pilbara Cities initiative.
In October 2011, 18 months later, a certain gentleman—I assume it is a gentleman; I apologise if it is not—Robin Vandenberg, who happened to be the National Party Karratha branch president and a local real estate agent, was appointed to the Pilbara Development Commission. There is a trend—it is coming. In June 2012, some nine months later, Pelago West opened and it was understood that the government had purchased 15 apartments. During the July 2014 state estimates, it was revealed that the Department of Housing was advised by Mr Paul White, who at one time was the general manager of commercial and business operations at the Department of Housing but in June 2014 was appointed acting D-G of the Department of Regional Development. I mean no disparity to Mr White; he is obviously competent and there is no doubt there. At estimates he answered a question, saying it was his understanding that 15 units were purchased in Pelago West, which is the first development. They were all occupied and continued to be occupied under the Government Regional Officers Housing program.
In the same month, on 18 June 2012, the business case for the Pelago East development—the one next to Pelago West—was approved by the Liberal-National Party cabinet. This business case included the intention to provide a portion of units under the shared equity scheme. In the same month, Finbar, the property developer, announced the release of Pelago stage 2-East. It was understood that the complex would have 174 residential lots and 14 commercial lots. At the same time, Mr Brendan Grylls, the Minister for Regional Development, said: 'Fifty apartments have been bought to house government workers like teachers and nurses, but this would be predominantly for nurses who would be needed for the new health campus.' On the surface it sounds great—no dramas. It was revealed later that the government purchased the 50 apartments for no less than 29,675,605 taxpayer dollars. The total cost, which included project management and legal costs, came to no less than 30,414,000 taxpayer dollars.
On 2 July 2012, the following month, Hanssen Pty Ltd, a building company in Western Australia, donated $50,000 to the Nationals. Hanssen Pty Ltd is the builder of the Pelago apartments. Since then, the Hanssen group have donated no less than $25,000 to the WA Liberals, in 2012-13, $50,000 to the Nationals and $25,000 to the Liberals. I am told very clearly that the Liberal donation of $25,000 was the first-ever Liberal Party donation from Hanson Pty Ltd. So there we go.
On 21 February 2013 Finbar, the property developer, donated $1,000 to the Liberal Party. Big deal. But three weeks later, on 8 March—which is one day before 9 March, for those of you who do not know, the Western Australian state election—Finbar found another $20,000 to donate to the Liberal Party. On 21 July 2013, at the state budget estimates, Mr Grahame Searle, Director General, Department of Housing, answered a question:
While Mr Whyte is finding the exact number, the percentage for growth has taken a while to settle down. We have been in a process of negotiating with departments as to who has a need in Karratha and what their need is. Some agencies have had a preference not to be in an apartment complex but rather as freestanding houses, and that has taken a while to negotiate out. So it has taken some while to finally determine the GROH position.
On the same day, Mr Searle answered another question, saying—
Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Are you talking about Brian Burke?
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Isn't it amazing, when the Western Australian Liberals all come in here to defend the corruption and stench coming from Western Australia.
Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Are you talking about Brian Burke? Are we talking about WA Inc?
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
He said:
Whilst we provide housing for most government agencies, WA Country Health we do not. And at the time there were some negotiations with WA Country Health as to whether they were interested in some of the apartments. There are probably 300—
Remember this figure—
GROH dwellings in Karratha; it is not insignificant. One of the options that was debated at the time was whether we could—
'We' is the department—
encourage people to move into these apartments and thereby free up houses in the town. Again there has been some reluctance for that to happen, which we did not anticipate given the quality and finish of the apartments and the facilities that are available. But people make choices for all sorts of reasons.
So what we have is the government made a down payment to a trust— not a deposit—for apartments in Pelago East. Unprecedented!
Estimates show that for Pelago East stage 2 in Karratha 23,741,000 taxpayer dollars was paid in 2012 2013 and 5,931,000 taxpayer dollars were paid in 2000 1314. On 17 February the WA government, the Liberal-National Barnett government, announced shared home-ownership schemes for 26 Pelago East apartments. Let's just get the picture. The government bought these units, with taxpayer dollars, at the height of the boom, when it was really booming in Karratha, when you could not get housing for government workers. The market has collapsed.
On 17 February this year, in all their wisdom, the WA government announced this shared ownership scheme for these apartments, offering a 60-40 split: 60 per cent home owner to pay; 40 per cent Department of Housing. What a wonderful investment of taxpayers' dollars! Buy at the top of the market, let the market collapse, help out your mates and proper property developers and possibly help out somebody else in building construction and then you cannot put government workers in them. Then you have massive overflow of housing in Karratha. So what to do? 'Let's go and lose some more taxpayers' dollars. Let's offer a 40 per cent tax rebate.'
Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
You're talking about Alan Carpenter losing the Inpex project, the biggest cost in WA history!
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Acting Deputy President, protect me from the morals of that side of the chamber! Protect me from the hypocrisy of the Liberals from Western Australia. You are just as corruptible. Save me!
Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
What does it cost us, do you reckon?
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I am shaking in my boots! They tell me that the truth hurts and I'll tell you what, it hurts! Listen to the squabbles over there. Listen to the squealing.
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. I was waiting for that protection.
Senator Back interjecting —
Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I am shaking in my boots; thank you. It does not stop there. In Western Australia there are some 19,000 Western Australians who are homeless. They cannot get taxpayer dollars to build a home in the suburbs of Perth. I will give you another interesting figure, for the believers over there. There is a three-year waiting list for housing in Western Australia, and 19,000 families looking for a home. And you want to protect this disgraceful, corrupt behaviour in Karratha while you take donations from property developers and builders—
Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Thank you, Senator Sterle. The time for your contribution has expired.
A government senator: I want you to tell me why Alan Carpenter lost the project.
Order on my right.