Parliamentary Committees

Public Works Committee: Annual Report 2013-14

Adjourned debate on motion of Ms Digance:

That the 507^th report of the committee, entitled Annual Report 2013-14, be noted.

(Continued from 12 November 2014.)

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:03): Sir, I would like to make some comments on the report. The Public Works Committee, as you are aware as a former member, is an important committee of the parliament. My view is that since the election the committee has ramped up somewhat, and the new committee is keen to get out and go to places, look at things, visit, and generally fulfil its task particularly well. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years prior to the election we had multiple changes on the committee, which meant that it, to some extent, was not stable in its intent, not by any fault of the members, but just the fact that the continual changing of membership made it difficult.

This current committee has taken an interest, as I say. We have been out and about quite a bit. The most recent visit we did was to the Riverland to look at some of the projects that are being undertaken up there, which is in the report that has been tabled. I think there are a couple of things that I need to add that are of concern to me and have been for two or three years now, and I know they have been of concern to former members and maybe current members of the committee, and that is the new Adelaide hospital has never had any opportunity to be scrutinised by the Public Works Committee. I think that is not good.

The argument has been that it is a public-private partnership and that it is commercial in confidence, but for a project of that size to have no scrutiny from the Public Works Committee is in my view erroneous and it is not good politics. It may suit the government, it suited the former premier and the former treasurer, and it may suit the incumbents; however, in my view, it is bad policy, secretive, and not in the best interests of the people of South Australia. I say that, sir; it is not contained within the report, of course, but that is very much the view that should be in place.

I also notice that, interestingly enough, there are some photographs contained within the annual report and one is of when the committee visited the Seaford Railway Station and the electric system down there, which was a good trip. We saw the new trains, had a good look around and got a lot of information. I note that Mr Rod Hook, of blessed memory, is in a photo in the annual report, so he is not out of favour with the committee, although he may have been out of favour with the Premier and departed.

I look forward to numerous projects. The committee sits without hesitation, and I thank the chair of the committee, because we do have an agreement within the committee that, if there are projects of between $4 million and $11 million, if any member wishes to have a look at those projects, we will do so. Indeed, tomorrow we are looking at a project of just over $4 million, which I think is interesting and has widespread connotations for South Australia.

The annual report is an interesting read for those of us particularly who are on the committee, but it should be an interesting read also for members generally speaking on the activities of the Public Works Committee. It is a longstanding committee of the parliament. For the life of me I do not know why we continue on with the numbering, with this being referred to as the 507^th report; I do not know when the first one was—many years ago, I suspect. Why we have to do that and why we do not just start at the start of a new parliament and finish off when the parliament finishes and then start again I do not know. It is some obscure reason; perhaps someone may be able to answer that question.

I found one particular project which was of great interest to me because, to be perfectly honest, I really did not even know it existed, and that was the Drill Core Library. We went out to the current one and that was absolutely fascinating. I did not realise the extent to which South Australia has this fantastic Drill Core Library with these thousands and thousands of drill cores contained within it, going back I think it was 100 years, from memory.

We are going to build a new one, and this is why we went and visited the old one. We visited the site of the new one at Tonsley Park, and I will be interested to see the final project out there when it is finished. But the current one, to me, was a real piece of South Australian history that has been done properly. It has been kept quiet out there—it is great for the business sector and those interested in drill cores, etc.—but like I say, to my ignorance, I did not know it existed.

The report is good reading. I look forward to continuing my work on the Public Works Committee. I know there is a good level of interest within the committee on projects currently and we work well together. There will always be political bunfights in committee from time to time; they are all part and parcel of it. The opposition members from time to time will disagree with the government members on matters, but we have the opportunity to make minority reports, which we will. I urge members to read the report.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (11:09): I too would like to make a small contribution on the Public Works Committee annual report and note that I and another two members are newly elected members on the committee. The annual report highlights the good opportunity and the important work undertaken by the bipartisan committee. As the member for Finniss has just said, there is room for robust debate and there is room for discussion over different points of view, and that is what a good bipartisan committee is all about.

Obviously, the guidelines are to look at projects in excess of $4 million and review submissions from government agencies, interview key witnesses and take evidence about projects, but I note that in 2013-14 the 25 projects that were referred to the committee ranged from about $4 million up to $152 million, so there is a diverse range of projects. It is, I guess, disappointing that some of the major projects do not come before the Public Works Committee, which does raise eyebrows on both sides of the table.

However, I want to focus on the combined effort of that bipartisan committee, which has heard of projects worth about $446 million over the 2013-14 period, giving the committee an opportunity to analyse those projects and evaluate their worth to South Australia. The hearings that we hold, for all referrals, have a value of about $11 million or over.

Site visits and looking at some of the projects that we analyse within this building are vital. It is vitally important that we have a good understanding of what the project is. You have to go out and get your boots muddy occasionally. You have to go out and pick up the dirt and have a better understanding of what you are evaluating and assessing to be a good project or how that project will be of benefit or how good an investment it is going to be for the taxpayers of South Australia.

The State Drill Core Reference Library I think will be great, having South Australian geological findings all in one place. If it is put together properly and managed and out there for the rest of the world to look at, it will put our mining and geological assets on show, and I think that is a great initiative. Also, visiting the Riverland (home to my electorate), we looked at some of the environmental works and measures that have been undertaken out there. It gave the committee an understanding of some of the shortfalls and requirements needed for some of these major projects.

I think, overall, the committee is going along beautifully. I think we have a very enthusiastic committee that is always looking to further their knowledge of the projects that are laid before us. I commend the annual report and look forward to its further continuation.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:13): Thank you to the members for Finniss and Chaffey for their contributions and I note their comments. I will speak on the 507^th report of the Public Works Committee, titled Annual Report 2013-14. In its oversight role of government public works proposals, the committee reviewed 25 projects during this period, including the redevelopment of several schools, water repair and upgrade projects, and major road and transport upgrades. Project budgets ranged from $4 million to $152.4 million, with the committee also considering several high profile projects, such as early works for the South Road upgrade and the rail revitalisation stage 2, the electrification of the Gawler line.

The committee continued to monitor previously approved projects through quarterly reporting by departments. In support of this, the committee also undertook seven site visits, including:

the progress of the South Road superway, which was completed earlier this year and is now open to traffic and receiving many positive comments;

the electrification of the Seaford rail line and the new electric train, now completed and operational;

Playford Alive, the development around Munno Para and Andrews Farm, due to be completed in 2017-18;

the Adelaide footbridge, which is now providing safe and efficient access to the Oval and is well supported during football matches in particular;

the redeveloped Adelaide Oval, to the first cricket match last year, and this year to the first concert, being the Rolling Stones, which was a great event;

the State Drill Core Reference Library at Glenside—and I support the comments from the member for Finniss: it was a really interesting visit and something that I really learned a lot about; and

the Tonsley redevelopment, where TAFE SA has already commenced operations at the beginning of this year, and Flinders University will be teaching from there early in the new year. The State Drill Core Reference Library will consolidate on this site by the end of 2015. A number of businesses have also committed to establishing themselves there in the future, and many are there already.

As committee members, we find these site visits important to our understanding of projects and the ability to assess their progress. Last November, members of the committee travelled to Sydney to meet with key government and industry players involved with public-private partnerships. I am told it was a great opportunity to discuss the feasibility, workability and success of public-private partnerships in New South Wales.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank my fellow members of the committee, the members for Colton, Torrens, Finniss and Chaffey, as well as the previous members of the committee: the former member for Mitchell, Mr Alan Sibbons, who was the presiding member of the committee during this period; and the member for Ramsay and the member for Waite. I say a special thank you to the New South Wales hosts during the committee's study tour into public-private partnerships, and I also acknowledge the time they spent with the members. This was very much appreciated and members found it a most worthwhile visit.

Finally, thank you to the committee staff, both past and present, for their work in ensuring the smooth operation of the committee. I look forward to the continued bipartisan workings of this committee and also to further visits next year, which we have been discussing and are well and truly in the planning for. I recommend this annual report to the house.

Motion carried.