Judicial Inquiry into New South Wales BER still needed

The New South Wales Government should launch a Judicial Inquiry into the BER after it was revealed today that Labor refused to replace ageing demountable buildings demanding ‘iconic’ buildings so that ALP Members could attend ceremonial openings.

“The Daily Telegraph has revealed that rather than giving schools what they needed, Labor spent billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on buildings in a multi-billion dollar photo opportunity,” said the Shadow Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne today.

“It is a national disgrace that schools missed out on necessary infrastructure because the Prime Minister and Labor MPs didn’t want to open toilet blocks,” he said.

“Couple this with the fact that some BER contractors in New South Wales have still not been paid and evidence exists of waste, mismanagement, over inflated prices and rorting and it is clear that the spotlight of a full Judicial Inquiry is needed.

“The sad reality is that many of the so-called ‘iconic’ BER buildings were delivered on the back of a truck and billions of dollars were lost due to systemic waste and mismanagement.

“The Building the Education Revolution was the biggest missed opportunity in Australian history. Schools and students missed out and now Labor has the hide to criticise others for their own failures,” Mr Pyne said.

September 26, 2012