Beyond Economic Rationalization (BER)
The Australian just keeps on pointing out problems with Julia Gillard’s BER programme and she just keeps on ignoring it. The frightening thing is NSW is the only state providing detailed costings. All the other state governments could be just as bad.
At the very least it looks like Queensland is;
Nine months after Education Minister Julia Gillard told federal parliament that Holland Park State School was “delighted” with the “once-in-a-lifetime enhancement of its facilities”, her department has quietly agreed to let the school swap the unneeded buildings for eight new classrooms.P&C president Craig Mayne – who has since quit the post – blew the whistle on cost blowouts last year in two letters to Mr Rudd and five phone calls to his Griffith electorate office.
“My issue is not with the program but how it is being implemented,” he wrote in June. “We have a situation where the Queensland Public Works Department is proposing and implementing a system that is open to massive rorting.”And that’s my point: My issue is not with the program but how it is being implemented. In the land of amazing circumstances nine schools in NSW have identical costings for different projects in different areas with different site considerations. The link is to a .pdf but worth having a quick look. Rudd and Gillard ignore this problem at their peril. They really need to get on top of it and convince the electorate that the program is being managed. It’s one thing to say school principals are ecstatic about their new buildings but of course they will be. Their responsibility is to their school, not to the fiscal management of tax payers money. And in the centuries old advice of follow the money I’m reliably informed by insiders that the flow of money is to the large companies and middle men, not the worker. The ute guys are picking up work but I bet they aren’t picking up millions for jam. Someone is but I wonder if we’ll ever know exactly who. Most probably not.
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Kev
There are 1250 state schools in Queensland. After a campaign using all the journalistic resources available to them, the best the biased Fart of the Nation can do is report a P & C President (who incidentally is the director of a media company) complaining that the project wasn’t as efficient as it could be. It got him front page national exposure that money couldn’t buy. The quote in the Australian which describes him as the person “who oversaw the building of his school hall for $200000 under budget” is total fiction. As P & C President of a state school, he would have had no control over the project. In Queensland schools, the Principal, under the guidance of Facilities Branch of EQ, is responsible.
I wonder why he is “former” P & C President?
As an ex-principal I’d pay more attention to the report of the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (see http://www.appa.asn.au/index.php/appa-business/reports/699-appa-survey-building-the-education) in making judgments about this programme. An extract –
“This is a huge bonus – a dream come true for my school and all primary schools. My school is 90+ years old and this is a fantastic ‘shot in the arm’ in improving resources in our school to meet present and future needs of our staff, students and our local community of parents and businesses. My parents are so excited about this program!! They think it is the best thing to happen to our school.”
This was an anonymous survey.
The problem with this program for many is that they can’t abide the fact that EVERY school (even those in low socio-economic areas) is getting a benefit. They’re stuck in the days when only wealthy schools had indoor gyms and air-conditioned libraries. How dare the sons and daughters of the less well-off enjoy the same benefits as those attending GPS schools! Unthinkable!
The funniest aspect for me is that I was in St George two weeks ago listening to staff and community raving about their new library and gym which went up in record time, and today hearing Barnaby Joyce calling BER a “garden shed” construction programme on morning radio. Barnaby has some good ideas (tax breaks in the bush for example), but he really should spend more time in his home town listening to his constituents.
The problem with this program for many is that they can’t abide the fact that EVERY school (even those in low socio-economic areas) is getting a benefit.
Wrong. For me it is the smell of poor admin but did you notice that the Cath Ed schools seem to be getting a bigger buck for the dollar.
Come on 17etc, you can’t read the press and ignore the fact that management is iffy. Quoting happy Principals is irrelevant – of course they are happy and good on them. I’m happy for them and the kids but there is no way known that the taxpayer is getting full value for money.
It will come back the ALP if they don’t admit there is a problem and undertake to fix it.
Robert, if I need a new home and you as a benefactor were prepared to pay for its construction I really would be exceptionally happy about being on the receiving end. If Metricon or one of your favoured builders could build a home for say $140,000 and you had to pay $300,000 as my benefactor I would like to know just how happy you would be.
I believe I know the answer.
I also believe that it is beyond the realm of possibility that you would go into debt to accomplish the task for me.
This Government will be out of office long before the debts incurred by it are ever repaid and the structures will need replacing well before.