Port Plans in a rush
The Port Corporation has told the Channel Deepening Inquiry today (6th July) that it has hired the dredge and commenced other commercial arrangements to secure office venues etc. in anticipation of beginning the dredging works!
Dr. Allan Hawke, the Inquiry Chair advised PoMC that was a commercial decision taken at their own risk, as the Inquiry has not yet heard all the evidence. It didn't seem to perturb Mr. Gobbo SC for the Port Corporation according to our source.
Clearly the Port thinks it’s a done deal. We wonder whether they have been given taxpayer funded assurances from government to go full steam ahead.
The Port Corporation’s strategic thinking is worth a second look. Remember only last month we were told government backed the Port Corporation's $13.5 million purchase of a highly contaminated waterside site in Yarraville – supposedly a great strategic decision. That land, one of the most contaminated pieces of real estate in Victoria is now valued at around $500,000 - one twenty sixth of its taxpayer funded purchase price, and taxpayers face up to $70 million to clean it up!*
Oh dear, we fear the Port is about to make another bad move for Victorians. We think it’s time the Auditor General had a closer look at the commercial arrangements surrounding the channel deepening project, especially those between the Port Corporation and its dredging Alliance Partner Boskalis, whose parent company Royal Boskalis crashed a dredge in China in March this year and late last year sunk one in Pointe Noir Africa, killing three people.
Oh - and by the way, we hear the Port Corporation's Environment Management Plan discussions today were done and dusted in a bit over an hour!
(Taxpayers to foot toxic clean-up bill The Age June 20th 2007)Previous page: General
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