BER schools get extended deadlines

Almost a third of small primary schools with outstanding projects under the federal
government's Building the Education Revolution (BER) program have been given more
generous deadlines.
A Senate estimates hearing on Thursday was told $9.8 billion of the $14.1 billion
stimulus scheme had been spent so far.
A government-appointed taskforce led by Brad Orgill will next month report on the
scheme's numerous complaints, mainly of wastage.
Its interim report found the rush to build halls, libraries and classrooms may have
led to cost blowouts of up to six per cent.
The Senate committee heard 1009 schools in part of the scheme for primary schools
called P21 have been given deadlines previously set for large schools.
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations deputy secretary Michael
Manthorpe said state and territory authorities had been told to seek extensions if
they didn't expect to meet the short timeframes.
"In relation to the small schools, the original seven-month target for constructing
buildings in many, literally thousands of locations was ambitious," he said.
Department secretary Lisa Paul went further.
"A major reconstruction or construction would normally take years," she said. "We
were only given seven months, it was a bit unrealistic actually."
Labor senator Chris Evans defended the extensions.
"Anyone who has tried to build a house or extension knows these things sometimes are
not as easily achieved as one would like," he said.
Liberal senator Brett Mason said he felt "vindicated" by the problems discussed in
the interim Orgill report.



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