Land ahoy!
The State Government has made a startling admission in Parliament this week, that it appears to have neglected to account for the need to purchase land on which to build a new Forensic Science Centre.
Giving evidence to Budget Estimates this week, Attorney General Kyam Maher, was asked about a $13.2 million blow out in the cost of the new SA Forensic Centre, bringing the total cost to more than $362 million.
Mr Maher responded that the additional cost was to purchase the land, making the obvious point that “it would of course be very hard to complete a building project like this without any land.”
Shadow Attorney General, Josh Teague, said the incompetence to not think that you would need to budget for land to build a new facility is astounding.
“Quite frankly, I would have thought it to have been self-explanatory that the budget for any new building should always include a budget for the purchase of land,” Mr Teague said.
“The fact that this Government had failed to do so in three previous budgets is either gross incompetence, mismanagement, or both!
“Not only has the cost now blown-out by millions, but the project has also been delayed by three years, now due for completion in 2031.
“It goes to show that this Government’s legacy will be a trail of broken promises, record debt and lagging projects.”
In his evidence, the Attorney-General blamed the three year delay on having decided lately to coincide the relocation of 320 staff and complex machinery with the end of the lease of the current facility.
“To our knowledge, the term of the lease has at all times been known, so citing it now as grounds for this delay is a bit rich,” Mr Teague said.
The simple fact is that this is a three year delay and a significant cost blow out absent any remotely plausible reason. It’s not good enough.”
Further increasing the need for a new facility are delays in forensic testing, with the budget revealing less than half of all major indictable DNA cases are completed within seven months.
Just 45 per cent were cleared in this time frame in 2024/25, compared to 62 per cent the previous year and well below the target of 75 per cent.
There were also delays to drug testing, with just 20 per cent of illicit drug cases preliminary results issued within two months, when the target is 90 per cent.
“Some of the State’s most brilliant minds work within Forensics SA, helping solve crimes and bring about justice.
“They deserve the very best facilities but are now facing another three years working in a current facility which is in urgent need of replacement.”
“When every one of these tests contributes to our justice system, it becomes vital to ensure that our forensics staff have up-to-date facilities and the resources to match.”
The State Government has made a startling admission in Parliament this week, that it appears to have neglected to account for the need to purchase land on which to build a new Forensic Science Centre.
Giving evidence to Budget Estimates this week, Attorney General Kyam Maher, was asked about a $13.2 million blow out in the cost of the new SA Forensic Centre, bringing the total cost to more than $362 million.
Mr Maher responded that the additional cost was to purchase the land, making the obvious point that “it would of course be very hard to complete a building project like this without any land.”
Shadow Attorney General, Josh Teague, said the incompetence to not think that you would need to budget for land to build a new facility is astounding.
“Quite frankly, I would have thought it to have been self-explanatory that the budget for any new building should always include a budget for the purchase of land,” Mr Teague said.
“The fact that this Government had failed to do so in three previous budgets is either gross incompetence, mismanagement, or both!
“Not only has the cost now blown-out by millions, but the project has also been delayed by three years, now due for completion in 2031.
“It goes to show that this Government’s legacy will be a trail of broken promises, record debt and lagging projects.”
In his evidence, the Attorney-General blamed the three year delay on having decided lately to coincide the relocation of 320 staff and complex machinery with the end of the lease of the current facility.
“To our knowledge, the term of the lease has at all times been known, so citing it now as grounds for this delay is a bit rich,” Mr Teague said.
The simple fact is that this is a three year delay and a significant cost blow out absent any remotely plausible reason. It’s not good enough.”
Further increasing the need for a new facility are delays in forensic testing, with the budget revealing less than half of all major indictable DNA cases are completed within seven months.
Just 45 per cent were cleared in this time frame in 2024/25, compared to 62 per cent the previous year and well below the target of 75 per cent.
There were also delays to drug testing, with just 20 per cent of illicit drug cases preliminary results issued within two months, when the target is 90 per cent.
“Some of the State’s most brilliant minds work within Forensics SA, helping solve crimes and bring about justice.
“They deserve the very best facilities but are now facing another three years working in a current facility which is in urgent need of replacement.”
“When every one of these tests contributes to our justice system, it becomes vital to ensure that our forensics staff have up-to-date facilities and the resources to match.”
It goes to show that this Government’s legacy will be a trail of broken promises, record debt and lagging projects.
