Northern Victoria Region
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (13:06): (207) My question is to the Minister for Regional Development on behalf of residents of the City of Greater Bendigo to find out how much the Bendigo GovHub will cost taxpayers. In 2018 a Labor government press release indicated that $16 million would be spent on the Bendigo GovHub to house 1000 government employees and that the building would be completed late in 2021. It is nearly June 2023 and the building is still to be finished. According to the recent budget papers, over $120 million is allocated for the acquisition of Bendigo GovHub. I ask the minister to please provide a detailed breakdown of how much the Bendigo GovHub will cost taxpayers, including state and local council funding, planning and design, build, fit-out, purchase and lease costs. It looks as though taxpayers funded the cost to build it, then paid to buy the building and will also pay to lease the building we bought. I look forward to the minister’s response, because taxpayers have a right to know how our money is being spent.