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BER – that other non-disaster

By Judy Crozier - posted Friday, 6 September 2013


Like the 'pink batts' or Home Insulation Program, Building the Education Revolution also worked well, but has been reported as a disaster.

Why was it reported that way? Well, I've muttered before about the msm never letting a fact get in the way of a good story. And there were tales of isolated brawls between the department involved and builders, or builders and schools.

To be expected – there will always, always be glitches in large infrastructure programs.

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But let's get this straight: 97% of schools were happy with what they got. And that would be because they got what they asked for. Proposals for works came from the schools themselves.

And I imagine their local communities are pretty happy too, considering a requirement for the new building was that it be available to the broader community at no or little cost. This applies particularly to school libraries and multifunctional halls.

Maybe this where all those sneering references to 'school halls' came from. Search me.

Other facilities built under BER included classrooms, some refurbishment of outdoor play areas, new or refurbished language learning centres and science laboratories, all with specific guidelines for disability access.

In 2010, the BER Implementation Taskforce reported back to the then Minister, Chris Evans, that the program was largely successful, with only 3% of schools making complaints.

Tony Abbott, of course, had bellowed that it was all a "rort" – this and the Home Insulation Scheme.

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The Taskforce did also report that costs in for these public schools' works were 25% higher than those for Catholic or Private schools. But the view of the Australian national Audit Office (ANAO) was that that was hardly a viable comparison. Standards in government schools are higher, and so building is more expensive.

So… what we have is a very well rolled-out program to upgrade school facilities, with a minute dissatisfaction rate and the application of high standards. Try and find the downside.

Indeed, in May 2010, Bernard Keane in Crikey wrote:

'This is the program that The Australian has been attacking for twelve months as a scandalous waste of money. The conclusions of the ANAO's performance review -when the auditors look at a program from top to bottom to see whether it has done what it was intended to do - fundamentally discredit a campaign that has formed a key part of News Ltd's war on the Government.'

That News Ltd – flailing away even back then!

And the other major purpose of the BER, that of staving off the destructive effects of the worst financial disaster for 80 years? You know, the GFC?

By all reports (other than in News Ltd, of course), this was also a great success.

The Taskforce and ANAO reports appear to have been almost effusive, as far as these reports ever are. Said the ANAO:

'Lead economic indicators, including construction approvals, show that the introduction of BER P21 contributed to a reversal in the decline in nonâ€residential construction activity that resulted from the global financial crisis.'

And, not only did it achieve the goal of reversing a building downturn, but also, according to the ANAO:

'Education industry stakeholders, including peak bodies, Education Authorities and a substantial majority of school principals have also been positive about the improvement in primary school facilities that will result from the program.'

This comes from the ANAO's performance review of the BER, a full audit meant to see whether the program did what it set out to do.

Did I mention that it did?

We didn't spiral out of control, unlike our European and US counterparts, and we got some useful brand-spanking new infrastructure out of it all.

Nobody suggests there was no waste. I might point out that no-one could honestly point to any major infrastructure project where there was no waste.

But it's worth pointing out that the Labor government's stimulus package, including the BER, caught the attention of Nobel Laureate, economist Joseph Stiglitz. He, by all accounts, became Labor's biggest fan.

The Labor government, Stiglitz said, '…actually did a fantastic job of saving your country from problems.'

Just saying. And a point worth considering on Saturday.

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About the Author

Judy Crozier began as a baby journalist with the Melbourne Times back in the 70s, and did some editing and writing for other small journals for a time. She's been a local government representative, a community worker, a singer and a proof reader. Now she writes fiction and some freelance non-fiction, and teaches creative writing in Melbourne.

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