Opposition leader Alistair Coe has questioned the purpose of the ACT government's new dedicated infrastructure agency, saying it sounds like "something from an episode of Utopia or Yes Minister".
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Major Projects Canberra, which will start work on July 1, will have oversight of the government's 10-year infrastructure program, including stage two of light rail, Canberra Hospital's SPIRE project and the long-awaited new city sports stadium.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the agency would centralise the government's infrastructures expertise into one office, helping to streamline the delivery of the projects needed to support Canberra's growing population.
But Mr Coe said it was unclear why the new authority was necessary, given the government already had various infrastructure delivery arms.
He said the idea of creating a new agency with a "catchy title" was reminiscent of the satirical television dramas Utopia and Yes Minister.
The ABC's award-winning Utopia follows the travails of a fictional government department, the National Building Authority, as its mission of delivering major infrastructure projects is repeatedly sidetracked by government bureaucracy and ever-changing political priorities.
"It doesn't seem like much will change in practice, because much of these functions already exist in the public service," Mr Coe said of the Barr government's new agency.
"And if they don't, it begs the questions whether the government has been spending properly over the past 10 years."
Mr Coe said he believed most Canberrans would be "quite sceptical" of the government's claim that the creation of the new agency would come at no additional cost to the territory budget.
Transport Canberra deputy director-general Duncan Edghill will serve as interim boss of the 140-strong team, which will include public servants from Transport Canberra and City Services, Health and Treasury.
"What we are talking about is moving the deckchairs," Mr Coe said.
"I'm very sceptical that we are somehow going to see projects that are well delivered and on time. This hasn't happened in the past, and I don't think this is because there hasn't been an agency.
"I think it's because there has been a lack of leadership."
On Monday, Mr Edgill told ABC Canberra that creating the "centre of excellence" would help the government to deliver major projects more efficiently.
He said it would also help the territory secure quality contractors to work on its projects amid an increasingly competitive national market.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
