'A plan to make a plan': Multimillion-dollar precinct report slammed

A federally funded multimillion-dollar report on the future of a precinct housing the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra has been met with mixed reactions. Some in the national capital had hoped the Bruce Precinct Master Plan would suggest a preferred site for a new Canberra Stadium, rather than listing two scenarios. What's next? The ACT government welcomed the report and said a decision on a new stadium would be made by the end of the decade. A new plan for the future of Canberra's Bruce precinct has been met with mixed reactions. The suburb of Bruce is 15 minutes north of Canberra's CBD and home to North Canberra Hospital, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), the Canberra Stadium, and a Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) campus, as well as many medium-to-high-density dwellings. But a 138-page Bruce Precinct Master Plan, written by consultants Hatch and Stantec and paid for by the federal government as part of a $10-million-dollar funding package, has been slammed as "a plan to make a plan". "They don't provide a detailed business case or delivery plan. They don't resolve the Commonwealth-ACT government land issues. There's no costs. There's no implementation timetable," Independent ACT senator David Pocock said. "I hope this isn't $10 million worth of work," he said. But Senator Pocock's concerns over the plan's price tag were swiftly rebuffed by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr. "The $10 million extends beyond the master plan work," Mr Barr told 666 ABC Canberra. "So let's put to bed this fallacy that's been running, kicked along by some in the political sphere." He said the report had cost about $4 million while $6 million had already been set aside for stadium upgrades. "It's a complete replacement of the field-of-play lighting, an upgrade of public amenities at the venue, including the bathroom facilities, seating and lifts in the grandstands," Mr Barr said.