[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Hobart Airport Worth $101 Mill or $350 Mill?_K Booth MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

INDEPENDENT HOBART AIRPORT VALUATION PUTS VALUE AT $101 MILLION - NOT
$350 MILLION PAID

Kim Booth MP
Greens Member for Bass

Thursday, 20 November 2008
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today released a leaked copy of the original bid
for the Hobart International Airport, financial figures at the time of
the sale, as well as releasing their own independent professional
valuation which has found a staggering $250 million difference between
the valuation and the amount paid by the Retirement Benefit Fund (RBF)
and Gateway Consortium.

Greens Member for Bass, Kim Booth MP, said that a concerned public
servant had leaked a copy of the original bid as they were worried about
the use of superannuant money to pay the extraordinary amount of $350.5
million RBF and its Gateway Consortium partners paid to the government
for the Hobart International Airport.

Mr Booth also said that the professional valuation by John Lawrence Pty.
Limited, for which he paid, was based upon the financial figures
contained in the leaked documentation, and at the time of the Airport's
disposal in December 2007.

"The John Lawrence valuation found that, "a fair and reasonable value of
the airport business is therefore $89.6 million which together with the
value of the undeveloped land of $11.5 million gives a total value of
$101.1 million dollars", which is a whopping $250 million difference
between what was paid by the RBF," Mr Booth said.

"The Greens had requested that the Bartlett government commission their
own independent valuation, after eyebrows and concerns began to be
raised over the extraordinary amount of $350.5 million especially by
those whose retirement savings could have been used in the purchase, but
Premier Bartlett refused to do so."

"I then received a leaked copy of the original bid documentation plus
the HIAPL Annual Report 2006-07, from within the public service,
prompted by concerns relating to the security or otherwise, of
retirement funds."

"I was then able to send this material to Public Accountant firm John
Lawrence Pty. Limited, requesting that an independent valuation from a
perspective buyer's prospective as at December 2007, which I am
releasing publicly today."

"It is of concern that so far the Bartlett government has evaded
answering any question relating to the negotiation and sale process, or
undertaken to guarantee that superannuants receive fair value for this
use of their hard-earned monies."

"There are serious concerns that an over-inflated price was paid for the
Hobart Airport, using a significant amount of hard-working
superannuants' money, many of which are Tasmania's public servants, and
who deserve reassurance over the fate of their savings."

"The huge discrepancy between the paid price and the independent
valuation raises serious concerns that retirement savings could have
been put at risk, which warrants serious investigation and debate," Mr
Booth said.




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