PM Howard scraps $475,000 wall - Chinchilla still gets nothing ...

PM John Howard was planning to move a wall so that seating in his private dining room at Parliament House could be increased from 16 to 20.

Cost?

$475,000.

That's almost $119,000 per extra seat.

Plus the consultants fees and the refit of the furniture.

Scrapped as soon as the cost became public.

And yet Chinchilla gets no federal funding for its coal seam gas water scheme which would drought-proof the town because it's not unique - Dalby has already received funding.

Perhaps Chinchilla should apply for funding to move a wall and then use the money for its water scheme ...

Excerpt from the Courier Mail:

PM scraps $540,000 dining room

22 May 2007

Prime Minister John Howard has scrapped plans for a $540,000 extension to a private dining room in his Parliament House suite.Officials in Mr Howard's department had been considering knocking down a wall to create a larger dining room capable of hosting dinners for up to 20 people.

Mr Howard's wife Janette was involved in the meeting at which the plan was first discussed.

A Senate estimates committee was told today that the rough estimate for the building work alone had come in at $475,000 - enough to buy a house in most capital cities.

But late today, a spokesman for Mr Howard said the work would not go ahead.

"There was a proposal to increase the size of the area but the Government has decided not to proceed," a spokesman for Mr Howard said.

More than $65,000 has already been spent on architect and consultant fees for the extension, the committee was told today.

And the architect drawing up the plans recommended spending $200,000 on new furniture for the enlarged room - a proposal Mr Howard's office immediately rejected.

See - Howard wants more over for dinner.

If the Federal Coalition lose the upcoming Federal election, they'll only have themselves to blame ...