Back on track

Chris Bowen, 31 August 2023. The cost is now $12 billion. First power 2027, all units December 2028. Guardian: “put the important project back on track.” The $12 billion is “obviously very, very substantial.” Same constraints “all major infrastructure projects around the world are experiencing. That’s just a fact.”

This card files that track. It does not file “sack the minister.”

What did have a receipt:

• ANAO: until 11 May 2023 Snowy told the shareholder departments the job was “on track” on cost and schedule. Separately, management was already reporting delivery pressures and the need for a reassessment.
• 3 October 2025, Dennis Barnes: “we’re not going to achieve the cost target we’ve set.” He took the miss. Timeline? “Pretty comfortable.” 67 per cent complete, still December 2028.
• ANAO, June 2026: management since the reset has been “partly effective.” “Significant deficiencies.” No agreed baseline schedule. No robust forecast of cost to complete. $11.1 billion spent at 73 per cent. October 2025 note to the auditor: expenditure “expected to exceed” the approved $12 billion; more Commonwealth support “expected” by the end of FY26. Bowen’s office, same week as the audit: “sensible recommendations.” Still: deliver it.

Grammar: back on track, $12 billion, December 2028. Logic: a reset is not a rail. Rhetoric: that’s just a fact.