Losses Incurred By The Government
The government had lent large sums of money, offered financial guarantees and acquired assets at inflated prices. Because of the connections between many of the deals and cross-ownership of businesses involved, it is difficult to say precisely where the government's fault started and ended. A minimum loss to the state of $600M has been reported.
In 1991, barrister Bevan Lawrence published what he regarded as a conservative itemisation of the government's actual losses. The figures are summarised as follows:
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Rothwells and Petrochemicals Plant $408 million Purchase of Bell Group shares from Robert Holmes à Court $155 million Unlisted bonds purchased from Holmes à Court, later assessed as having no value $140 million Westralia Square (Perth Technical College site redevelopment) $74 million Central Park property redevelopment $100 million Grand total $877 million
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