But Member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons said the problems were part of any large-scale building project and the package was a spectacular success as it had kept a recession at bay.

The Federal Government came under fire yesterday following reports of NSW school buildings funded under the Building the Education Revolution that cost twice the initial estimate.

Mr Gibbons said he had not heard of any of the 164 projects funded locally exceeding estimates, but he would not be surprised if several buildings had.

“I haven’t heard of any of these projects having cost blowouts, but I have no doubt there will be some,” he said.

“That’s highly likely, when you’re dealing with a program of this magnitude there are going to be a variety of problems.”

The Advertiser believes Bendigo’s soil, which has been heavily polluted by mining, was not considered when the estimates for many of the buildings were made.

It is believed the speed at which funding was introduced meant some projects were started before proper soil analysis had been conducted.

“Any building project in this area would come across problems because of the soil, which is contaminated with arsenic,” Mr Gibbons said.

“There has been some fast-tracking, that’s inevitable when you’re dealing with a project that was designed to get us out of a recession, and by that measure it is a spectacular success.”

Education Minister Julia Gillard said there had been minimal complaints in regard to Building the Education Revolution projects.

“On my last advice, the number of complaints that have been forwarded through is less than a hundred,” she said.

Opposition finance spokesman Barnaby Joyce said the building and construction sector was “having a day in the park” with the program.

“Kevin Rudd comes around only once in your life and when he turns up you’ve just got to make the most of him and this is what they’re doing,” he said.