Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the committee's second report of 2018, Referrals made March 2018.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—The report considers three proposals referred to the committee in March from the Department of Defence.

The first two projects involve modernisation works at the Larrakeyah Defence Precinct in Darwin. The committee understands the strategic importance of Larrakeyah in supporting Australia's operations in the north.

The first proposal is for the facilities to support naval operations in the north project. This project includes construction of a new wharf and fuel storage facilities at Larrakeyah.

The new wharf will allow for a variety of Navy vessels and visiting foreign warships to berth and refuel in Darwin. The estimated cost for the project is $272.5 million, excluding GST.

The second proposal is the Larrakeyah Barracks redevelopment. This is a $223 million project to update ageing and non-compliant facilities at Larrakeyah Barracks. The redevelopment will provide new buildings, a more secure entry precinct, upgraded roads, water and sewerage infrastructure, and new electrical and ICT infrastructure.

The barracks redevelopment will allow for the future growth of the precinct population and is required to enable and support the new wharf.

The committee has recommended that both of these projects should proceed.

The third proposal is for stage 2 of the Garden Island (East) Critical Infrastructure Recovery Program, in Sydney. The committee considered stage 1 of this program back in 2017. Stage 1 included the demolition of outdated wharves, and the construction of a new wharf.

Stage 2 completes the revitalisation of Garden Island East with the repair or replacement of remaining wharves, and upgrades to base-wide engineering services, including electrical, fuel, water and sewerage, and that is predominantly so that, when ships are at berth, they can hook into what they call 'hotel mode', which allows the boats to not have to run their motors, for the comfort of those residents who now live close to the facility. The estimated cost of that project is $286.5 million, excluding GST.

The committee appreciates the strategic importance of Garden Island to Defence's capability and operations on Australia's east coast.

The committee has recommended that stage 2 of the program should proceed.

I'd like to, in closing, acknowledge some of the newer committee members who have taken their place on this board and also acknowledge some outgoing contributions by committee members. Justine Keay made an invaluable contribution to the committee and, given the by-election, we'd love to have her back on the team if the weather presents itself. There are two new committee members: Senator Amanda Stoker, who replaced Senator Dean Smith, and Andrew Wallace, the member for Fisher, who brings an enormous amount of knowledge as a builder, a lawyer and a barrister specialising in the construction field. That type of knowledge fits hand-in-glove with the many years of service from Senator Gallacher, who is a longstanding member on that committee.

The Australian public see the parliament through a very narrow prism at times, and they witness the conduct of us politicians narrowly through the prism of question time. Question time is filled with theatre and gladiatorial-type behaviour. This committee, of which I'm proud to chair, has truly at heart the taxpayers' best interests. This committee is focused on making sure that we deliver the best return for investment for the Australian tax dollar. And however combative we may be for a certain hour during the day, this committee is exemplary in the way that it shows the nation that this parliament does have an effective role to play.

We will also continue to pursue greater cost savings through prying into and prodding different Defence contracts that come to us across all portfolios, whether or not they be here in Australia or through the remit of this committee where we have oversight of our foreign embassies. I'd like to thank my fellow committee members for their ongoing commitment to the Public Works Committee, which continues to work effectively and cooperatively. This year, 2018, is shaping up to be another busy year for public works. I commend this report to the House.

See this speech in context