Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the committee's report No. 5 of 2023 entitled Department of Defence—Facilities to support JP9101 Phase 1 enhanced defence high frequency communications system—Project Phoenix

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

by leave—The report I have just presented considers the proposal referred in June from the Department of Defence for the installation and sustainment of an enhanced defence high-frequency communications system titled Project Phoenix.

The supporting facilities are to be constructed across 15 different Defence sites throughout Australia.

The total cost of the proposed project is $280.2 million.

The Enhanced Defence High Frequency Communications System enables Australia's Defence Force to provide reliable, automated and survivable long-range high-frequency radio communications and serves as an alternative to satellite communications.

Project Phoenix will support Defence's communication system and boost Australia's strategic high-frequency communications capabilities needed to support us regionally and globally.

The system will be employed by Australia's defence forces to support our aviators, soldiers and sailors at home and abroad for decades to come.

The project before the committee is a multi-site project that will upgrade the engineering services at various transmit-and-receive sites and install new fibre-optic cables connecting each pair of transmit-and-receive sites.

As such, the project will refurbish, repurpose and extend existing buildings on sites so that they meet capability, building code and energy requirements.

The project will also build below-ground communications links between existing receive-and-transmit sites.

As part of this project, the Department of Defence will construct a new receive site at the Mount Bundey Training Area in Darwin, in the Northern Territory.

The proposal is to construct a new control building that includes a backup power supply and external works on the control building and antennae, including a new access road and high-voltage grid.

The committee would like to thank personnel from the Department of Defence for providing a comprehensive briefing about the project.

The presentation gave members of the committee an opportunity to understand the motivation for site selection of Project Phoenix, the safety of the works and how the works will be implemented across Australia's states and territories.

The committee considers that this project represents value for money and is meritorious in terms of need, scope and cost.

The committee recommends that it is expedient that the proposed work be carried out.

I commend the report to the House.

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