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

On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present committee report No. 4 of 2024, Department of Defencefacilities to support Advanced Growler Phase 6.

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

by leave—This report considers a proposal referred in February 2024 from the Department of Defence for the facilities to support the Advanced Growler Phase 6 project. The total cost of the proposed project is $228.2 million. The project will provide new and upgraded facilities and infrastructure at RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland and Delamere Air Weapons Range in the Northern Territory. The facilities will support the capability of the electronic attack aircraft EA-18G Advanced Growler.

The Advanced Growler is an electronic attack aircraft capable of disrupting, deceiving or denying a broad range of military electronic systems, including radars and communications. The aircraft supports a range of defence tasks such as helping reduce risk and improved situational awareness. It also provides complementary capability to the Super Hornet and the 35A Joint Strike Fighter. There are 12 Advanced Growler planes based at RAAF Base Amberley. Upgrades to the aircraft are required throughout their operational life to ensure ongoing capability and that the aircraft remain interoperable with those owned by the United States Navy.

The proposed works will provide maintenance, logistics and storage upgrades at both RAAF Base Amberley and Delamere Air Weapons Range to support these aircraft, to enable joint training exercises and integrated training within the scope of the works. They'll provide a number of benefits to the public such as supporting the Australian economy through project expenditure in the construction and professional services sector in South-East Queensland and the Northern Territory, as well as the creation of employment and upskilling opportunities for local industry and Indigenous businesses. One of the construction materials used in the project, steel, is expected to be sourced from Australia as long as this provides value for money to the public.

The committee notes that this proposal is consistent with the 2024 structure plan and, moreover, the 2023 Defence Strategic Review. The committee notes Defence will attempt to source Australian steel for use in the works where this represents value for money, and recommends that Defence report back to the community with the source of the supply location of the steel once identified.

The committee extends its thanks to all those who provided written and oral evidence in support of this inquiry. We also thank personnel from Defence for the tour provided to the committee at RAAF Base Amberley. The committee appreciated the enthusiasm of staff at the base as well as their level of expert knowledge. The committee recommends that it is expedient that the proposed work be carried out.

This report also contains a short update about a project previously approved by the 46th Parliament—the Reserve Bank of Australia's head office workplace project at Martin Place, Sydney. Since the committee approved this project back in March 2020 there has been a significant increase in cost, mostly due to unexpectedly large amounts of asbestos in the building; it is everywhere. In light of this increase the committee recently inspected the Martin Place site and received a detailed briefing from the Reserve Bank governor and their staff about the project and on whether the bank had considered an alternative to the refurbishment. We went through those options, but, based on the information provided, the Public Works Committee has chosen to report it is satisfied with the reasons for the increase in cost. It sets us up for the future while preserving the past.

I commend the report to the House.

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