Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, and by reason of the urgent nature of the works, it is expedient that the following work be carried out without having been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works: Construction of housing for the Department of Defence at Muirhead, Darwin, Northern Territory.

The Defence Housing Authority Australia, DHA, proposes to develop stage 1 of a 167-hectare, former Department of Defence site at Muirhead, Darwin, Northern Territory. It is intended that the site be developed in stages over the next eight to 10 years.

Stage 1 will develop 166 residential lots to deliver up to an expected 178 dwellings with DHA constructing 50 houses to accommodate defence families in Darwin. Under a memorandum of understanding between DHA and the Northern Territory government, 25 lots will be offered to the Northern Territory government to support its affordable and community housing initiatives. The remaining lots will be sold to the public. The proposed development is part of ongoing activity to replace houses that do not satisfy the current standards of defence housing. Community standard defence housing is vital to Defence attracting and retaining skilled personnel.

DHA will develop the site as an economically viable, sustainable and affordable master-planned community. The lot layout and house design will recognise Darwin’s climate and unique lifestyle, paying particular attention to minimising energy consumption. Site development and housing construction will be governed by DHA through its contractors and in accordance with DHA’s national specification covering housing performance and design. The gross outlay for stage 1 is estimated at $41.4 million inclusive of GST with net costs reduced through the sale of surplus lots.

In its report, the Public Works Committee has recommended that these works proceed subject to the recommendations of the committee. Defence Housing Australia accepts and will implement these recommendations. Subject to parliamentary approval, the stage 1 estate development works will commence in March 2011, with the construction of the 50 homes to be completed by June 2012. On behalf of the government I thank the committee for its support and I commend the motion to the House.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Proposed construction of housing for the Department of Defence at Voyager Point, Liverpool, New South Wales.

Defence Housing Australia proposes to develop a 15.74 hectare site at Voyager Point, New South Wales. The site was formerly the Department of Defence’s East Hills Barracks. The proposal will provide an additional 59 homes for Australian Defence Force personnel and their families, particularly for those members serving at the Holsworthy Army base. The site will be divided into lots capable of accommodating a total of 137 homes. The lots that are not required by Defence will be sold to the general public, creating a mixed civilian and defence community and reducing DHA’s net outlay.

The proposal is part of ongoing activity to replace houses that do not satisfy the current standards for ADF housing that were introduced in 2007. Community standard housing for families is vital to the ADF in attracting and retaining skilled personnel, and the site is conveniently located three kilometres from the Holsworthy Army base and six kilometres from the Liverpool city centre. The homes constructed will deliver an excellent lifestyle opportunity for Defence families.

The development of the site and the construction of houses will be governed by DHA through a number of contractors in accordance with DHA’s national specifications covering performance and design requirements for DHA housing. The total out-turn cost of the proposal is estimated at $45.1 million inclusive of GST and land acquisition, with the net cost reduced through the sales of surplus lots. In its report, the Public Works Committee has recommended that these works proceed. Subject to parliamentary approval, construction will commence in March 2011 and be completed by December 2013. On behalf of the government I thank the committee for its support and I commend the motion to the House.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for SKA Science at Kensington, Western Australia.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research organisation, CSIRO, proposes to construct the Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre for Square Kilometre Array Science at Kensington, Perth, WA, at an estimated outturn cost of $66 million plus GST. Funded by the government’s Super Science Initiative, the Pawsey centre will provide a high-performance computing facility that supports a diverse range of high-end research, including radio astronomy, nanotechnology, biotechnology, geoinformatics, engineering, atomic physics and chemistry. It will also provide the computing support and data-processing capabilities required for the Australian SKA Pathfinder and Murchison Widefield Array radio telescopes.

The Pawsey centre is crucial to the government’s strategy to address the paucity of Australia’s high-ranked supercomputing systems. The HPC system will rank among the world’s top 20 supercomputers at the time of its commissioning in 2013. IVEC, an unincorporated joint venture between CSIRO, the Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and the University of WA will be responsible for the Pawsey centre’s operation, while CSIRO will own and maintain the Pawsey centre building. The Pawsey centre will be specifically designed to house the petascale HPC system and provide an appropriate and secure working environment for support staff. The building services and external infrastructure will incorporate energy conservation initiatives and comply with all relevant local, state and Commonwealth standards, codes and regulations.

In its report the PWC recommended that these works proceed. Subject to parliamentary approval, construction will commence in early 2011 and be completed by mid 2012, consistent with the HPC procurement, installation and commissioning program, which will be completed in 2013. On behalf of the government I thank the committee for its support and I commend the motion to the House.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Construction of a Centre for Accelerator Science and extensions to other facilities for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation at Lucas Heights, NSW.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation proposes to undertake at its Lucas Heights, New South Wales, site the construction of (1) a new centre for accelerator science; (2) an extension to the Bragg Institute; and (3) an extension to the OPAL reactor building. The proposed Centre for Accelerator Science will enhance Australia’s capability for the vital studies of climate and environmental science, nuclear safeguards and forensics, materials science, human history, medical physics and radiation physics.

In the 2009-10 budget the government allocated $20 million under the Education Investment Fund to establish the new Centre for Accelerator Science. ANSTO’s OPAL reactor’s neutron beam instruments are used by Australian and international researchers and industry in an extremely wide range of science. Those instruments are operated by ANSTO’s Bragg Institute. Given the increasing demand for the operational instruments and the impending addition of new instruments together with increasing demand for the other services provided by the OPAL reactor, the Bragg Institute and the OPAL reactor building have reached capacity and require extensions. ANSTO therefore proposes to construct and fit out additional offices and laboratories at the Bragg Institute to accommodate approximately 150 staff, students and visiting researchers.

ANSTO further proposes to construct and fit out additional offices, workshops and laboratories at the OPAL reactor building to support reactor operations. This project will also provide additional facilities and accommodation to optimise ANSTO’s ability to produce radioisotopes and irradiate silicon. The estimated out-turn cost of the proposal is $62.5 million including GST. In its report, the parliamentary Public Works Committee has recommended that these works proceed. Subject to parliamentary approval, construction will commence in November 2010 and be completed by September 2012. On behalf of the government I thank the committee for its support and I commend the motion to the House.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Proposed fit-out of new leased premises for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency at the New Acton Nishi building, Edinburgh Avenue, Canberra City, ACT.

The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency proposes to undertake a fit-out of new leased premises at the New Acton Nishi Building, Edinburgh Avenue, Canberra City, ACT, at an estimated cost of $20.5 million plus GST. The DCCEE currently occupies offices at 2 Constitution Avenue and 20 Allara Street, Canberra City, ACT. The existing leases expire on 31 December 2012 and 14 June 2011 respectively. The existing fit-outs at these locations are in poor condition—in most cases more than 20 years old—are not related to the DCCEE’s organisational and operational needs and are not capable of economical refurbishment to modern standards. As a result of the machinery-of-government changes announced on 26 February 2010, the DCCEE also has staff currently accommodated in the Parliamentary Triangle and Forrest in offices which are managed by other Commonwealth agencies.

The proposed fit-out will provide the opportunity to co-locate all DCCEE staff and provide significant benefits in relation to functionality, operating efficiencies, administrative overheads and environmental ratings. In its report the parliamentary Public Works Committee has recommended that these works proceed. Subject to parliamentary approval, construction of the fit-out is expected to commence in September 2011, with completion scheduled for August 2012. On behalf of the government I would like to thank the committee for its support and I commend the motion to the House.

Question agreed to.