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

() (): On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the committee's report No. 6 of 2024, Department of DefenceSubmarine Rotational Force-West, priority works, HMAS Stirling,Western Australia and other works.

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

by leave—This report considers three proposals referred to the committee. The first is a proposal from the Department of Defence to upgrade infrastructure at HMAS Stirling to support the Submarine Rotational Force-West. The second is the proposed fit-out of new Commonwealth parliament offices in Adelaide. The third is for the Reserve Bank of Australia to construct a temporary storage and logistics facility while their head office in Martin Place is being refurbished. In total, these works have a combined value of a little over $800 million.

The first proposal accounts for most of that total. Defence is seeking to spend $738 million in the upgraded facilities at HMAS Stirling, located 60 kilometres south of Perth in the City of Rockingham. From 2027, the facilities will be home to the Submarine Rotational Force-West, a rotational presence of American and British nuclear powered submarines as part of the AUKUS agreement. The public works project will deliver new and upgraded facilities and infrastructure for the required operational and maintenance functions. The committee has previously approved smaller works relating to living-in accommodation and training facilities. Another set of projects related to engineering and infrastructure works was exempted from committee scrutiny in May of this year on the grounds of urgency.

During its inquiry, the committee heard concerns about the proposed works from community organisations, local government representatives and members of the local community, some of them much closer than others. Some of these concerns—for example, those relating to the AUKUS agreement and the utility of nuclear-powered submarines for Australia—fall outside the scope of the Public Works Committee's inquiry.

Other concerns relate to nuclear safety and environmental impacts. Some of these should be addressed during separate approval processes by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency and under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The committee also heard about the impact the proposed works will have on local infrastructure, such as transport and housing, which is already stressed. The committee urges Defence to continue to provide extensive and genuine consultation opportunities on all issues of concern raised by the community. Defence should also continue this consultation during the construction phase and be prepared to adapt its approach to address community concerns.

The second proposal is a fit-out of the new Commonwealth Parliament Offices at One Festival Tower in Adelaide. The $37 million project will deliver fit-for-purpose, safe and secure accommodation for ministers, parliamentarians and their staff, as well as for facilities and administrative support staff. The new offices will be larger and better equipped to handle surge capacity than the ageing facilities currently located on King William Street in Adelaide.

Given the need to ensure the physical safety of Australia's parliamentarians, the committee was somewhat surprised that the Australian Federal Police were not involved in the design stage of the proposed works. The committee recommends, in this changed world that we live in, that the AFP be involved in the design process of this fit-out and at an early stage in any subsequent CPO fit-outs. The committee acknowledges that the selected option represents value for money and appreciates the 'futureproofed' design of the fit-out.

The third proposal is a request from the Reserve Bank, which I know you've all come to hear about, to approve the construction of a temporary storage and logistics facility at a leased site. Refurbishments to the head offices in Martin Place were approved in 2020 but have been complicated by the significant amount of asbestos discovered embedded in the structure last year. This temporary facility, costed at $35 million, will enable the Reserve Bank to meet operational and strategic requirements to store goods offsite while the expanded scope of the refurbishment takes place.

The committee notes that this additional cost adds to the considerable total created by the decision to proceed with refurbishment of the bank's iconic head office at Martin Place.

The committee would like to extend its thanks to all those who provided written and oral evidence in support of these inquiries.

For each project, the committee recommends that it is expedient that the proposed works are carried out.

Speaker, I commend the report to the House, and thank you for your interest.

Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a contribution as the deputy chair, and I certainly won't delay the House.

Leave granted.

I wasn't expecting the audience. I'll confine my remarks so we can hear from former minister O'Connor. I want to speak simply around the HMAS Stirling provisions for AUKUS. Obviously, this is bipartisan support, but I would put on the record some concerns about elements that were produced by witnesses at the public hearing in recent weeks, where claims were made about particular Senate committee comments about intermediate waste being stored at HMAS Stirling. Clearly, they were misinformed. We were fortunate enough to be able to track down the Hansard. The exact words, or close enough, of the witness's answer when they were questioned by a particular senator about intermediate waste being stored in the location were, 'That is exactly not what I said.' So there will be no intermediate waste, but we do need to ensure that this debate—and people are entitled to put forward their views—is based on facts, not things that are selected from particular committee hearings. Thanks to the deputy chair for reading so quickly. I look forward to Minister O'Connor's contribution.