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 following reports: Report No.8 of 2024, Department of DefenceArmy AviationOmnibus Program of Works and other works; and report No. 9 of 2024, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the ArtsCommand Centre and Canine Facility at Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport and other works.

Reports made parliamentary papers in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the eighth and ninth reports for 2024. Together, these reports consider six proposals referred to the committee by the Department of Defence, the CSIRO, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. In total, these works have a combined value of just over $1,213,000,000.

The two proposals from Defence sought to spend $651 million to provide upgraded facilities and infrastructure for aircraft at RAAF base Townsville, HMAS Albatross in Nowra and HMAS Stirling near Rockingham in WA. The project at RAAF Base Townsville will support 29 Apache attack helicopters acquired in March 2022. These aircraft will replace the Tiger fleet operated by the 1st Aviation Regiment. The works will also provide new permanent facilities for the 16th Aviation Brigade, who relocated to RAAF Base Townsville from Gallipoli Barracks in 2024. The committee did not identify any concerns with the proposal.

The project at HMAS Albatross in Nowra will provide new and upgraded facilities and infrastructure to provide 12 new MH-60R Seahawk Romeo helicopters for the Navy. This includes upgrades to hangars and administration areas, extensions of car parking spaces, a new headquarters, training simulator facilities that we inspected and the construction of aircraft pavement and aprons. One element, an equipment shelter, will be constructed at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia. The committee did not identify any concerns with the proposal and encourages Defence to support the participation of the local Shoalhaven construction industry in this project where possible.

The proposal from the CSIRO sought to spend $29.9 million to replace ageing electrical infrastructure at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness. The infrastructure was installed in 1985 and the switchboards, cabling and generators need preplacement. The centre is a purpose-built facility that protects Australia's livestock and aquaculture industries from exotic and emerging infectious animal and zoonotic diseases. The works will also feed into a multistage part-life refit of the centre to enable operations to continue for the next 30 years.

After an inspection, the committee did not identify any concerns with the proposal and acknowledges the important work of the centre and the severe consequences that would result for any failure in biosecurity containment.

The two proposals from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade sought to spend $219 million for construction of a new chancery in Honiara in the Solomon Islands and an office consolidation and fit-out here in Canberra. The new chancery in Honiara will support Australia's crucial diplomatic presence in the South Pacific. The existing chancery was constructed in the 1980s and, although it has had an extension and fit-out since opening, it no longer meets the Australian government's needs. Construction will use an Australian modular prefabricated off-site manufactured approach. The modular construction will allow the building to be constructed and commissioned in Australia and then dismantled, shipped and reassembled on-site in the Solomons, and the committee hope to inspect the construction process. The committee did not identify any issues or concerns with the proposal. The committee noted the benefits of the prefabricated construction method.

The DFAT office fit-out in Canberra will consolidate three buildings with leases expiring in 2026 and 2027 to a single site in Barton close to the future National Security Office Precinct. The premises will accommodate 1,500 staff. The fit-out will include two basement-level car parks, a ground floor and five levels of office space.

The committee did not identify any issues or concerns with the proposal and encourages DFAT's intention to provide further opportunities for staff to give feedback on the design before fit-out inclusions are finalised.

The final proposal is for a command centre and a canine facility at Western Sydney International Airport, put forward by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, for a cost just over $312 million.

The opening of the airport in late 2026 will generate a large volume of international passengers and cargo. The establishment of the command centre and canine facility will enable the Australian Border Force, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Federal Police to manage aviation security, biosecurity and other international border arrangements. The committee did not identify any issues or concerns with the proposal and notes the benefits of co-locating agencies with shared border protection responsibilities. The committee also notes that the agency will be leading specialist elements of each fit-out individually, which may require further committee scrutiny.

The committee would like to extend its thanks to those who provided written and oral evidence in support of these inquiries and also for those that assisted with the inspections for all projects. The committee recommends that it is expedient that the proposed works be carried out. I commend the reports to the House.