Judith Troeth (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the 72nd annual report and the first report of 2009 on the Enhanced Land Force Stage 1 Facilities Project. I seek leave to move a motion in relation to the reports.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate take note of the reports.

I seek leave to incorporate a tabling statement in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

On behalf of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, I present the Committee’s Seventy-Second Annual Report and its first report of 2009.

The Annual Report, required by the Committee’s Act, outlines the Committee’s work over 2008. In total, the Committee investigated

19 proposals totalling $1.8 billion. The Committee was also notified of 63 works under the threshold limit for investigation totalling $330 million of expenditure.

The Annual Report outlines some of the issues that arose for the Committee during the course of the year, but recognising that the public information presented to it is widely available, it has not reported in great detail on those matters already in the public domain.

I also table the Committee’s first report of 2009 on the Enhanced Land Force Stage 1 Facilities Project proposed by the Department of Defence. This project is valued at $793 million in locations across Australia with nearly half of the expenditure occurring in Townsville.

The facilities provided under this initiative will provide for the expected 3 000 personnel increase in the Defence Force as well as providing employment in many regional areas during construction.

The Committee has recommended that the House agree to the project proceeding. I would like to thank the Members and Senators on the Committee for their work in relation to this inquiry.

I commend this report to the House.

Question agreed to.