Page 2810 - Week 09 - Thursday, 27 September 2007
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meantime, my department is charged with the responsibility for managing these surplus government properties. Some will remain vacant; some will continue to be tenanted as they are now.
Government properties, including former schools that are no longer required by holding agencies, are transferred to the property group within the Department of Territory and Municipal Services for management while their future use is considered, in accordance with the whole of government surplus property policy. The schools identified for closure will no longer be available for casual hire, as the property group is not resourced to provide janitorial services. Accordingly, organisations have been encouraged to approach the other community venues in their area to seek alternative arrangements.
Some properties come with existing tenants in them and need to be managed accordingly. The tenants are contacted and advised that the tenancy will continue until the property evaluation is completed or suitable alternative accommodation is identified. Notwithstanding that there were no existing tenancies at Tharwa or Hall, it has been agreed that, given the special requirements of these small towns, the local community can access or sublease some of the facilities in their closed schools. At Tharwa, permission has been given to access kitchens for a community fair, while at Hall the Hall Progress Association has been granted a sublease for use of the old headmaster’s cottage for a couple of nights a month. The latter will enable the association to conduct its regular community meetings and keeps monthly rent to an absolute minimum.
The property group took over responsibility for the maintenance and security of the closed schools at the end of the 2006 school year. All security arrangements and building safety systems are maintained at all sites, including fire protection and alarms. Security patrols monitor the sites regularly. The operational aspects of managing these surplus properties include maintaining utilities, maintaining the buildings, fire protection, maintaining active security—patrols—and passive security systems—alarms—maintaining the grounds, and responding to and repairing vandalism.
Whilst vandalism is a problem with schools that do not have a permanent presence on site, vandalism also occurs in occupied schools and is a cost that has to be factored in to the operational costs. Since taking over the management of these properties, the property group has responded to incidents of vandalism, mostly involving broken windows. Where the windows are utilised by a tenant, they are replaced; otherwise the glass is removed and the windows are boarded up to discourage further vandalism. The government is aware that, whilst consultation with the community on the future use of these schools is underway, we must continue to bear these costs to ensure we protect the community asset whilst a decision is made as to their future use. We will continue to manage these properties so that their value is retained until we announce the future of these sites in early 2008.
I was wondering for a while where Mr Smyth was going with this issue of school furniture. I was thinking to myself that there has been a policy about the disposal of surplus school furniture for decades, and I could not imagine that any disposal would be outside that policy. I think my colleague the minister for education has undertaken
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