Page 3780 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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accommodation! No, it is not. The government’s approach is flawed, and that is why the government has had such difficulty in delivering infrastructure projects on time and on budget.
It is worth reading the whole of the government’s paragraph:
The future office accommodation strategy is now influenced by the Government’s decision to proceed with the new ACT Government Office Building. The new government office will see significant consolidation of current office accommodation and changes to planned office refits/refurbishments. The office accommodation strategy will now be revised in line with this decision.
The strategy is not finished, yet it is being revised to meet the government’s decision. That is not strategic planning. That is not how you deliver a viable long-term city and is not how you deliver a viable long-term sustainable public service.
The Greens are letting the government off the hook, as they always do. I guess one of the benefits of being in the GLA, the Greens-Labor agreement, is that you can just let the partner off the hook. What has it asked the government to do? Ensure some feasibility and market testing are done. The opposition has been saying right from the very start that we believe the private sector can deliver this.
Ms Hunter points to the fact that all commonwealth public servants in the ACT are now housed in five-star accommodation. Yes they are, as a consequence of the Howard government’s commitment to deliver appropriate accommodation for commonwealth public servants in partnership with the private sector. That is why it has occurred, except in a couple of specific cases where national security is involved, like Defence and ASIO. They are the two exceptions. ASIO, I think, was a decision finally taken by the current government. Whatever it is, the majority of public servants are in accommodation provided by the private sector. And there is nothing wrong with that model.
What does paragraph (b) say? It says:
ensure that whole of life cycle analysis … is considered;
I am sure the government is going to consider it. Paragraph (c) says:
finalise the government office accommodation strategy;
We are going to get a strategy that is already informed by the new building. We are not getting a strategy, we are getting the remainder strategy. And then it says:
report back to the Assembly …
I can see the minister standing up in December 2011 and reporting that, consistent with the decision they took in the 2011-12 budget, they are proceeding. And what will you do then, Greens?
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