Page 3770 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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fact is that doing nothing is not an option. One way or another, there will be costs associated with moving our public servants into environmentally sustainable accommodation over the course of the coming decade.
The government is determined to house its workers in a way that meets contemporary occupational health and safety standards and helps us attract and retain the best people to serve Canberrans. And we will do so in a way that meets our environmental obligations. Most importantly, though, we will do so in a way that represents best value for money for the ACT taxpayer.
Mr Seselja’s motion asks the Assembly to note the government’s determination to push on with the government office block. Let me assure the Assembly we are absolutely determined to press on with an office block in Gungahlin, and we are determined to upgrade city accommodation for our workers. Approximately 30,000 square metres of accommodation owned by the government has reached or is nearing the end of its useful life. Over 90 per cent of leased accommodation is rated B grade or lower and does not meet with the government’s environmental policy.
Knowing this, we have, over the past few years, examined our future options. Five options have been evaluated, including two options to consolidate into a single building. Three business-as-usual options were also considered, ranging from upgrading our existing accommodation over time through to doing absolutely nothing. The evaluation concluded that consolidation of 3,500 of the territory’s public servants into a single building in Civic provided the best value for money for the territory over 25 years.
Further expert financial analysis concluded that a government-owned model would be the most cost effective. This is principally because the cost and availability of finance is much cheaper for the territory than for the private sector. Upgrading our existing buildings was found to be the most expensive option. Additionally, this option would not deliver the benefits of having key public servants in one place and close to the Assembly.
The motion calls upon this place to note the ACT has the highest office vacancies in the country—a simplistic and misleading statement that you would expect from this opposition. So let us have a look at the facts. The CBRE market view reports a vacancy rate of 11 per cent for A-grade buildings at January 2011, a reduction from 13.7 per cent for the same period last year.
As an indication of the volatility of vacancy rates, the Knight Frank market overview of April 2011 states that 64,000 square metres of A-grade office space was absorbed by the market in the year to January 2011. Further, the report states that whilst A-grade vacancy measures 11 per cent, that drops to 6.5 per cent when the airport precinct is excluded. With little or no A-grade office space coming into the market, it is likely that all A-grade space in Civic will be fully absorbed within the next 12 to 24 months.
It is worth noting that the ACT government is not a major occupier of leased accommodation. It currently leases less than two per cent of the leased property portfolio in Canberra. As such, the development of any new building will only
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