Page 3775 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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remain open to this and we will indeed be very interested to see what the private sector can do and how the private sector responds.
On the issue of “carbon neutral enabled”, on this issue of the environmental sustainability of the building I would like to again commend the government for its commitment to pursuing carbon neutral government office buildings. However, we believe that whole of life cycle impacts need to be considered, not just a commitment to constructing a brand-new carbon neutral enabled building. As far as we can see, the current preferred option for a new building requires 52 per cent of its renewable energy production to be off site. This is a significant purchase, and we would prefer that greater emphasis be placed on improving the efficiency of the building rather than the off-site purchase of renewable energy, which of course could make any building carbon neutral.
As I said, I do have some amendments which I think better reflect the current situation and a better way forward from the position that we find ourselves in now. I move:
Omit all words after “That this Assembly”, substitute:
“(1) notes:
(a) that the 2011-2012 Budget appropriated $500 000 for further evaluation of options for government office accommodation;
(b) that funding for the final project has not yet been approved by the Assembly;
(c) that the Government has committed to market testing the delivery of a government office building;
(d) the Government commitment to house public servants in buildings that achieve and maintain a minimum 4.5 star NABERS rating, and to pursuing carbon neutrality in ACT Government operations by 2020;
(e) Resource Management Plans were supposed to be completed for all agencies by 2009 and most remain outstanding; and
(f) ACT public servants should be provided with accommodation that:
(i) provides safe and professional workplaces;
(ii) provides more efficient services to the community;
(iii) meets our responsibility to the environment and our legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets; and
(iv) delivers the most financially responsible option for the ACT budget and taxpayers; and
(2) calls on the Government to:
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