Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Public Works I present the 13th report for 2006 of the committee, relating to the proposed Australian Institute of Police Management redevelopment at North Head, Manly, New South Wales.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

by leave—The report examines the proposal to redevelop the Australian Institute of Police Management site at North Head, Manly. The estimated cost of the proposed works is $16.224 million. The AIPM is located on 1.7 hectares of harbour-front land at the end of Collins Beach Road, Manly, and has operated from this site since 1960. The AIPM provides senior management and executive development, education and consultancy services for Australasian and international law enforcement agencies and public safety agencies.

The Australian Federal Police submitted that the aim of the redevelopment is to improve the operational efficiency and the long-term sustainability of the AIPM, to expand its functional capacity and to modernise security. According to the AFP the redevelopment will consist of: the replacement of residential accommodation blocks, administrative and academic office accommodation and senior common room facilities; the refurbishment of existing library, teaching, dining areas and specific heritage buildings; the construction of soft and hard landscaping to various areas of the site including consolidation of car parking; the removal of existing barrack style accommodation buildings and miscellaneous stores areas; and landscaping works to improve the environment for both the human and native fauna occupants of the site.

On 2 June 2006 the committee inspected the site and the environs of the proposed works. The committee also received a confidential briefing from the AFP and held a public hearing in Manly later that day. At the public hearing the committee heard of large-scale community concerns with the proposal, and acknowledges the receipt of a 366-signature petition opposing the works. Much of the community concern related to the culturally and environmentally sensitive nature of the site. The committee feels that had the AFP undertaken to consult early with the local community and in a transparent way then many of the concerns that were raised by community groups could have been addressed and, indeed, alleviated.

The site provides a habitat for a number of endangered populations. Of particular importance are the little penguin and long-nosed bandicoot populations. The whole of the North Head, which includes the AIPM site, was placed on the National Heritage List on 12 May 2006. As a result, any works that proceed on this site need to give consideration to the environmental and heritage impacts that they may have, and the current proposal has been referred to the Department of the Environment and Heritage for its consideration. The committee recommends that the AFP supply it, and the local council and community, with copies of the construction environment management plan, the conservation management plan and the traffic management plan once these plans have been fully formulated. These plans should not only address but therefore alleviate many of the negative impacts that the development would otherwise have had on this site.

The committee recognises the benefits of integrated management of the North Head. As a result, the committee recommends that the AFP works with the Manly Council, as well as other North Head stakeholders, to ensure integrated management of the North Head. At the hearing the committee also heard of community difficulty with accessing the 1979 land use agreement which allows the Commonwealth to use the site as a police college until such time as it is deemed to be surplus to Commonwealth requirements. The committee is satisfied with the legal advice, received from the AFP and communicated to the committee, that the Commonwealth retains control and administration of the site, and accepts the AFP’s preference for the 1979 land use agreement to be accessed through the New South Wales state parliament.

The local community raised concerns that the redevelopment was commercially driven and that potential existed for the site to be commercially let. The committee questioned the AFP as to the extent of commercial use of the site, and was informed that commercial use amounted to 16 per cent of the total use. The committee was assured that large-scale commercialisation at the site would not occur. Having given detailed consideration to the proposal, the committee recommends that the Australian Institute of Police Management redevelopment, North Head, Manly, proceed at an estimated cost of $16.224 million. In closing, I once again thank all those who assisted the committee with its inspection and public hearing, those who took an interest in making submissions, my committee colleagues, the secretariat staff and Hansard. I commend the report to the House.