Question Time

POLICE HEADQUARTERS

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police a question regarding the leak or announcement from the budget that we are likely to see tomorrow of the $38 million to be provided—

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Is this the newspaper?

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Ridgway will not be so easily distracted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Sorry, Mr President. I am a little tired from last night and I am easily distracted today. However, I will attempt to stay focused on the question. In The Advertiser today and by press release on radio this morning with the Treasurer speaking about it, we have heard that $38 million is to be provided—

The PRESIDENT: Order! You have to seek leave.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: I thought I did.

The PRESIDENT: You kept going. Is leave granted?

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: On radio this morning the Treasurer discussed his commitment to provide $38 million in the budget (to be announced tomorrow)—as reported in The Advertiser today by Mr Greg Kelton—to help establish for the South Australian police a new state-of-the-art headquarters in the city. The press announcement states:

Mr Foley said the $38 million would help police establish a new site and called for registrations of interest for the new building.

This is the second time that this has been proposed by the government. I would refer you to an article published in The Australian of 14 June 2007, which states:

The Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure went to the market last year with plans to relocate 860 staff from its ageing suburban Walkerville base—as well as 500 more from other locations—to a flood of new office tower accommodation either being built or planned in the CBD. A handful of developers were...shortlisted after the expressions of interest process. But government concerns about the department having to pay rent of about $12.5 million per year resulted in the planned move being delayed for at least 12 months. 'It's very frustrating when developers spend thousands of dollars putting up proposals, and then have the carpet pulled from under them at the last minute', said one developer...Another said he believed developers were 'pissed off' by the department's time wasting...'.

They believed government priorities were for different new buildings. The Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure delay is stated to be the second time in a year that the state government agency has disappointed local developers. The South Australian police also went to the market seeking new space and finally decided (last year) to exercise a new four-year lease option enabling them to continue in their existing premises until 2012.

We know that this particular proposal is post-2012. My question to the minister is: how will the $38 million provided for this exciting (as they describe it) new state-of-the-art city headquarters for SAPOL be spent? Will it be spent on providing a process for expressions of interest for the fit-out of the new building, or for what other particular equipment or rent will that $38 million be provided and when will it be provided?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:22): I am pleased that the Leader of the Opposition has given me the opportunity to talk about the police budget, because it is indeed very good news for South Australia. In the budget to be brought down tomorrow, we will see another record budget for police. In addition to the 11 per cent increase in operational funding for police, for the first time in the budget there is the provision of the $38 million that the honourable member has mentioned for the relocation of police headquarters.

The honourable member is quite correct: the police have been looking for some time at their building. The contract for their current Flinders Street office, which is increasingly becoming less satisfactory for police operations, will expire in 2012. That is why the government has been looking at the options in relation—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The $38 million is the cost that will be involved in relocating police headquarters. There are a number of options. As I indicated today, the government will shortly be calling for registrations of interest for the new building. The $38 million is the estimate of what a new fit-out and relocation expenses would be. The Flinders Street building has been used as police headquarters since 1993. The police were previously in Victoria Square, where the new High Court building is now located. They were shifted then to the Flinders Street building. The contract was continued some years ago.

By the time the lease expires in 2012, the police will be well and truly due for new accommodation. It is important that they have state-of-the-art headquarters in the city. There will be costs involved with a fit-out that will need to meet the requirements of a modern police force. They have very sophisticated computer equipment and other sections, which obviously will be located within the new building. So, those costs (the $38 million) amount to the current estimate of what it will cost to provide for the fit-out and the relocation costs involved with SAPOL moving to new headquarters.