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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-14 Daily Xml
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PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: POLICE ACADEMY REDEVELOPMENT

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (11:50): I move:

That the 333rd report of the committee, entitled Police Academy Redevelopment, be noted.

The South Australian Police Academy is on a 14.6 hectare site at Taperoo that was originally developed by the defence department and transferred to SAPOL in 1961. The buildings on site were mainly constructed in the 1880s, 1930s and 1960s.

A study by Colliers International in 2003-04 to develop a strategy to meet SAPOL's long term training facility requirements concluded that there was minimal financial advantage to be gained from moving to another site. It was in SAPOL's best interest to consolidate the academy's activities on a smaller portion of the existing site, enabling surplus land to be released for residential development.

This project involves constructing new facilities for the Police Academy on the eastern side of the existing site. Surplus land will be transferred to the Land Management Corporation for development for residential purposes, and funds from the sale will contribute to the cost of the new facility.

The heritage listed old fort will be vacated and handed over to the LMC to find a sympathetic and compatible future use. The following facilities are proposed:

a two-storey administration and teaching staff building;

a two-storey classroom training building;

a two-storey technology and resource centre;

a single-storey auditorium, dining and parade viewing facility;

a two-storey accommodation block to provide motel style accommodation in 20 units for long and short stay terms;

a fitness and defensive tactics training building;

a building containing the facilities management function and quartermaster store;

a staff change building and a cadet change building; and

a scenario village containing replica buildings, such as a hotel, bar, pharmacy, bank, suburban house and police station.

The grounds' development will include:

a 4,000 square metre parade ground;

287 car parks for staff, course participants and visitors;

an obstacle course for recruit applicant testing and fitness and training purposes;

a memorial garden to honour the lives of police officers who have died in the line of duty;

relocation of a 66kV powerline and two Stobie poles;

general landscaping;

general fencing and gates; and

items of cultural significance that emphasise the role and importance of a professional police service to cadets, police officers and the community.

The new academy has been designed with a recognisable and distinctive campus setting in zones. These comprise a public zone, an academic zone, a training zone, an accommodation zone and various support zones. Space has been incorporated in the design of each building for 10 per cent growth. Space has also been allowed between building footprints for a 30 per cent to 50 per cent expansion in the future.

The existing academy will remain operational throughout the construction period, and the existing weapons training facility is to remain in situ. These requirements have played an important part in the site master planning process. Fitout of the classroom training and technology and resource areas is readily adaptable to future teaching methods and/or requirements. The locations of buildings, paving and underground services have been designed to allow retention of existing significant trees.

The location and orientation of buildings and structures on site has also been developed to minimise the requirement for acoustic attenuation structures. Buildings, and the spaces between them, have been designed to minimise the breakout of noise from training activities to adjacent residential and park facilities.

The redevelopment of the academy has been driven by the need to upgrade teaching, training and accommodation facilities for all users of the academy. This is important when attempting to attract recruits and provide the best possible training to serving police officers. The redevelopment will also address non-compliance issues associated with the existing facilities, in particular, disability access and ongoing risks associated with the presence of asbestos.

Construction will commence in February 2010, and it will be completed in September 2011. The pre-tender cost estimate for the project is $59 million. Of this, $32 million is expected to be recouped through the sale of surplus land. SAPOL will be responsible for the operating costs of these facilities and, so, ongoing management expenditure will be met from within SAPOL's existing budget.

A redeveloped Police Academy will provide a purpose-built training facility with state-of-the-art technology that supports SAPOL's strategic training objectives. It will also allow a degree of rationalisation through the sharing and consolidation of training activities.

It is anticipated that a modern and improved working environment will foster communication amongst co-workers and support team building and supervision. It is also expected that improved access to country-based course participants through the use of improved technology and improved accommodation will cater for short-term family stays and thus encourage their participation.

After sale of the surplus land for residential purposes, 15 per cent of dwellings will contribute to achieving the State Housing Plan's affordable housing criteria. Buildings which incorporate best practice design measures will comply with government ESD initiatives and will achieve a five star Green Star equivalent rating and landscaping which is sustainable.

It is expected that this project will result in improved amenity and presentation of the site for the wider community and provide the opportunity for compatible community use of the old fort. It is great that the Minister for Police is actually in the chamber today to hear this report being noted.

Based upon the evidence it has considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:56): I rise to support this report. I also wish to briefly recognise some visitors in the gallery from Yorkshire in the UK, who have been constantly reminding me who won the Ashes.

The fact is that this is a highly required facility, and it was something that the Public Works Committee had no hesitation whatsoever in supporting at that meeting. We were given an excellent tour of the current facility, and the need for the enhancement and the further redevelopment that was proposed was made quite clear to us.

The very things that have been happening in South Australia over the past couple of weeks with this crime wave, the break-ins and violent robberies only indicates to me just how important it is that we do give our police officers every opportunity to be trained properly and to be brought into the community in their working capacity properly.

A matter of great interest was the visit we made to the firing range and the explanation from the SAPOL people made it very clear to us how often the officers go through the procedures for firearms. We all stood well back. We were kept behind bulletproof glass; whether that was because we were members or for another reason, I am not quite sure. That alone made it very clear to me that these facilities need to be the best possible for South Australia and, indeed, perhaps they need to be the best possible facilities in Australia.

I am not sure that I am all that happy with the sell-off of some of the land, although I can understand the reasoning behind it. I am of the opinion that, with a large piece of public land like that and the future needs of the state, it would possibly be better if it was kept—if not developed at this stage, then perhaps kept for the future. However, the decision was made, and the effects of the sell-off of the land will help to fund the redevelopment.

Clearly, some of the existing facilities down there are outdated, they are not big enough, and they are badly in need of a makeover. Questions were asked in committee as to whether the development that was brought before the committee would meet the needs of the South Australia Police for an extended period, and it was made pretty clear to us that, yes, they would.

I think, generally speaking, that the SAPOL officers who I have spoken to are all highly supportive of it. Inside that facility on the day there were a number of cadets going through their training regime, and there were also large numbers of officers from around the state who had come in for upgrades. I was greatly encouraged that we do have a very good police force in South Australia. We are very lucky to have the police force that we have.

Whether they are held back in some of their capacities to operate as they should is out for the jury I would say. This is a good and much-needed project. It probably should have happened a number of years ago but, given that the former Labor governments in South Australia were broke, the money just was not there to do this, but at last it will happen. I look forward to attending the opening of that facility in due course and seeing it function as it should.

Debate adjourned.

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