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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-08 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Roma Mitchell Secondary College Redevelopment

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:51): I move:

That the 46th report of the committee, entitled Roma Mitchell Secondary College Redevelopment, be noted.

Mr BROWN: The Department for Education proposes to construct new facilities to accommodate additional student enrolments on the Roma Mitchell Secondary College site. Located on Briens Road, Gepps Cross, within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, the secondary college encompasses a girls' education campus, a separate co-education campus and a special education campus on the one site. The college offers the International Baccalaureate, with a middle years program provided for students in years 8 to 10, and a diploma program for years 11 and 12.

The project aims to provide modern educational accommodation, meet legislative compliance requirements and deliver the department's benchmark accommodation for students in a secondary school with the following key aims:

providing additional accommodation, including specialist spaces, to provide future enrolment growth in the Adelaide inner-northern areas;

providing modern, supportive learning areas; and

delivering a connected, multidisciplinary learning environment that engages learners.

The new works of the Roma Mitchell Secondary College include:

a purpose-built facility with a multifunctional gymnasium that meets international competition standards with change rooms and amenities. The sports courts will be sized for basketball, netball and futsal and will also be used for sports academy programs between the school and the Home of Football, which is located directly north of the site;

six new integrated general learning areas, a teachers' preparation area, an office and meeting room, along with dedicated weights and fitness rooms specifically for the students' sports programs; and

a cafeteria to service the gymnasium and the girls' campus that will be serviceable for weekend activities.

The project scope requires landscaping and site works with construction and landscaping occurring concurrently. The architectural form and materials used for the construction of the new works will be suitable for a school environment, durable and complement existing buildings on site.

Three options were considered for the project: firstly, to do nothing; secondly, to build a completely new school; or thirdly, to redevelop and build the new facilities on the Roma Mitchell Secondary College site. Option 3 was the preferred option, as it aligns with the key aims of the project and provides for the construction of suitable and compliant learning and educational facilities.

The capital cost is $20.9 million, and construction has commenced with practical completion expected in December this year. The department states that sustainable development strategies have been incorporated into the project design and delivery, to ensure that energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced over the lifespan of the project. This includes integrated water, material, waste and physical environment initiatives to ensure that ecologically sustainable considerations are adhered to. To integrate these initiatives, a passive design has been developed to incorporate natural light to learning spaces as well as shading to windows, and the project design has utilised vegetation to create cool air and the optimisation of orientation to increase natural breezes.

Delivery of the project will require contractors to work under the environmental heritage and sustainability requirements of the department. An environmental management plan addressing key environmental and heritage components will be developed to ensure that any environmental risks associated with the project are managed correctly and are in compliance with current legislation.

The department confirms that risk assessments have been undertaken, which determined that there is a medium range of risk. To mitigate these risks, the project team has demonstrated experience in the delivery of education projects, including the previous Roma Mitchell College redevelopment of the senior campus and girls' campus, and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport is providing full project risk management services in the project management, design, cost, procurement and construction stages.

The Department for Environment and Water has confirmed there are no local heritage places or items on the site. After consultation with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet's Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Unit, the department confirms there are no native title implications over the site area.

Consultation and engagement have ensued, and have been endorsed by the principal, governing council, school staff and the education director of the secondary school. There has been close involvement and direct representation with the governing council and school staff during each stage of the project, and great care has been taken at the concept planning stage to consult and ensure that the needs and requirements of all stakeholders were taken into consideration.

The committee has examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Roma Mitchell Secondary College redevelopment. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were: Helen Doyle, Director, Capital Projects and Technical Services, Department for Education; James Macdonald, Manager, Project Management, Building Projects, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Nicole Dent, Associate Director, Grieve Gillett Andersen. I thank the witnesses for their time.

Based upon the evidence 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. I must also say that I had the honour of attending at the site with the minister and a few of my colleagues the other week, and I can say that not only is the school leadership very excited about this project but also the students themselves are very excited to get the new facilities.

Motion carried.

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