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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-05-02 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Kapunda High School Redevelopment

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:16): I move:

That the 63rd report of the committee, entitled Kapunda High School Redevelopment, be noted.

The Department for Education proposes to redevelop fire-damaged facilities at Kapunda High School, which will involve the complete restoration of an affected state heritage-listed building and replacement of an affected transportable building, including provisions for a staffroom area and staff amenity consolidation.

Kapunda High School is located on West Terrace, Kapunda, within the Light Regional Council area. In March 2022 the high school suffered a major fire, which severely damaged the state heritage building known as Eringa, as well as a timber transportable building that accommodated four learning areas and resulted in the loss of teaching facilities.

Eringa was originally built in 1876 and had been gifted by renowned pastoralist Sir Sidney Kidman in 1921 to the education department for high school purposes. As Eringa is state heritage listed, the restoration will aim to reinstate the building to its original form and be as close as possible to its pre-existing construction and condition, while optimising its long-term functional use as a school administration hub.

Work will be carried out in line with Heritage SA requirements, with interior finishes selected suitable to the federation-style era of the building. The remaining fire-affected building that included four learning spaces will be replaced by the construction of a single-storey facility with an open plan and collaborative layout, in conjunction with access to shared interdisciplinary learning areas. Selected interior finishes have been chosen to promote and elevate the learning environment.

The redevelopment will also see the construction of new staffroom provisions to allow for staff amenity consolidation, as well as the development of outdoor areas with moveable stations to provide flexible student gathering spaces, and the provision of disability access via a new lift and fully accessible amenities. The remaining buildings are in good condition, which allows for the construction of new infrastructure and the redevelopment of existing facilities to reflect contemporary educational requirements.

Once complete, the works will result in the high school catering for a total school enrolment of 700 places. The key aims of the project include to:

restore a state heritage-listed building to its original structure and condition, providing contemporary administration spaces;

provide new accommodation to support contemporary teaching and learning pedagogies;

develop creative, flexible learning spaces to enhance student engagement and allow collaborative teaching practices; and

make provisions for persons with disabilities in accordance with legislative requirements.

At a capital cost of $21 million, the project is currently in the tender phase, with estimated practical completion in September 2025. Project construction will follow two stages, with stage 1 comprising demolition and stage 2 comprising construction and restoration works. The school will remain operational for the duration of the works, with staff and students remaining on premises.

Best practice principles for the project procurement and management will be followed as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities. Risk assessment has been undertaken and determined the project has a medium range of risk relating to construction program and cost. A further risk identified is with the staff and students remaining on site during construction. This risk will be mitigated through utilising a staged approach to meet the needs of the school without impeding the project, alongside controlling entry and securing the construction site.

To mitigate further risk, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport is providing risk management services through project management, design, cost, procurement and construction and the proposed project team are experienced in delivery of educational projects. The department reports that it has adopted ecologically sustainable strategies in the design and delivery of the project and has incorporated these principles to reduce energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The project will use a holistic, life-cycle approach to planning, design, costing, construction, maintenance and building management.

Sustainability principles will be achieved via design measures that allow for natural light to learning spaces, shading of windows, increased access to preferred solar orientation, and natural breezes and the use of vegetation to create cool air. Additionally, design elements for the new building provide for minimal internal structural elements, ensuring future adaptability of the learning spaces within the building envelope.

Consultation and engagement have occurred throughout the project, in particular with the principal, governing council, school staff and the education director, who all endorse the project. At each stage, the governing council and school staff have been closely involved with direct representation on the project development. During the concept planning stage, care has been taken to consult and ensure the needs of all stakeholders were considered.

The Department for Environment and Water confirms there is one state heritage place on the development site directly affected by these works. A check of the Register of Aboriginal Sites and Objects determined there is no record of Aboriginal sites within the project area.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Kapunda High School redevelopment project. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Helen Doyle, Director, Capital Projects and Technical Services, Department for Education; John Harrison, Director, Building Projects, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Nicole Dent, Associate Director, Grieve Gillett Architects. I thank the witnesses for their time. I would also like to thank the member for Frome for her statement to the committee in support of the project in her electorate.

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.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (11:22): I am very pleased that the Public Works Committee has considered the Kapunda High School project and given it its support. I am grateful, and particularly the member for Frome is grateful, that the education department is doing this tremendously important work.

The Eringa building is more than just a facility in which education is undertaken. It is a part of our state's history. It is a critical part of the cultural history and heritage of the town of Kapunda. There are members of parliament who have undertaken lessons in that building and they understand its value, but it is the people who live in that town and continue to maintain the connection through the high school to that building who are very important.

It was only a few days after the last state election when the news came through that fire had torn through the Eringa building and created such extraordinary devastation to this beautiful heritage asset. When I was the Minister for Education, I had the opportunity on at least two occasions to engage with students and staff there. It is still in functional use, despite its, let's call them, heritage features. It was not built for modern-day education necessarily, but people still valued being able to undertake seminars, do work and have right in the midst of the school this beautiful heritage building.

Given the community's interest and given the generations of students who have maintained a connection through Kapunda High School and the pride felt for that building and its connection to broader South Australian history, it was perhaps unsurprising when not only members of the school community gathered that morning in shock, disbelief and sadness but also members of the broader community who came along.

It was, as I said, shortly after the election. The member for Frome had just been elected. When she was a candidate, she and I would engage with the school community for a period of time, so she was a familiar face to that. She came along. She obviously lived closer than I did, but having recently been the minister, and having had good and strong relationships with many of the staff and even a few of the students at that school, I thought it would be helpful for me to go along as well and show my support. Obviously, the Minister for Education, in what might have been one of his first school visits as the newly sworn-in minister, came along as well.

He addressed staff. It was not long after 9 o'clock—it was early in the morning—and it was excellent that he was able to make himself available at such short notice. One of the key requests that the community had right from the start at that point, and which I, again, credit the Minister for Education for hearing and listening to, was that this building should be sought to be restored, that it not just be replaced with a modern learning space but something that would actually give genuine credit to the heritage and the built form that was so important to the school. We hope that will continue to be the case.

I thank the Minister for Education for engaging with the opposition on a regular basis on this project, and particularly with the member for Frome. The member for Frome has had an extreme level of diligence and a strong level of personal interest in seeing this project fulfilled to its best possible outcome, most importantly for the Kapunda High School and the students and staff who will continue to engage in it but also as a reflection of the heritage issues that are so important in the town of Kapunda and in our state.

I wish the department well in its continued work and indeed those people from the building firms and the trades that are doing this important work. We hope this will be a building that will continue to play an important role in the future of Kapunda High School education and the community of Kapunda for many years to come.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:26): I would just like to take this opportunity to, as always, thank the member for Morialta for his contribution to this debate and I commend the report to the house.

Motion carried.

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