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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: South Australia Police Barracks Relocation Project—Road Safety Centre

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:34): I move:

That the 65th report of the committee, entitled South Australia Police Barracks Relocation Project—Road Safety Centre, be noted.

South Australia Police (SAPOL) are relocating the Road Safety Centre, currently at the Thebarton Police Barracks, to vacant Crown land on Military Road at West Beach. This will enable the construction of the new Women's and Children's Hospital, announced by the state government in September 2022.

The centre plays an important role in SAPOL's Road Safety Strategy, with police delivering road safety sessions primarily to younger school students. This encompasses an interactive digital experience, theory sessions in a classroom setting and the completion of a supervised, practical component of riding bicycles on the mock roadway. Offsite services are also offered to schools, businesses and other community groups. The centre also offers other road safety-related programs, such as 'Safer journeys together' and 'Obtaining your motorcycle licence' sessions for young drivers and adults, as well as providing school holiday programs and young offender sessions.

Several sites were investigated by SAPOL in partnership with Renewal SA and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, taking into consideration feasibility, the best equivalent for accommodation requirements and adaptability of layout for operational fit-outs, the quality of infrastructure, and location match. This assessment concluded that the nominated block of land at West Beach was best suited to the needs and requirements to ensure critical operational capability is maintained.

Key criteria for site shortlisting included public transport links for schools, sufficient area for mock roadway facilities and sufficient staff accommodation. The likely completion of works is expected to be in the middle of this year to facilitate the relocation from the Thebarton barracks. The expected outcomes of the project include:

provision of contemporary accommodation, technology and facilities to support ongoing service to the community;

creation of modern facilities for the delivery of road safety education to the community to reduce the number of lives lost on South Australian roads;

support to SAPOL and the government of South Australia's core service obligations to the community in the most efficient and sustainable manner;

expedited relocation from the police barracks to allow for critical works to proceed on the new Women's and Children's Hospital, in line with government commitments;

creation of jobs during the construction phase; and

support for SAPOL's Our Strategy 2030—Safer Communities by ensuring prompt and effective service delivery, maintaining a visible police presence in the community, reassuring the public, and ensuring resources are deployed to emergencies and events when required.

SAPOL states that the project will be managed in line with the Department for Infrastructure and Transport's framework for small construction projects. Further key project management elements include regular design documentation and construction progress reviews, establishment of a cost plan that incorporates management of the project cost, and the development of formal communication channels between end users, stakeholders and SAPOL to ensure that government requirements are understood and achieved.

SAPOL states that failing to achieve successful delivery of the project would present a significant operational risk. A tight project program with a critical delivery date has been determined to allow commissioning and decant prior to the commencement of construction of the new Women's and Children's Hospital, and there would likely be a major impairment of SAPOL's operational capability if the project is not delivered within the expected time frame.

This accelerated delivery carries a risk of incurring cost overruns, and a multiagency governance framework is in place to ensure a value-for-money outcome. Project governance structures have also been established to ensure there is appropriate oversight and risk management during the planning and delivery stages.

SAPOL recognises the importance of ecologically sustainable development principles and reports that it has adopted key environmental objectives and criteria in the design and delivery of the project, with SAPOL committed to providing facilities with good environmental qualities to achieve good value-for-money solutions, providing a positive workplace, reducing energy and water consumption and minimising recurrent costs associated with maintaining and operating the facility.

The Department for Environment and Water has assessed and approved the submission against the Ecologically Sustainable Development Guide Note for Planning, Design and Delivery. Heritage South Australia, within the Department for Environment and Water, has confirmed there are no local heritage places on the site. A check of the Register of Aboriginal Sites and Objects determined there is no record of Aboriginal sites at the West Beach location. The SAPOL relocation project team will engage as necessary with Aboriginal groups as part of design progression and will manage Aboriginal heritage in accordance with its standard practices should any discoveries be made.

Consultation and engagement has occurred throughout the feasibility and concept planning works for the SAPOL Police Barracks Relocation Project, and further consultation with various stakeholders will continue throughout the project life cycle. SAPOL will manage the required communications around site planning and logistics to ensure all users receive appropriate information on the project via SAPOL's communications team.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the South Australia Police Barracks Relocation Project—Road Safety Centre. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Noel Bamford, Assistant Commissioner, South Australia Police; Scott Bayliss, Chief Services Officer, Department of Treasury and Finance; and Kate Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, West Beach Parks. 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.

Motion carried.

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