22 May 2009

Defence to expand its empire to Anzac Park West?

| johnboy
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The ABC brings the happy news that the long abandoned, but occasionally re-fitted at great expense, Anzac Park West (big building at the end of Anzac Parade) has had a nibble from Defence who want to put 900 staff in there who don’t quite make the grade for office space in Russell.

    Public Works Committee Chair Mark Butler says the Department of Finance wants to spend $45 million to fit-out the offices to house 900 Defence Department staff.

    “The public works committee will be considering that, including a public hearing in mid-July,” he said.

    “We’ll assess that proposal according to its need and scope and value for money paid by taxpayers, and all those things being satisfied, finally Anzac Park West will be occupied.”

Wouldn’t want to move too fast would they?

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Yep, the walk from East is about 15 minutes, if you don’t get lucky with the traffic lights (to allara st, anyway). I reckon they’ve got fences up around AP West so as not to interfere with parking revenue next door at the carpark opposite TAFE.

Civic is a good 30-45min walk depending on where you walk to.

Rubbish! It takes 10 minutes to walk from Anzac Park East to Civic. I know because I’ve done it every working day for the last three years. Its really not that far.

Yep – $45 mill on top of the $75 mill the AFP already spent there….jeez that’s a lot of money to fit out a building….

And let’s not forget the money the AFP is now spending on the Edmund Barton Building (that hopefully will be big enough for them)and the money on the new ASIO building.

Rudd – singlehandedly keeping construction alive in Canberra.

#4 – “Makes you wonder why they left in the first place”

Well, back then we were in the middle of a ‘Defence Efficiency Review’ where they cut costs massively.
Now, defence has their hand in about a dozen wars and even more peacekeeping, they need the space back.

Who benefits from the ‘free parking’ that would be taken away? Civic is a good 30-45min walk depending on where you walk to. When they introduced pay parking, they made it free for staff who worked at the premises anyway.

Why would they need to spend $45 mil? Didn’t the AFP fit it out already?

Steady Eddie9:57 am 22 May 09

Defence was originally in APW until around ten years ago. Now they’re going back again. Makes you wonder why they left in the first place.

Spectra: Rumour has it that it suffers from Sick Building Syndrome.

Considering Defence is desperately short of real estate in Canberra and is paying Mr Snow and GE an absolute mint to rent back facilities it once owned it is about time someone showed some fortitude and made a decision on ANZAC Park West. Now that the AFP has spent a fortune on renovating it and found it still would not be suitable.

Now, I wonder if the same decision can be made for the East building? Though they may be scared of the “negative feedback” they’ll get by taking away the free car parking people have there…

Hell – next someone will be suggesting that Anzac Park East should maybe get some tenants after sitting empty for over a decade…

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