Immigration management have been lambasted over their plan to spend a quarter of a billion dollars fitting out a new office, with the politicians asked to approve the proposal accusing them of poor preparation and failing to provide vital information.
Even Turnbull government MPs say they are "deeply unimpressed" with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's handling of the mega-proposal, going so far as to compare its top officials to "unco-operative witnesses".
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Peter Dutton's Immigration department has put forward a proposal to spend more than $250 million fitting out its Canberra offices.
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Hey big spender
Peter Dutton's Immigration department has put forward a proposal to spend more than $250 million fitting out its Canberra offices.
In a heated hearing last week, members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works also castigated the department for providing it with incorrect figures, a blunder secretary Mike Pezzullo blamed on a consultant who used "the wrong spreadsheet".Â
The department is seeking approval to spend $255 million to fit out a new Canberra headquarters, in what is thought to be the most expensive plan of its type in federal government history. Under the proposal, the number of buildings the department inhabits in the national capital would shrink from 12 to five, with the main office located in a new state-of-the-art building next to Canberra Airport.
Mr Pezzullo said the consolidation will ultimately deliver a net benefit to the taxpayer, with more than $230 million in savings over 30 years.
But some committee members have suggested the proposal may not be approved in its current form, which is heavily reliant on landlord "lease incentives".
Committee members are concerned the incentives distort the true cost of the proposal, making it less than transparent.
Liberal committee chairman Scott Buchholz led the attack, accusing the department of repeatedly changing its proposal and not informing MPs.
"The committee is deeply unimpressed with the way it has been provided with information on this project to date," he said.
"This is unacceptable as the committee can only make judgements about the project based on the information that is provided."
Mr Buchholz told Mr Pezzullo and the paramilitary Border Force's boss Roman Quaedvlieg that the department's "lack of preparation" had made the committee's job far more difficult, leading to significant delays in its deliberations.
"While I do not believe it is the department's intention to be unco-operative, it would be understandable if the committee members saw the department as unco-operative witnesses," he said.
Members also raised concerns about value for money, with Labor senator Alex Gallacher pointing out the new building has been sitting empty for eight years.
"You're paying the maximum rate that you would pay for a lease in Canberra, in an area where the building is eight years old and there is allegedly somewhere between a 20 per cent and 40 per cent occupancy rate," he said.
But senior official Ben Wright said it was a "good deal" and noted the building's condition as "a cold shell" meant it was cheaper and easier to fit out to the department's specifications.
The fit-out is due to begin in August this year and be completed by February 2021. The upgraded buildings would accommodate 6000 staff.
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