Question regarding the cancelled Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) headquarters move to Murdoch, including costs, reasons for cancellation, staff working arrangements, and laboratory locations for shot-hole borer work.

AnsweredQoN 959Legislative Council
Asked
21 August 2024
Portfolio
Agriculture and Food

QuestionView source ↗

DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY
INDUSTRIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES — MURDOCH UNIVERSITY
959. Hon STEVE MARTIN to the Minister for Agriculture and Food:
I refer to the cancelled plans for
the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development headquarters.
(1) How much has been spent on the
now failed move to the Murdoch site for the DPIRD headquarters?
(2) Can the
minister table the most recent expert advice that suggested the Murdoch site
was unsuitable after seven years of planning by the Labor government?
(3) How many DPIRD staff are
working from home because of issues with the Kensington site?
(4) From what physical location, building, is the
DPIRD laboratory work on the shot-hole borer being completed?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) There has
been $6.4 million expended on activities relevant to planning and delivery of a
new metropolitan facility.
(2) As I have
publicly stated, it was identified during the planning stages that the site
does not have the capacity to accommodate the full range of functions required
now and into the future.
(3) Most staff
from the Kensington site have been accommodated at other work locations;
however, we are aware of a small number of staff working from home for a variety
of reasons.
(4) Laboratory
work to support the polyphagous shot-hole borer response is being completed
across two locations—the Claremont Showgrounds and the standalone
modular laboratories at Kensington that were built in 2021.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more