Public servants at the pesticides authority are hoping they can leave their makeshift office at MacDonald's Armidale behind, launching a search for a real office in the northern NSW town where they are being forced to move.
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The new digs will be a stopgap measure while the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority waits for a new office block to be built for it somewhere in the regional town.
Documents from the federal procurement website AusTender show the authority is on the lookout for 150 to 300 square metres of offices somewhere in Armidale after its senior officers "camped out" in one of the town's burger joints, using the restaurant's free wi-fi to conduct their work.
It remains unclear why the Canberra-based public servants could not work from the University of New England, which claims to be a "partner" in the authority's forced relocation from the national capital to the heart of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce's New England Electorate.
Nor has it been revealed how much the interim office accommodation will cost or if that spending will be included in the estimated $26 million cost of the whole move.
The authority was widely mocked early this month after its boss Kareena Arthy told a Senate Estimates hearing that she and her colleagues were using the restaurant's free wi-fi to work because they had no base in Armidale and that she was having a tough time convincing her public servants to move from Canberra to northern NSW as ordered by the Coalition government.
It was also revealed at the Senate Estimates hearing that a new office block will have to be built to accommodate the agency with none of the town's existing buildings suitable.
But in the meantime, the call has gone out, with a March 31 deadline for expressions of interest, to Armidale's commercial landlords for a stopgap solution.
The temporary offices should be top-of the line "A-grade" quality, already fitted out, to save time and money, come with on-site car parking, comply with the Commonwealth's exacting environmental and sustainability standards and be offered for the relatively short-term, by commercial property standards, of two years with an option to extend.
In a statement issued through the authority's public relations firm, Ms Arthy told Fairfax the process of moving to Armidale would not happen overnight.
"The relocation of the APVMA to Armidale is a two and half year process that will be completed in stages to ensure the smooth transition of the agency and maintain continuity of the regulatory function," the chief executive said.
"While scoping and planning for the construction of a permanent purpose-built building is underway, the APVMA now requires a suitable interim office to establish its operation in Armidale.
"The University of New England has been very helpful in assisting the APVMA in its search for accommodation.
"We are still considering a number of possible options for the APVMA interim office including office space at the UNE campus.
"We hope to make a selection of a suitable location in the next few weeks.
"The APVMA will continue to work very closely with the UNE along with other key stakeholders in the Armidale community to collaborate on opportunities that will support the business into the future."
