Building owners and opposition parties are concerned about the study the ACT Government is carrying out to justify building a new office block to house its bureaucrats.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Greens also warn that the firm examining the project's feasibility, Cox Architecture, might have a conflict of interest if it also submits a tender to design the building.
The Government unveiled its proposal last year to construct the $430million offices in Civic, which would be the largest infrastructure project it has undertaken.
It says it needs the building because ACT public servants' existing workplaces are sub-standard, and it will save money in the long term by reducing rental and energy costs.
Neither the Greens nor developers yet support the proposal, saying the Government must first consider whether it would be cheaper to upgrade existing buildings in Civic.
Treasurer Andrew Barr told the Assembly last week that Cox had been engaged to study which option was likely to be more effective.
''The buildings being examined for adaptive reuse and consolidation into a campus-style precinct are located close to the Legislative Assembly,'' Mr Barr said.
The Government has also called for expressions of interest to build a smaller office in Gungahlin to house about 500 staff.
The ACT Property Council expressed concern yesterday that a consultant was deciding whether Civic's existing offices were viable, while the buildings' owners were not given a formal say. Council executive director Catherine Carter said, ''Industry and the Canberra community would be very concerned if it turned out that the public EoI [expression of interest] exercise for such a significant infrastructure project turns out to be a sham and a waste of everyone's time. If the ACT Government is serious about this, then we need to have confidence that the evaluation of the EoI proposals will be independently assessed.''
She said a new office block ''could be a great idea, so long as it is delivered efficiently''.
The ACT's office-vacancy rate in July was 13.3 per cent, well above every other capital city.
Greens planning spokeswoman Caroline le Couteur said she was open-minded, but wanted a fair assessment of the Government's options. She also suggested Cox would have a conflict of interest if the firm later submitted a bid to design a new office block.
''It must be an open process: we can't have the company conducting this study have a vested interest in one outcome.''
However, a spokeswoman for Mr Barr said the study was only preliminary and the minister would exclude neither Cox nor any other firm from taking part in future tenders.
''It's very early days, we're not excluding anyone [from a tender] because the Government hasn't decided what option it will take.''
The spokeswoman said the Government's ''first priority is to concentrate on the Gungahlin office''.
''After that, the Government has committed to going out to the market for the main office block to see if anybody can deliver it better and more efficiently that the Government's original plan.''
The ACT Liberals oppose the construction of a new office block, describing it as a costly ''vanity project''.
Opposition Leader Zed Seselja said yesterday Civic building owners had legitimate concerns that they were being shut out.
Cox director Rodney Moss did not return calls yesterday.
This reporter is on Twitter: @markusmannheim
