Fed: Fraser govt gives go ahead for new parliament house
By Max Blenkin01 Jan 2009 12:01 AM
Eds: Embargoed until 0001 (AEDT), January 1, 2009
CANBERRA, Jan 1 AAP - By 1978, Australia's fine old parliament house was bursting at the seams and there was just one solution - build a new one.
The government of prime minister Malcolm Fraser officially launched the process which culminated a decade later with Queen Elizabeth II officially opening the new parliament house just up the hill.
However, what was costed at $200 million ended up costing more than $1 billion by the time the final tradesperson packed up tools.
Cabinet papers for 1978 - released by the National Archives of Australia under the 30-year rule - reveal details behind the decision to proceed with the design and construction, starting with the establishment of the new Parliament House Construction Authority.
The authority would direct the National Capital Development Commission on the design and construction. There would also be an ad hoc committee of cabinet to keep an eye on progress.
Cabinet gave the official go-ahead on November 21 with the joint government parties informed the next day.
The old parliament house opened in 1927 and was only intended to be a temporary home for the nation's political leaders.
By the 1970s it was well past its use by date with the demands of modern government, politicians and their staff, and media far exceeding the available space.
In May, cabinet rejected a proposal for the executive to move to the nearby west block offices. However, some staff were relocated to two nearby hotels and later to a refurbished west block.
Cabinet did agree in July to extensions to both sides of the existing parliament house to provide more space for the executive and staff.
However, MPs and senators were warned they would have to put up with the crowded conditions for another decade.
Fraser government minister Fred Chaney, the special guest speaker at the media launch of the 1978 cabinet papers, said the government at the time was properly concerned about government spending.
"So how did we get a commitment to build this new parliament house?
"At the time (it) was estimated to cost somewhere under $200 million which proved to be some 20 per cent right."
Mr Chaney said there was one reason the parliament gained a new home and that was because the capital territory minister was Bob Ellicott, an eminent lawyer.
He said some might wonder how some lawyers could demand such huge rates per day to appear in court.
"I did actually see the latter part of Bob Ellicott's conduct of his campaign to get a new and permanent parliament house," he said.
"My conclusion at the time was I now understand why people pay Bob Ellicott a lot of money to appear for them.
"It was an exceptional piece of advocacy within the government," he said.
