MP says new $55M state government building and Council’s CCS ‘chalk and cheese’

It’s a new $55 million building to house public servants, paid for by the people. But MP says it’s ‘not similar in any way’ to Coffs Council’s contentious project.

Gurmesh Singh has rejected comparisons between the state government’s plan for a new office building and Council’s Cultural and Civic Space, calling them a “distraction”.

Eyebrows were raised on Tuesday when the NSW government revealed, with zero fanfare, that $55 million would be spent on a new “office hub” in Coffs Harbour to house public servants.

Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh said the location was yet to be determined, but that the government was looking at land it already owned in the CBD, hoping to “make a start on it right away”.

“Our intent is to consolidate as many state government employees under one roof as possible,” Mr Singh said.

It comes off the back of the state government's decision to decentralise the Department of Regional NSW and advertise public service roles as ‘location agnostic’ in an effort to encourage growth in the regions.

Mr Singh said the decision was “expected” to add about 100 extra staff to the hundreds of roles that already existed in Coffs Harbour in Health, Education and Communities and Justice.

However, the development instantly drew comparisons with Coffs Harbour City Council’s Cultural and Civic Space (CCS). Mr Singh has been deeply critical of Council’s controversial development, a key feature of which is to consolidate staff into one building in addition to creating a new library and gallery.

Council’s Heart of Coffs Facebook page even congratulated Mr Singh on the announcement.

“Consolidating existing tenancies to provide a modern, efficient office space to attract and retain regional government workers just like the Cultural and Civic Space,” it said.

When it was put to him there were several aspects of the two developments that were the same, including consolidating workers into the one building, Mr Singh said they were “chalk and cheese”.

He also rejected the proposition that he was displaying a double standard. After the development was given the green light by the state government, Mr Singh released a statement in which he expressed “disappointment” the project was to go ahead.

The CCS project has became a lightning rod for criticism with protesters often frequenting Council meetings to let councillors know how they felt.

“Without wanting to get into a debate, again, about the Cultural and Civic Space, this is about consolidating people under one roof. Whereas there are issues with that building (the CCS) where they actually have less space than they currently have at the moment,” he said.

“On the one hand council was selling assets for quite a low price, and then building something at quite an expensive price. Whereas the state government is currently a tenant in many different buildings across town which leads to its own inefficiencies.

“Having our own building which will attract more staff is an entirely different prospect to essentially selling something cheaply and building something at quite an expensive price.”

Council’s website states consolidating staff into one building would bring cost saving and productivity benefits and when pressed further on the two projects’ similarities, Mr Singh accepted there were some “overlapping” features – like any office space.

Deputy Mayor George Cecato was "not bothered" by MP Gurmesh Singh's calls to stop construction of the Cultural and Civic Space last year.

“It’s not to say that there aren’t some similarities,” he said. “But in terms of what the project entails and the manner in which (it is) being delivered, the manner in which (it is) being communicated to the community – there is no likeness to the CCS at all.

“We are not putting cultural facilities into an office, we are not selling office buildings that are bigger than what the new space will be. They are not similar in any way.

“The CCS is promising 400,000 visitors a year to its various premises – this is a commercial block housing various government departments.

“Quite frankly I find any link or attempt to link the two as a complete distraction. It is an attempt to try and distract people from the fact that this is good news. This is good news for Coffs Harbour.”