ACT Labor had committed to building Lyneham High School a new gymnasium (resembling this render from the design brief) in the lead up to the 2020 election. Photo: ACT Government.
The ACT Government’s move to refurbish Lyneham High School’s gymnasium, rather than deliver its 2020 election upgrade commitment, potentially means that “public resources [are] being used to meet an election commitment in a way that produces a poor community outcome”.
That’s the concern raised in a committee inquiry report which has urged the government to reconsider the scope of the project to make sure it is “an efficient use of public funds and avoids the need for further upgrades in the near future.”
The inquiry was established after a petition containing more than 500 signatures called for the promised double gymnasium to be delivered.
ACT Labor promised to replace Lyneham High School’s (LHS) gym as part of its 2020 election campaign. But the 2024-25 Budget outlined $5.746 million to “refurbish and modernise” the building instead.
Witnesses at public hearings outlined a design brief from 2022 was focused on building a new gym as the current space had “low functionality” and discussions with stakeholders had only focused on that commitment.
“The only option described in detail, including in the available documents, was a new double gymnasium,” the committee report noted.
The LHS P&C raised concerns that the upgrade was only going ahead because the promise had to be filled in some form.
“There seems to be an obsession with this idea that the election promise of an upgrade must be continued with at all costs and that no other solution can be entertained, even if it is better and even if it is cheaper,” president Jose Robertson said.
The committee agreed, recommending the government re-examine its decision to reduce the work’s scope, taking into account the gym’s current non-compliance with modern building codes, the needs of student and staff for both physical education and wet weather contingencies, the demand of indoor sports in the Inner North and the “inadequacy of the current formula used to determine gym use and the need for expansion”.
“The committee is concerned that the announced upgrade … appears to have been decided upon not because it meets community needs but because it fits within the funding bucket allocated to the project by Cabinet,” it noted.
“[Also consider] evidence provided to the committee indicating that investing in significant upgrades to the existing gym, given its insufficient size, would be an inefficient and inappropriate use of public funds.”
It was proposed a new double gymnasium would be built at Lyneham High School and that’s the information that was provided in a design brief to the community. Photo: ACT Government.
The committee found the ACT Government failed to make it clear to both the LHS principal and leadership that construction of the gym wasn’t guaranteed and that nothing had been presented to the community that would refute their belief that the election commitment was to deliver a double gymnasium.
Education Directorate officials acknowledged during the hearings that they could have done more to “manage expectations” and that it was “exploring options” rather than deciding the new gym was the way to go.
The committee recommended the ACT Government ensure that, for any consultation with school communities on potential capital works upgrades, all options under consideration had to be shared unless a final decision had already been made.
The government has four months to respond to the committee report.
Education Minister Yvette Berry acknowledged the school community’s disappointment during the hearings and suggested that more work could be on the horizon.
“[The decision to upgrade the gym] does not mean that a new gymnasium will never happen at Lyneham,” she said.
“It is just not the project going ahead in this budget.”
The ACT Government has previously been compelled by the Legislative Assembly to deliver on its original 2020 promise.
