Nigel Pittaway | Canberra

The 5th annual ADM Defence Estate and Base Services Summit was held in Canberra on September 21 and once again attracted delegates from across Defence, government and industry. The event this year was the biggest ever, with over 250 people attending the one-day event.

The summit provided an opportunity for stakeholders in the estate and infrastructure space to discuss problems and share ideas on how to provide Defence with the best return on the four billion dollars it spends annually on upgrading, sustaining and supporting bases to enable Defence capability.

"Everything we do is about delivering capability outcomes for Government."

The opening keynote address at the 2016 conference was delivered by Steve Grzeskowiak, Deputy Secretary, Estate and Infrastructure Group (E&IG), who noted that he presides over 70 major bases and three million hectares of land (if the vast Woomera Test Range is taken into account), and which has a gross replacement value of $68 billion.

“This is about how we deliver services to the ADF,” he said when describing the function of E&IG. “Everything we do is about delivering capability outcomes for Government.”

E&IG has recently been reorganised and the heads of each of the new divisions, Alice Jones, First Assistant Secretary Estate Services and Chris Birrer, First Assistant Secretary, Infrastructure also delivered keynote addresses.

Lawyers Cate Greene from Clayton Utz and Richard Morrison from Sparke Helmore delivered an entertaining presentation on the Integrated Project Delivery suite of documents which, although done in a humorous fashion in the style of the ABC’s Clarke & Doyle, nevertheless provided a detailed explanation of the processes required for industry to bid for work.

Arguably the loudest applause however was reserved for the final speaker Mark Coleman, CEO of Pacific Services Group Holdings, who provided a compelling insight into why Defence and industry needs to mentor indigenous businesses.

A more in-depth analysis of the summit will appear in the November issue of ADM.