$1.5m worth of parliamentary furnishings sitting in off-site storage

A $60,000 lounge is among $1.5m worth of Parliament House furnishings wasting away in off-site storage, officials have revealed.

The Department of Parliamentary Services’ spending came under a spotlight in February when it was grilled on a $3.8m furniture bill.

It sparked concern at the time by disclosing a $20,000 desk sitting in storage.

“My concern, of course, is that there is this pervasive culture of waste and now there is numerous evidence that this has been an ongoing problem,” former opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said during senate estimates.

“I understand that we don’t necessarily want some of the beautiful rooms in Parliament House filled with furniture that looks like it came off a hard rubbish collection – that’s fine.

“But this is, I think, of great concern. The $20,000 desk that is in off-site storage – clearly there are other things that are in off-site storage too – if I can, can I, on notice, have a full inventory of this collection and the estimated cost of construction for each piece of furniture that is in off-site storage, if you have the paperwork, and its current market value.”

She suggested the “taxpayer can recoup some of the waste of that department’s decisions by maybe selling some of the stuff that is off-site that we are clearly never going to use”.

Responding to Senator Hume’s query now, the DPS confirmed the desk was now in use but revealed items worth far more were sitting idle at two off-site facilities.

“The Department of Parliamentary Services uses off-site storage facilities both for the storage of, and as staging areas for, furniture that is either excess to current use requirements, earmarked for disposal or requires maintenance and refurbishment,” the department said.

“There are currently two off-site storage facilities in use for Parliament House furniture.

“Furniture retained in the off-site storage areas are high value items from the original Parliament House furniture collection intended to be used in designated areas of Parliament House.

“Where possible, lower value office furniture is not retained in off-site storage.

“As these items do not have heritage value, they are more easily disposed and/or can be repurposed throughout other APH office spaces.”

It said that as of April 30, 891 tagged items were in storage, including 189 “furniture components” – seat pads or frames, for example.

The indicative cost of these was about $800,000.

“The Department of Parliamentary Services does not maintain current market value of each individual item due to the bespoke nature of each piece,” it said.

“However collective value of furniture in storage at the main facility is currently valued at $1.5m.”

Aside from the lounge, other costly items included a $40,000 “cocktail/TV cabinet”, a $38,000 credenza, a $36,000 desk and a $27,000 dining table.