Parliament House, Canberra

Parliament House
The main entrance and the flag mast
General information
Location	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Country	Australia
Construction started	1981
Completed	1988
Inaugurated	9 May 1988
Cost	A$1.1 billion
Height	107 metres
Technical details
Floor area	250,000 m²
Design and construction
Architect	Romaldo Giurgola
Architecture firm	Mitchell/Giurgola Architects

Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 9 May 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Costing more than A$1.1 billion, it was the most expensive building in the world at the time of its construction.^{[citation needed]}

Federal Parliament meetings were first held in Melbourne until 1927. Prior to 1988, the Parliament of Australia met in the Provisional Parliament House, which is now known as "Old Parliament House". Construction of Australia's permanent Parliament House was delayed while its location was debated. Construction of the new building began in 1981. The principal design of the structure is based on the shape of two boomerangs and is topped by an 81-metre flagpole.

It contains 4,700 rooms and many areas are open to the public. The main foyer contains a marble staircase and leads to the Great Hall which has a large tapestry on display. The House of Representatives chamber is decorated green while the Senate chamber has a red colour scheme. Between the two chambers is the Members' Hall which has a water feature and is not open to the public. The Ministerial Wing houses the office of the Prime Minister and other Ministers.

Before the establishment of Canberra

Parliament House, Melbourne, was home to Federal Parliament for 26 years.

In 1901, when the six British colonies in Australia federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia, Melbourne and Sydney were the two largest cities in the country, but the long history of rivalry between them meant that neither could become the national capital. Section 125 of the Constitution of Australia therefore provided that:

The seat of Government of the Commonwealth shall be determined by the Parliament, and shall be within territory which shall have been granted to or acquired by the Commonwealth, and shall be vested in and belong to the Commonwealth, and shall be in the State of New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney.

Such territory shall contain an area of not less than one hundred square miles, and such portion thereof as shall consist of Crown lands shall be granted to the Commonwealth without any payment therefor. The Parliament shall sit at Melbourne until it meet at the seat of Government.

In 1909, after much argument, the Parliament decided that the new capital would be in the southern part of New South Wales, on the site which is now Canberra. The Commonwealth acquired control over the land in 1911, but World War I intervened, and nothing was done for some years to build the city. Federal Parliament did not leave Melbourne until 1927.

In the meantime the Australian Parliament met in the 19th century edifice of Parliament House, Melbourne, while the Victorian State Parliament met in the nearby Royal Exhibition Building for 26 years.

Old Parliament House

Main article: Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House opening, 1927

After World War I the Federal Capital Advisory Committee was established to prepare Canberra to be the seat of government, including the construction of a Parliament House. The committee decided that it would be best to erect a "provisional" building, to serve for a predicted 50 years until a new, "permanent" House could be built. In the event, Old Parliament House was Parliament's home for 61 years. In the last decade of its use as a parliament the building had a chronic shortage of available space.

New Parliament House

In 1978 the Fraser government decided to proceed with a new building on Capital Hill, and the Parliament House Construction Authority was created. A two-stage competition was announced, for which the Authority consulted the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and, together with the National Capital Development Commission, made available to competitors a brief and competition documents. The design competition drew 329 entries from 28 countries.

The competition winner was the New York-based architectural firm of Mitchell/Giurgola, with the on-site work directed by Italian architect Romaldo Giurgola, with a design which involved burying most of the building under Capital Hill, and capping the edifice with an enormous spire topped by a large Australian flag. The facades, however, included deliberate imitation of some of the patterns of the Old Parliament House, so that there is a slight resemblance despite the massive difference of scale.

The front architecture built into Capital Hill, including the forecourt and main entrance, and illustrating a ground level view of the boomerang-shaped design

View from the entrance to Parliament House, Canberra

Construction began in 1981, and the House was intended to be ready by Australia Day, 26 January 1988, the 200th anniversary of European settlement in Australia. It was expected to cost A$220 million. Neither the deadline nor the budget was met. The building was finally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 May 1988, the anniversary of the opening of both the first Federal Parliament in Melbourne on 9 May 1901 by the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V), and of the Provisional Parliament House in Canberra on 9 May 1927 by the Duke of York (later King George VI).

The flag flown from the 81 metre flagpole is 12.8 m by 6.4 m, about the size of half a tennis court. The flagpole weighs 250 tonnes and is made of polished stainless steel from Wollongong. It was designed to be the pinnacle of Parliament House and is an easily recognisable symbol of national government. It is visible by day from outside and inside Parliament House and floodlit at night. The flag itself weighs approximately 15 kg.

The building was designed to "sit above" Old Parliament House when seen from a distance. It was proposed originally to demolish Old Parliament House so that there would be an uninterrupted vista from the New Parliament House to Lake Burley Griffin and the Australian War Memorial, but there were successful representations for preservation of the historic building, which now houses a parliamentary museum.

The original idea was for Parliament House to be open freely to the public, and the sweeping lawns leading up to the entrances were intended to symbolise this. The building is a major visitor attraction in Canberra with about 1 million visits each year. With the increased risk of terrorist attacks in recent years, the security of Parliament House has been increased greatly. One result has been the construction of crash barriers blocking vehicular access to the lawns.

Layout

The Great Hall in Parliament House. The tapestry at the rear of the room is an enlarged version of an Arthur Boyd painting, and at 20×9 meters is one of the largest tapestries in the world.

The public entrance to Parliament House opens into a main foyer leading into the Great Hall, which features a tapestry based on a painting by Arthur Boyd, the original of which is also displayed in the building. Functions that have parliamentary and federal relevance often take place here, but the Great Hall is also open to functions for the general public, such as weddings, and the nearby University of Canberra hosts graduation ceremonies here.

Below the tapestry of the Great Hall is a removable division which opens on to the Members' Hall, which has a water feature at its centre. This is an area restricted to security-classified occupants of the building and special visitors. Directly ahead of the Members' Hall is the Ministerial Wing, housing the office suites of the Prime Minister and government Ministers. The Members' Hall has access to the House of Representatives and the Senate buildings to the left and right of the main entrance to the halls respectively. Public access to the visitors' galleries and the Main Committee Room is via an upper level reached by impressive marble staircases ascending from the entrance foyer. There are also 19 committee rooms which are open to the public and a highly secure Cabinet Room on the ground floor.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives

In commemoration of the colour scheme of the British House of Commons, the House of Representatives is decorated in green. However, the colour is muted to suggest the colour of eucalyptus leaves.

From the perspective of the image, the press gallery is ahead, with public galleries containing 388 seats to the left and right. Soundproofed galleries for school groups are directly above these, as no talking is permitted when the House members are present.

A part of the front bench, and the dispatch boxes

Frontbench (Cabinet) members approach the table with the ornate box (pictured), known as the despatch box, to speak. Backbenchers have a microphone on their desk, and merely stand to speak (unless they cannot stand), in accordance with standing order 60.

Also on the table is a copy of Hansard and where the clerk and deputy clerk sit. The clerk needs to know all the rules of Parliament and is responsible for ringing the bells during a division (voting). In front of the clerk are the hour glasses. The outer glasses measure four minutes and the middle glass measures two. These glasses are turned when there is a division; one of the four-minute glasses is turned and the bells will ring and the clocks will flash green for the House of Representatives or red for the Senate for four minutes. After the hour glass stops, the house's attendants will lock the doors and the whips will count the votes. Members vote by either moving to the government side of the house for a vote for a bill or the opposition side for a vote against a bill. If there is a division soon after another division, the middle hour glass will be turned and the bells will ring for two minutes.

As is the custom with Westminster parliaments, members of the governing party sit to the Speaker's right, and the Opposition sits to the Speaker's left. Independents and minor parties sit on the cross-benches. The long benches (the front benches) closest to the despatch boxes are reserved for the Cabinet on the government's side and the "Shadow Cabinet" on the Opposition's side.

Senate

The Senate chamber

The Senate building matches the colour scheme of the House of Lords, decorated in red, but muted to tints of ochre, suggesting the earth and the colours of the outback.

The gallery arrangement is almost identical to that of the House of Representatives. Unlike the House of Representatives, only the leader of the government or opposition in the Senate approaches the lectern; other frontbench senators and all backbench senators have a desk microphone. As can be seen from the illustrations, unlike the House of Representatives, there is no distinction between the front and back benches in the Senate chamber; Senate ministers and their opposition counterparts have the same two-seat benches as all other senators. The press gallery is located above the Senate chamber. The presiding officer of the Australian Senate is the President of the Senate. He occupies a position in the Senate chamber similar to that of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Behind the seat of the President of the Senate are two large seats which are modern versions of thrones. The larger is used by the Governor-General or the monarch (when visiting) when they open Parliament at the start of a new parliamentary session. The vice-regal consort or the royal consort (when visiting) sits in the smaller throne.

Parliament House Solar Power Project

In 2011, the Department of Parliamentary Services commissioned a pilot 43.3 kW photovoltaic system on the roof of Parliament House in Canberra. The system is split between two locations, with 192 panels installed on the Senate wing with the remaining 42 panels on the roof of the Gardeners' Compound. The panels cover an approximate area of 470 square metres. In addition, solar hot water was installed on the premises. The system is expected to produce 65,372 kW of electricity every year, with an annual savings of up to $17,000. The system will also reduce carbon emissions by 64 tonnes per year. At the time of construction, the system was one of the largest installed for solar power in Australia. The Department of Parliamentary Services, conducted a competitive tender process, which selected a bid by Todae Solar and Silex Systems as the preferred tenderer.

System Components

The system was designed by Todae Solar using Silex Solar Panels (Australian made), Clenergy mounting system and SMA inverters. The systems was installed in 9 weeks from contract signature. Technology and installation:

• 234 Australian made Silex Solar 185W Monocrystalline Panels
• 5 SMA Tripower STP10000-TL inverters
• Clenergy ezRack SolarRoof and SolarMatrix Pro Mounting System
• System Designer - Todae Solar
• Project Manager - Todae Solar

Project Objectives

The Department of Parliamentary Services stated that the primary objective of the pilot program was study the suitability with integration of photovoltaic power and solar hot water into the existing infrastructure of Parliament House (including how this technology can link to other systems).

Completed in 2012, the pilot demonstrated that Parliament House is well suited to solar panels, having large flat roof spaces to capture sunlight and minimal shading. The panels have integrated well into the existing infrastructure and with a low visual aspect, are in keeping with the building design.

System Performance

According to the Department of Parliamentary Services, the system was switched on in June 2011 and has performed as expected by providing enough power for lighting in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This equates to an approximate saving of $9,000 which is expected to rise to $17,000 annually.

System Awards

The system received an award from the Clean Energy Council in 2012 for 'Best design and installation of a grid-connect power system greater than 10 kW.'

See also

• Australian landmarks
• Government of Australia

References

Books, letters, articles, websites

• Parliament House Construction Authority (1986). Australia's New Parliament House. Barton, ACT: The Authority. pp. 85pp. ISBN 0-642-09999-5. 
• Lovell, David W; Ian MacAllister, William Maley, Chandran Kukathas (1998). The Australian Political System. South Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman Australia Pty Ltd. p. 950. ISBN 0-582-81027-2. 
• Cannon, Michael (1985). Australia Spirit of a Nation. South Melbourne: Curry O'Neil Ross Pty Ltd. ISBN 0-85902-210-2. 
• Charlton, Ken; Rodney Garnett, Shibu Dutta (2001). Federal Capital Architecture Canberra 1911-1939 (2nd Edition, Paperback, 2001 ed.). Canberra, Australia: National Trust of Australia (ACT). ISBN 0-9578541-0-2. 
• "Old Parliament House - Canberra". Retrieved 2007-10-08. 
• "Parliament House Canberra". Retrieved 2007-10-08. 
• "Canberra - Australia's Culture Portal". Retrieved 2007-10-08. 
• "The Parliament of Australia: a Bibliography". Indiana University. 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 

External links

• Parliament of Australia
• Old Parliament House
• Parliament House / image trail from Picture Australia.
• This Australian ABC page gives an account of the new Parliament House.
• Australianexplorer Parliament House tourism site.
• Todae Solar Parliament House Solar Power Case Study
• Silex Systems Press Release
• Australian Parliament House Project Page