Department of Parliamentary Services

Recently, we celebrated the achievements and contributions of DPS staff at the 2024 Secretary Awards. It was fantastic to acknowledge our staff and their work that supports Australian democracy, the functioning of Parliament House and the work of parliamentarians. We also recognised the significant continuous service milestones of staff who have been with DPS for 20, 25, 30 and 35 years! 2024 was another busy year at DPS. Alongside our daily operations that help parliament function efficiently, our staff managed a range of events such as the Royal Visit. We also completed significant projects like the return of the Magna Carta to public display. The diverse range of services DPS provides was reflected in the award recipients: • Peter from the Health and Recreation Centre • Isabelle and Lee from the Events and Catering teams in Commercial Operations • Samuel from Digital Recording Services • Karl and Chad from Security Operations • Magna Carta team • Electrical and Maintenance teams • Official Visits and Cyber Security teams • Maintenance Services Classification Review team • Library Client Relationship Management and Business Insights project. The Turf Team received the Presiding Officers Award for their beautiful presentation of the Parliament House grounds for the Royal Visit. Congratulations to all award recipients! We look forward to seeing what DPS can achieve in 2025. Images: Auspic, Department of Parliamentary Services

DPS have spent the last 12 months planning for the Enlighten Festival, which starts tonight! Throughout the festival you can watch Parliament House’s façade transform with vibrant colour inspired by Alison Alder’s I AM A NEW WOMAN screen print series. Set to Helen Reddy’s stirring soundtrack ‘I Am Woman’, the illumination celebrates 12 women who agitated, educated and legislated for an inclusive democracy. We also have a variety of activities including great food, smooth music and cool drinks on the Queen’s Terrace, an artist talk, and a sumptuous degustation. Explore the full program: https://lnkd.in/dUBaBGTN Image: Department of Parliamentary Services

Our Women in Parliament Tour is the perfect way for your organisation to celebrate International Women’s Day. On the tour, you and your colleges will observe artworks and displays that explore the inspiring stories of the women who have shaped our democracy. From Enid Lyons to Linda Burney, learn about the trailblazing female firsts who have made political history. Delve into the incredible challenges they faced and the significant impact they had on our Parliament. Book your tickets: https://lnkd.in/gMhYMrya Image: Department of Parliamentary Services featuring Jude Rae (born 1956), Linda Jean Burney (in situ), 2018, Historic Memorial Collection, Parliament House Art Collections.

Happy Library Lovers’ Day 📖 We’d like to show some love to the Australian Parliamentary Library! Established in 1901, the Parliamentary Library is a source of trusted information, analysis and advice to parliamentarians, parliamentary committees, and their staff. Learn more about the great work the Parliamentary Library does: https://lnkd.in/gc3pqB9T Image: Department of Parliamentary Services

It was great hosting TV presenter Sam Mac and the Sunrise breakfast team at Parliament House recently for a series of live weather crosses! The Sunrise team joined us on a busy sitting day and got to see the building in action. Sam met the President of the Senate and our volunteer beekeepers to visit the 6 honeybee hives and learn about how we use their honey. In the Marble Foyer, our tour guides introduced Sunrise viewers to the famous Shawn the Prawn and shared some of their favourite building facts. When Sam stopped by the kitchen, our Executive Chef David and his team had just finished catering a breakfast in the Great Hall for 400 people. Up on the roof, the Speaker of the House of Representatives was hosting a school visit, and the children helped our Maintenance team unfurl the iconic Parliament House flag. It was great to show Australia a ‘behind the scenes’ glimpse of the work our dedicated staff do to support the Parliament.

It’s National Apprenticeship Week! Almost half of our Landscape Services team started their career as an apprentice at Parliament House. The 3 team members pictured here are members of the current DPS Apprentice cohort, studying Horticulture and Turf Management. The DPS Apprenticeship Program offers candidates the opportunity to build specialist trade skills within a unique and diverse work environment. Apprentices receive ongoing support as they work, train and study to achieve a nationally recognised trade qualification. Our apprentices get to build specialist horticulture skills, knowledge and experience through a diverse range of work. This includes garden maintenance, implementing Integrated Pest Management strategies, developing plant nutrition plans and helping with garden planting design. Our turf apprentices also go on placements at major sports venues to expand their turf management skills. This practical experience combined with their formal learning ensures our apprentices are equipped for successful careers at Parliament House and beyond in the horticulture and turf industries. You can find out about the DPS Apprenticeship Program on our website: https://lnkd.in/gCSprwRh Image: Auspic, Department of Parliamentary Services

Join us at ‘Conserving the Magna Carta: an event to celebrate the return of the Magna Carta to public display’. This event is a unique opportunity to hear about its historical significance and the lengthy project to preserve it for future generations. The Magna Carta is now back on display at Parliament House after an extensive conservation and research project. Over the last eight years this research project has enhanced understanding of this 728 year-old document. At the event there will be remarks from: • Senator the Hon Sue Lines, President of the Senate • the Hon Milton Dick MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives • Libby Melzer, lead conservator from the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne • Dr Andrew Banfield, head of the Parliamentary Library’s Research Branch. An Auslan interpreter will be available at this free event. Book tickets now for Thursday 13 February: https://lnkd.in/gnXYUKYu You can see the Magna Carta in Members' Hall on Level 1 of Parliament House. The Conserving the Magna Carta exhibition is also currently on display at Parliament House.

On this day in 1908, the Australian Parliament chose the Yass-Canberra district as the site for Australia’s federal capital. The Constitution stipulated that the capital was to be in NSW, but not ‘less than one hundred miles from Sydney’. More than 60 sites vied for the honour. In 1904, Dalgety in the Snowy Mountains was the Commonwealth’s choice, but NSW resolutely opposed this option. The NSW Government ceded the Federal Territory to the Commonwealth effective 1 January 1911. However, it was not until 1927, with the opening of Provisional Parliament House, that the seat of government moved to Canberra. Provisional Parliament House is now the Museum of Australian Democracy. Featured here is William Lister Lister’s Federal Capital Site. It won the Historic Memorials Committee’s painting competition in 1912 to depict the proposed site of the new Federal Capital. This work toured nationally and formed many Australians’ first ideas of what the Federal Capital looked like. Image: William Lister Lister (1859-1943), Federal Capital Site, 1913, Parliament House Art Collections.

Recently, DPS acting Secretary Jaala Hinchcliffe met with George Sexton from George Sexton and Associates. Mr Sexton worked as a technical consultant for lighting design in close collaboration with the architects of Australian Parliament House (APH), Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp (MGT) during the building’s construction. MGT’s design of APH carefully integrated the building’s architecture with interior design, landscape, furniture, fittings, and art and craft in which lighting played a crucial role. Balancing the extensive use of natural light with artificial lighting solutions, MGT and George Sexton Associates jointly designed various skylight monitors and light fixtures for all spaces in and around the building. Our Property Services team will be working with George Sexton and Associates and Mr Harold Guida of Guida Moseley Brown Architects to upgrade Parliament House’s lighting to Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Mr Guida worked as MGT’s Partner for Design Coordination during the construction of Parliament House and is the current Moral Rights Administrator for the building. This will be a significant project as the building has more than 680 different light types and approximately 50,000 separate light fixtures. Parliament House consumes around 2,000,000 kWh of electricity each month, 25% of which is used by lighting. The LED upgrade is estimated to reduce lighting consumption by up to 40%, or around 200,000 kWh per month. By working closely with Mr Sexton and Mr Guida, DPS can ensure that the original design intent is respected while making significant energy savings.

Architects Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorp (MGT) prepared many sample boards when designing Parliament House. Sample boards are used by designers and architects to present their proposed designs. The boards can feature a collage or representation of materials, products, textures, paints, fabrics, furnishings or other elements of a design. Each part is displayed in its relative position. For example, carpets will often be stuck on first, with samples of timber used for tables stuck on top. This means their relationship to each other and with other elements in a space can be clearly understood. The original Parliament House sample boards were an important part of the design process. They guided initial design development and were submitted to the Australian Government as part of the formal design approval process for the building. Today, the original sample boards are a valuable planning tool. They are still used as a key reference to guide ongoing upgrade works. This ensures that original design intent for the building is maintained for the future. Images: Department of Parliamentary Services