The two-storey timber-framed barracks at Linton Military Camp are basic, at best. ※They are probably overdue to be brought up to modern standards,§ says one soldier who recently served there.

Ground infrastructure and boilers are beyond asset life, resulting in power failures, water leaks and hot water outages. ※The standard of accommodation is one small factor that affects the morale of soldiers serving. While they can make do with very old buildings, providing newer facilities is a part of showing soldiers that their service is valued.§

The housing for personnel with families is equally bad, he tells Newsroom. ※A young, single soldier may tolerate a far lower standard when living by themself but it’s a different story when you have your wife and kids staying there with you,§ he says. ※Although they’re frequently doing small renovations the Defence houses are very old and run down. They frequently have mould and dampness problems.§

Now, barracks accommodation at the 2000-person camp near Palmerston North is being lined up as potentially the first project in the new government’s flagship commitment to new infrastructure financing models.

Parliament’s foreign affairs and defence select committee, chaired by National’s Tim van de Molen, has just conducted its annual review of the Defence Force.

※We discussed the need for greater investment in the defence estate’s ageing infrastructure,§ the committee reports. ※Asset maintenance and equipment failure is an ongoing concern for the NZ Defence Force. This is exacerbated by a lack of resources and a declining workforce. Significant attention and a strategic approach will be required to turn this around.§

MPs had heard from the Chief of Defence, Air Marshall Kevin Short. ※The defence estate, which we operate from and train from, continues to deteriorate,§ he told them. ※We do have problems with the standard of accommodation.§

The Returned and Services Association, as well as the No Duff Charitable Trust, have been highlighting the problem of cold, damp defence barracks and houses. Low-paid soldiers and sailors are obliged to live in them, and must pay rents calculated by a set discount on market rates.

※The barracks accommodation is just appalling,§ says No Duff founder Aaron Wood. ※It’s not as if the occupants want gold-plated taps and toilets - they just expect a basic standard of housing.§

Next month, the Defence Force will be increasing the rents, nationwide, to new rates agreed with Inland Revenue.

That, and the select committee report, have turned attention to the Government’s infrastructure plans.

Newsroom understands officials hope to agree a public-private partnership to finance, deliver and ultimately operate a new 1124-bed Linton barracks and mess for the cash-strapped Defence Force. This is an attractive solution, when budgets are tight - and right now, military budgets are tighter than they’ve ever been.

Defence top brass are pleading for more capital to upgrade old infrastructure and equipment, and to stem an exodus of personnel. But Defence Minister Judith Collins says there is no more money; instead, Defence is expected to trim 6.5 to 7.5 percent from its budgets like other agencies.

The advantage of a public-private partnership is that private capital pays for the infrastructure upfront; the taxpayer doesn’t have to contribute until its completed, at which point the Crown pays the private partner an annual service fee for up to 30 years to operate the facility.

At the end of the day, the asset remains publicly-owned. Phil Gurnsey, the Defence Force general manager of infrastructure, confirms the preferred procurement model is ＆Design Build Finance Maintain’, to be delivered as a public-private partnership. ※A public-private partnership was selected as it provides better incentives to deliver quality assets that better support NZ Defence Force personnel for longer,§ he tells Newsroom.

The Linton Pilot Project is a big opportunity to both deliver benefits for that camp, while also learning how it works best for other camps and bases, he says.

Defence leadership will shortly be presenting the project to the Minister of Defence for consideration. The timing, costs and budget of the project are subject to Budget 24 considerations, Gurnsey adds.

A Cabinet paper reveals public-private partnerships to replace tired old military barracks and messes around the country were already under consideration last year, by the Labour Government.

Former Defence Minister Andrew Little obtained agreement that, given the scale of investment and nature of the assets at Linton Military Camp, bundled procurement options that included ongoing service delivery through a public-private partnership would be evaluated in a detailed business case.

If the Linton pilot was a success, it would be rolled out in the other eight bases and camps around the country.

※The barracks are not functionally fit-for-purpose, and present health and safety risks to personnel to whom the NZ Defence Force owes a duty of care,§ Little told Cabinet. ※Most barracks are legacy infrastructure from a male-only Defence Force, have shared bathrooms, and have issues with their design and layout that affect the personal safety and privacy of personnel.

※These issues disproportionately affect women, and are a barrier to diversity and inclusion in the NZ Defence Force.§

Public-private partnerships have gained a bad reputation in New Zealand, because of high-profile problems with the big Transmission Gully and Puthi-to-Warkworth motorway projects - both of which have ended up in court after delays and cost overruns.

But there have been six public-private partnerships to build and operate schools and prisons that appear to have been successful, according to Beca’s senior principal for project delivery, Quintin Blackburn. The Britomart precinct urban renewal project, too, was delivered as a public-private partnership between Auckland Council and Cooper and Company.

A frontrunner for the Defence contract would be Melbourne-based PPP operator Plenary Group, which financed, delivered and manages Australian Defence Force accommodation at 17 sites across that country. In total, the A$300m Leap 1 and A$900m Leap 2 projects have delivered 4410 single accommodation units over 30 years.

Construction of phase two was completed in 2014 - Australia’s largest public-private partnership, at the time - and Plenary then began the 30-year management contract.

※By providing a consistently high standard of accommodation for our single servicemen and women, we can make Defence a more attractive employment prospect and improve the lives of those who choose to serve our country,§ said Australia’s Deputy Defence Secretary, Steve Grzeskowiak.

Patrick Lauren, Plenary’s managing director of origination, has previously expressed the company’s interest in delivering and operating roading in New Zealand, after Transport Minister Simeon Brown last week confirmed a commitment to the public-private partnership model.

This week, he confirms the company would also look at a defence barracks partnership. ※New Zealand is an attractive destination for long-term infrastructure investors and managers like Plenary,§ he says.

※The coalition Government clearly recognises the value that private sector investment can bring to the delivery and upkeep of its defence infrastructure.

※The Australian Defence Force Single Leap accommodation programmes that we successfully delivered and now maintain are a great example of how other countries have leveraged the public-private partnership model to provide modern defence force accommodation.§

In New Zealand, Returned and Services Association chief executive Marty Donoghue remembers the Linton barracks well. ※My history with London goes back to 1986, where as a young private soldier, I lived in two person and six person huts that were straight out of World War 2,§ he recalls.

He visited again last year. One wartime-era block of barracks had only recently been demolished, he said, and the rest of them are in urgent need of a significant rebuild.

※The state of barracks within Linton is still pretty dire. This rebuild has been on the on the plans for some time. Given that 1 Brigade is the the significant force element of the Army, based in Linton, it should be a priority.

※Anything that can speed up providing adequate accommodation for those who serve has to be supported.§