The federal government has dropped plans to sell Victoria Barracks Melbourne, the historic defence site on St Kilda Road across the road from the Shrine of Remembrance. The Age, which offers subscription access, reported that Fort Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula and the RAAF base at Point Cook will also be spared from the sale, the government announced on Sunday.
The Guardian reported that four sites will remain in public hands: Victoria Barracks in Sydney and Melbourne, Fort Queenscliff and RAAF Base Point Cook. According to the ABC, the sites will be transferred from the Defence department to the Finance department.
The government announced in February that it would fully or partially sell 67 defence sites for an estimated $3 billion, or $1.8 billion after costs, The Age reported. The ABC said the sites had been due to be sold after an independent audit of the defence estate. The Guardian reported that the sales of the Sydney and Melbourne barracks had been expected to raise $1.3 billion.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement on Sunday that the program “creates opportunities to open Defence’s historic sites and buildings to the public, and to commemorate our nation’s history”. The Age reported that the government would open the sites to public access, with the Australian War Memorial advising on how to showcase their history. The Guardian said the sites could still be used for commercial purposes, in line with heritage laws.
Defence Minister Richard Marles defended the wider program. “Given the strategic landscape we face, we cannot afford to be wasting money,” he said, according to the ABC. The ABC reported that Mr Marles said personnel would be moved off all 67 sites within a two-year time frame.
Other Melbourne sites remain on the list. The Guardian reported that the properties still to be sold include sites in Sandringham and St Kilda in Melbourne, as well as Randwick in Sydney, and that Defence expects personnel to have vacated six sites by the end of the year.
Construction of Victoria Barracks in Melbourne began in 1856, and the site was the headquarters of the Defence Department from 1901 to 1953, The Age reported. The newspaper said the building has a 56 per cent utilisation rate.
Fort Queenscliff was established in 1860 and used for military purposes until the mid-1940s, The Age reported, and it is now used as an administration site and museum. The 112-year-old air base at Point Cook, in Melbourne’s south-west, was the first home of the Royal Australian Air Force. The Defence Department had said it spent $50 million on upkeep at Point Cook over the past five years, the newspaper reported.
RSL Victoria president Mark Schroffel told The Age the government had “made the right decision” by withdrawing the Victorian sites. “It is good to see the government finally listening to veterans and the broader community about the significance of these historic sites,” he said. RSL Australia called the move a “partial victory”, the ABC reported, saying: “Keeping these sites in public hands protects our military heritage. It doesn’t protect our Defence capability.”
Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson told the ABC: “This is a huge victory for the community who’s made it very clear that they do not want to see these bases sold.” He said the Coalition would “continue to fight this every step of the way”.
