{"id":18524,"date":"2026-02-04T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T00:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=18524"},"modified":"2026-02-04T00:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T00:00:28","slug":"albanese-government-to-sell-off-3bn-worth-of-historic-defence-sites-amid-push-to-free-up-space-for-new-homes-richard-marles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=18524","title":{"rendered":"Albanese government to sell off $3bn worth of historic defence sites amid push to free up space for new homes | Richard Marles"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

The federal government will sell off $3bn in historic defence properties around the country, after a major audit of government land holdings and amid efforts to open up land for new housing development and public spaces.<\/p>\n

Defence sites \u2013 including Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane \u2013 will be sold after the multi-year audit, with public servants relocated to modern office spaces, and heritage sites \u2013 including the cabinet rooms used by John Curtin at the height of the second world war in Melbourne \u2013 opened to the public.<\/p>\n

The defence minister, Richard Marles<\/a>, released the audit of the 3 million-hectare defence estate on Wednesday, agreeing to recommendations to sell more than 60 properties, including islands on Sydney Harbour and a major munitions site at Maribyrnong, in Melbourne\u2019s west. A longtime target for remediation, it could fit 6,000 new homes.<\/p>\n

Golf courses, airbases, warehouses, training facilities and vacant land are all earmarked for sell-off, as well as RAAF Base Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains, used as the headquarters for the Royal Australian Air Force\u2019s command.<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n

After relocation costs and other expenses, net proceeds of about $1.8bn are expected. About $100m a year is expected to be saved from upkeep of disused and run-down properties, including 14 vacant sites.<\/p>\n

Labor wants to boost take-up of modern office spaces, including Defence Plaza in Melbourne\u2019s CBD, which is currently run at just a 46% capacity. Sydney\u2019s Defence Plaza currently runs at 60% capacity.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Victoria Barracks in Sydney.<\/span> Photograph: Damian Shaw\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Up to $2.4bn is expected to be raised from the sale of 26 major metropolitan sites, saving about $3bn in upkeep and security costs over 10 years. These include sites in Sydney\u2019s Randwick, Sandringham and St Kilda in Melbourne and Fremantle in Western Australia.<\/p>\n

Labor is expected to face a backlash over the sell-off of sites central to the country\u2019s defence history, and the process, managed by the finance department, is expected to take years to be completed.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

The Victoria Barracks sales are expected to raise $1.3bn, given their prime locations in the biggest capital cities. Redevelopment opportunities are expected to be limited by significant heritage rules.<\/p>\n

Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour, used to store munitions during the first and second world wars, will be sold, after costing taxpayers about $4m to maintain over the past four years. HMAS Penguin at Balmoral will be partly retained for the defence diving facility and a medical school.<\/p>\n

Air force base Williams at Laverton in Victoria and the Warradale Barracks in South Australia will also be partially sold off, while Labor has decided against recommendations to sell the Pittwater annexe in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Marles said every dollar raised from the sales would be reinvested back into defence capability, including ahead of major changes sparked by the Aukus nuclear submarines agreement.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn order for the Australian defence force to protect our nation and keep Australians safe, it must have a defence estate that meets its operational and capability needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour, used to store munitions during the first and second world wars, will be sold.<\/span> Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFor many years this has not been the case, with many defence sites vacant, decaying, under utilised and costing millions of dollars to maintain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audit found underutilised sites are \u201cdraining resources from higher priority needs\u201d for defence.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefence is constrained by the weight of its past when it comes to management of the estate,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s estate footprint comprises numerous legacy sites without a clear ongoing link to current or future capabilities. Urgent interventions are needed to correct the unsustainable trajectory that has resulted from decades of deferred decisions on contentious estate issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authors Jan Mason and Jim Miller said the management of major defence sites had \u201cremained largely static since the late 1990s despite recommendations from past reviews and white papers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that maintaining the status quo is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n

More details soon \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n