Australia Gives First Defence Estate Audit Update: 11 of 67 Divestment Sites Transferred to Finance, as Victoria Barracks in Sydney and Melbourne and Two Other Historic Sites Stay in Public Ownership
The Australian Government on November 8 provided the first significant update to the independent Defence Estate Audit, described as the most significant reform to Australia's defence estate in the nation's history. In response to the audit, the government had agreed to divest or partially divest 67 sites that were underutilised by Defence, not fit-for-purpose, and costly to maintain. Defence has now transferred 11 sites to the Department of Finance for divestment, and the remaining sites are progressing towards transfer, the Defence Ministers' office said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that four historic military sites will be retained in public ownership: Victoria Barracks in Sydney, a sandstone complex built between 1841 and 1848; Victoria Barracks in Melbourne; Fort Queenscliff in Victoria; and RAAF Williams at Point Cook in Victoria. The government said the four sites hold deep significance for the nation and for current and former Australian Defence Force members.
The revised approach also includes transferring the Stokes Hill Fuel Installation in the Northern Territory back to the Larrakia people, the traditional owners of the land; the southern portion of the site is a registered sacred site. Part of HMAS Penguin in Mosman, Sydney, comprising the Angophora Forest, will be transferred to the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.
The broader divestment plan followed an independent review that projected $1.8–$3 billion in proceeds for military upgrades. The November 8 update did not change the divestment direction for the remaining sites.
(Source: Office of the Australian Minister for Defence)
Source: Office of the Australian Minister for Defence
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：悉尼 Paddington 的维多利亚兵营主楼（资料图）。Nick-D 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The main barracks block of Victoria Barracks in Paddington, Sydney (file photo). Photo by Nick-D, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
