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2mo ago

Government to Divest 67 Defence Sites, Redirecting Proceeds to ADF Capability

A Finance-run, multi-year program is billed as cutting about $100 million in annual maintenance costs.

Russian cannons captured by the British forces during the Crimean War in 1854 on display as memorials at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne. (Dove Smithett/Defence)
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The federal government has agreed to sell 64 sites across the country owned by the military. (Damian Shaw/AAP PHOTOS)
Historic Victoria Barracks among defence sites to be sold for billions

Overview

  • The government released a divestment list covering about 67 underused or vacant Defence properties, with three already sold.
  • High-profile and heritage sites named include Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Spectacle Island in Sydney and a partial sale of HMAS Penguin.
  • Officials forecast roughly $3 billion in gross proceeds, up to $1.2 billion in remediation and relocation costs, and as much as $1.8 billion net, with all funds reinvested in Defence.
  • The Department of Finance will manage sales case by case over several years, with a navy diving school at Clareville retained and some locations only partly divested.
  • Veterans and opposition figures are urging caution over heritage and training impacts, as ministers point to vacant and deteriorating assets and stress projected savings of about $100 million a year.