Victoria Barracks sale abandoned following backlash

The Albanese government has bowed to public pressure and abandoned the sale of Victoria Barracks, removing its most high-profile defence asset from its attempt to claw back $3 billion in taxpayer money.

The decision, announced on Sunday, means the 186-year-old Victoria Barracks in Paddington will remain in government hands.

The colonial-era sandstone headquarters will not be sold, but it will also no longer be used as an active Australian Defence Force facility.

Instead, it will be opened to the public.

“Victoria Barracks Sydney has a special place in our nation’s history – and we will be keeping it in public hands,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

“This program creates opportunities to open Defence’s historic sites and buildings to the public, and to commemorate our nation’s history.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles had until September maintained that Victoria Barracks would be sold, describing it as “the oldest wine cellar in Sydney,” used by only a section of the military elite.

The comments provoked a backlash from supporters of the site and galvanised the Save Victoria Barracks Alliance. An unlikely coalition of veterans’ groups, former prime ministers Paul Keating, John Howard and Tony Abbott, Premier Chris Minns and federal, state and local politicians all spoke out against the sale of the site.

The Daily Telegraph, which first reported the Albanese government’s backflip on Sunday morning, also campaigned heavily against the sale.

“By moving personnel off these sites, and working to open them up for the public, we are ensuring that the history of Victoria Barracks is one that can be protected and returned to all Australians,” Marles said in a statement.

“Given the strategic landscape we face, we cannot afford to be wasting money. We need to look at how we best use defence money for defence capability.”

The government estimated maintaining the site as a defence facility would cost $200 million over the next 10 years.

The decision to keep Victoria Barracks in public hands will punch a hole worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the government’s attempt to recoup $3 billion from ailing defence assets.

Three other sites, including Victoria Barracks and Point Cook in Melbourne and Fort Queenscliff near Geelong, will also remain publicly owned and opened up for community access.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the government was working to ensure defence has the capabilities it needs, and that the land was put to good use, including through public access.

The Australian War Memorial will advise the government on showcasing the history of the sites.

The decision to stop the sale of Sydney’s Victoria Barracks will likely scupper the proposals of developers and architects, who had begun producing concept plans for the rare inner-city site, including mixed commercial, residential and public spaces.

It is also set to reduce the amount of land available for housing, which the federal and state governments have labelled a priority to deal with chronic supply shortages in inner suburbs.

City of Sydney councillor Zann Maxwell said earlier this year that Victoria Barracks had to be considered as part of the solution.

“We are in a housing crisis, and this is a very important site close to jobs and public transport,” he said.

“It’s in the heart of one of the densest and most vibrant parts of the city. If there can be housing outcomes done sensitively and appropriately, we should absolutely be looking at them.”