Liberal slams $3b Defence ‘fire sale’ as officials seek to calm foreign interest fears

Defence officials have moved to quell alarm over the proposed mass sale of historic sites and the potential for foreign interests to buy the land, as the federal government pushes ahead with a $3 billion property sell-off.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson used Senate estimates to brand the planned divestment of the Swan Island golf course near her home region of Geelong “a disgrace”, warning against the sale of a military golf course bordering one of the nation’s most secretive training grounds for spies and special forces.

The Swan Island course is one of 67 properties the government hopes to offload, banking about $1.8 billion after costs, in an estate shake-up that will force about 1500 permanent ADF members, 1650 public servants, 3200 reservists and 2550 cadets to relocate.

The sell-off, which includes historic Victoria Barracks sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, has triggered backlash within defence ranks as well as warnings it would hollow out the ADF’s footprint in major cities and weaken recruitment and surge capacity in a crisis.

This masthead has previously reported the adjacent Swan Island facility, near Queenscliff in Victoria, is run by the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and used to train key intelligence agencies and specialist police, including instruction by SAS personnel in weapons and, in some cases, explosives.

“How is the Swan Island facility going to be appropriately protected when you are proposing to sell off land adjacent to that facility?” Henderson said. “You haven’t even made it clear that this won’t go to foreign interests. This is sending shock waves through our nation, including in Victoria.”

Defence Department deputy secretary for security and estate Celia Perkins pushed back, telling the hearing the golf course, established in 1913 for recreational purposes, was already publicly accessible.

“Part of our preliminary conversations will be where there are sites on the divestment list where there may be a security requirement … that there is a capacity to build that into the conditions of sale,” Perkins said.

Coalition senators also went on the attack when it was revealed ADF personnel had only learned of the proposed sale after it appeared on the front pages of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last week.

Henderson accused Senator Jenny McAllister of “running a protection racket” for Defence. When Henderson refused to withdraw the remark when asked by committee chairman Raff Ciccone, the hearing was suspended.

“Do you understand how devastating this fire sale is for our veterans, for our serving ADF men and women … for our defence heritage, for our history?” Henderson said.

Defence officials estimate the sale will cost about $1.2 billion, which includes relocation and replication of capabilities on alternate sites. They said only about 20 per cent of the properties slated for sale had some level of public access.

Officials also confirmed three of the 67 properties had already been sold, including the Haberfield training depot for $44.54 million, a RAAF Garbutt property for $2.1 million and the Amaroo Apartment on Magnetic Island for $859,000.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.