Why the battle over this Sydney site is more than a war on NIMBYs

I am a Sydneysider fortunate enough to have access, albeit infrequently, to what lies on the other side of the grand sandstone walls of Victoria Barracks. Few are as lucky as me because the public, which pays for its upkeep, is almost completely locked out of the 13-hectare Paddington site.

Once a year, just before Christmas, my family visits the barracks (after completing security forms and showing photo ID) to watch our eldest parade with his army cadet unit. To my surprise, it has become one of my favourite end-of-year activities.

Before our teenager joined cadets a few years ago, I had never set foot inside the grounds of Australia’s most historic defence site. I do not come from a military family but in December, as I sat in the sweltering sun swatting away flies, I was struck by just how special it is.

The expansive green grass of the parade ground, the beautiful Georgian-style sandstone buildings from the 1840s. Twelve heritage listings across the grounds, originally built by convicts with local materials including seashells.

A site such as Victoria Barracks should not be accessible only to the likes of me. Nor should it be sold, as is the current plan after the Albanese government undertook a sweeping audit of its defence property portfolio. (Also on the federal government’s divestment list is part of HMAS Penguin on Middle Head at Balmoral and Spectacle Island near Drummoyne, along with 10 other NSW sites).

As a city, we can be more creative than simply allowing a stunning historical site to be auctioned off. A hybrid model, proposed by the Wentworth MP Allegra Spender and Sydney MP Alex Greenwich would be the best of both worlds.

Spender and Greenwich, whose electorates take in the barracks, want the largely inaccessible site opened to the public, in an area of Sydney where green space is at a premium. Greenwich acknowledges the site is large and so believes it has the potential to provide both open space and housing.

Heritage would be retained, but the site accessible by taxpayers. Defence could maintain a presence and there would still be a housing component, which must include affordable homes.

I am not a NIMBY and desperately want more housing in inner Sydney. The proposed sale will barely affect my son. His cadet unit will continue to parade at the less spectacular, nearby Randwick Barracks. But I am not alone in wanting the site saved.

Two state Labor MPs – Marjorie O’Neill and Greg Warren – are also vehemently opposed to the barracks leaving public hands, as is Liberal MP James Griffin, who grew up in a military family. His mother, a former Greens councillor on Manly Council and the first female Barracks commandant of Victoria Barracks, makes a good point. “Security of the offices occupied by the military can be ensured,” says Cathy Griffin, formerly Major Cathy Horne, “without stopping people at the gate.”

Premier Chris Minns had a terrible wobble last week when asked in question time about his thoughts on the barracks sale. For a slick communicator, indeed the best in the parliament, Minns’ flippant response could be put down to his horror week in the wake of the anti-Isaac Herzog protest.

Rather than giving an informed answer, Minns seemed totally uninterested, and he said he had not turned his mind to it. He likened it to his neighbour selling a boat, as though the sale of public land were something that could be flogged on Facebook Marketplace.

Minns, who is sensitive to criticism from radio station 2GB, called in to apologise later that afternoon after the station was inundated with calls from angry veterans who felt his comments were insensitive. The premier acknowledged he had had a shocker and apologised profusely.

Thankfully, other ministers in Minns’ cabinet have been thinking about the future of the barracks. After all, this government will be judged on its promise to deliver housing at the ballot box in just over a year. Housing Minister Rose Jackson has said the state government is a potential buyer, while Planning Minister Paul Scully recently said he had asked “Homes NSW to investigate potential options for Victoria Barracks” and he ruled out “aggressive” development.

The Minns government has shown it is not adverse to a stoush with its federal Labor colleagues. Indeed, its tough stance on negotiating a federal health agreement and a deal on school funding shows NSW is willing to stand up for its voters, regardless of which party is running the country. NSW can do the same with the Commonwealth’s plans for the barracks.

If Minns is serious about housing, he needs to champion a hybrid model for Victoria Barracks. It would send a message to NIMBYs that he is not development-at-all-costs but also that he understands how important buildings and history are to many of us.

Alexandra Smith is state political editor.