One of the most significant sites in Australia’s defence history could be sold to developers and carved up for thousands of new homes on Melbourne’s fringe as part of a large-scale divestment of defence land that includes prime sites in St Kilda, Carlton and Sandringham.
The 112-year-old RAAF base in Point Cook in Melbourne’s south-west – the first home of the Royal Australian Air Force – has been listed among 67 pieces of defence-owned land that will be sold at market value following an audit of Australia’s defence real estate portfolio.
The base is home to national heritage-listed World War II aircraft hangars that are badly dilapidated and fenced off for safety, and which the federal government has previously looked to tear down.
It is one of 16 Victorian sites to be divested. Others include the Maribyrnong defence site, which has been vacant since 2006 and which the government has sought to dispose of for several years; part of the RAAF Williams base in Laverton; training depots in Carlton, St Kilda and Sandringham; and HMAS Cerberus near Crib Point.
Nationally, the 67 sites set to be fully or partially sold by the Department of Finance have an estimated sale price of $3 billion. The government says more than $2 billion will be invested back into new military equipment and upgrades to essential bases.
Wyndham Mayor Josh Gilligan condemned any proposal to convert the Point Cook base into housing, warning it would turn Point Cook into Australia’s “least liveable suburb”.
“We’re prepared to go to DEFCON 1 to protect our city from this housing incursion because we’re sick of housing and no jobs and services for the people who move into them,” Gilligan said.
The Commonwealth-owned RAAF base lies just outside Melbourne’s urban growth boundary, meaning any move to develop it for housing would require the approval of both houses of the Victorian parliament.
Wyndham estimates selling the base would enable an estimated 7000 more houses and 20,000 people in Point Cook.
“This stealth sale will put Point Cook on track to be the least liveable suburb in Australia, and Wyndham city won’t stand for that,” Gilligan said.
The Point Cook base houses multiple nationally heritage-listed buildings, some of which Defence has previously proposed to demolish.
It withdrew proposals in July last year, following a public campaign by the National Trust. But according to the Defence audit report published on Wednesday, some of the historic structures “have deteriorated to the point there is no prudent or feasible way to remediate them”. The hangars are a hazard to worker health and safety, the audit states.
Defence said it had spent $50 million on upkeep works at Point Cook in the past five years and would need to spend a further $163 million over the next 25 years to maintain building assets.
“Sites with significant heritage attributes are increasingly prohibitive to capability,” it said.
According to the Commonwealth’s list of national heritage places, RAAF Base Point Cook is the oldest continuously operating military airbase in the world.
Senthill Sundaram, treasurer of the volunteer Point Cook Action Group, said the RAAF base was one of a precious few sites of historical significance in the area and must be preserved.
“The heritage should be maintained. We have very little heritage; it’s all housing development, that’s what we have,” he said.
Sundaram also said the region desperately needed more job opportunities, and the base would be more useful as an employment precinct. Arterial roads and local schools were already overburdened in a suburb where most workers must commute outside the region, he said.
“A lot of permits have been gazetted for starting new schools, shopping centres and the like. Point Cook Road does not have enough capacity. The road is narrow and it’s a big bottleneck. We have been advocating for duplicating Point Cook Road for decades.”
Victorian Labor MP for Point Cook Mathew Hilakari petitioned the Albanese government on Wednesday, urging it to protect heritage and provide infrastructure guarantees before any new housing is released.
“Our community of Point Cook has real challenges related to infrastructure. In particular, travel to train lines and freeways,” the petition says.
Wyndham has been one of Melbourne’s fastest-growing municipalities. In the past 30 years, housing in the area grew 433 per cent, compared with Victoria’s overall rate of 65 per cent, according to state government data.
Population growth has rocketed ahead of jobs growth. Sixty-two per cent of its working population commutes outside Wyndham for employment.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday that the divestment was only partially about releasing land for housing, and that no decisions had been made about the land’s future use.
“I mean, there are some prime locations,” he said. “I imagine there will be a lot of interest and a lot of views about what they can be used for. But the reality is we will work through those site by site. It may be that some sites are suitable for housing. Obviously, other sites will have contamination, heritage restrictions, or other issues that need to be worked through.”
Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said the release of surplus defence land would “go a long way in tackling the housing crisis”.
“It is common sense to put these 67 underutilised sites to work, and MBA continues to call for other government departments, federal and state, to follow suit,” Wawn said.
An Allan government spokesperson said: “While this is a decision made by the Commonwealth, we welcome the opportunity to work together to unlock land for more housing. Any future proposal would be considered on its merits and subject to a planning process.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Adam Carey is senior city reporter (suburban). He has held previous roles including education editor, state political correspondent and transport reporter. He joined The Age in 2007.Connect via X or email.From our partners
Read the full article here
