RSL Calls for Less Haste With Mass Defence Asset Sell-Off, Points to Historic Value

The Returned Serviceman’s League (RSL) Australia is urging the federal government to “tap the brakes” on selling off defence assets because “once these sites are gone, they’re gone forever.”

On Feb. 4, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that the Albanese government would undertake the most “significant reform to the defence estate ever” by selling off assets with an estimated windfall of $1.8-3 billion.

In terms of maintenance fees, it is estimated to save taxpayers $100 million per year, and covers around 3.8 million hectares of land.

The announcement coincided with the release of a public version of the Defence Estate Audit and the government’s response to it—agreeing or agreeing-in-principle to all 20 of the Audit’s recommendations.

Commissioned following the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, Jan Mason and Jim Miller led an independent process to assess whether the estate was fit‑for‑purpose and provided the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with the facilities and capabilities it needs to keep Australians safe.

A total of 68 sites were identified for divestment by the audit due to their sitting vacant or unfit for purpose.

Following the assessment, the government agreed to wholly divest 64 sites including Queensland’s Garbutt and Magnetic Island as well as the Victoria Barracks in Melbourne, and Haberfield Training Depot in New South Wales (NSW).

Victoria Barracks contains heritage-listed buildings dating back to 1850, and played a major role in both world wars.

The government will also also partially divest HMAS Penguin in NSW, RAAF Williams—Laverton in Victoria, and Warradale Barracks in South Australia.

Just one site in the recommendations, Pittwater Annex in NSW, will be retained in full.

In a statement, RSL Australia said it would be “watching closely.”

“We understand the strategic logic,” RSL Australia National President Peter Tinley said.

“The Defence Strategic Review made clear we need to reorient toward our northern approaches.

“But these aren’t empty paddocks on a spreadsheet—they’re places where Australians learned to soldier, where bonds of mateship were forged, and where generations prepared to defend this nation.

“The government needs to tap the brakes here. Take a breath. Because once these sites are gone, they’re gone forever.”

The RSL says it wants assurances that reservists and cadets will have somewhere to go before sites were sold, that heritage protection would be adequately enforced, and that veterans would be allowed a say in what happens to the sites.

“I’ve walked through barracks that have trained soldiers for wars from the Boer to Afghanistan,” Tinley said.

“I’ve seen the parade grounds where young Australians took their first steps toward service.

“Veterans right across the country have deep connections to these places and they deserve more than a press conference announcement.”

Tinley said North Head in Sydney and Portsea in Victoria were both examples of defence land sold off with “grand plans” that never eventuated and were later “left to decay behind locked gates.”

“Some of these sales will take a decade and cost a fortune in remediation,” he said. “The $1.8 billion to $3 billion headline figure may look very different when the final accounting is done.

“Let’s have an honest conversation about what’s realistic.”

Minister Marles says his government is committed to preserving and enhancing public access to historically significant sites.

“All proceeds from divestments under this process will be retained within the Defence portfolio and be reinvested in National Defence Strategy priorities, including continuing to upgrade and strengthen our northern bases,” he said in a statement.