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April 18, 2026
The Albanese government stands accused of a "shortsighted cash grab" over plans to hang the for-sale sign on Sydney's historic Victoria Barracks.
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson has entered the fight to save the still operational military base as pressure mounts on the federal government to retreat from offloading the Paddington site.
Highly decorated former military figures have slammed the proposal and called on Defence Minister Richard Marles to extract the barracks from an asset divestment program aimed at raising $1.8bn. Senator Paterson has supported their campaign, telling The Saturday Telegraph: "Serious countries don't sell off their military heritage for a quick buck.
"While there is some surplus defence land that could go, Labor's plan to flog off historical defence sites like Victoria Barracks is a short-sighted cash grab.
"Not only would we lose important historical military sites, but we would also be evicting the Australian Defence Force from our cities.
"We may need those strategic sites in the future... but once they are gone, they can never be taken back.
"If the Albanese government was properly funding defence, we wouldn't need to sell off our national heritage to pay the bills."
Former chief of army Ken Gillespie was scathing of the move, telling The Daily Telegraph on Thursday that "economic rationalists" were ignoring the role the barracks could play in combating security and terrorism threats.
"It's too late in three or four years, if there's a defence emer gency, to say we want to mount a special forces counter-terrorism operation close to the city (if Victoria Barracks is sold)," he warned.
The ex-lieutenant general was second in charge at the Australian Defence Force and chief of joint operations when world leaders including George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin arrived in Sydney for the APEC summit in 2007.
"It was Victoria Barracks that ensured Special Forces would be able to operate as an instant ready reaction force into the CBD if required," he said.
"If you're looking strategically at it and thinking we're entering some sort of Utopia and won't ever have another requirement like that, then I think you're probably smoking dope."
NSW RSL president and former brigadier Vincent Williams has also railed against the government's threat to shut down Victoria Barracks.
"It has to remain in the nation's hands," he said. "It needs to be retained for the Australian people."
Mr Marles announced this week a national defence strategy and 10-year spending plan, investing an additional $14bn over the next four years and $53bn over the next decade.