Labor’s proposed fire sale of culturally and historically significant Defence properties should be stopped.

It is a matter of national urgency.

The idea that a $3 billion sugar hit to the Treasury is worth the desecration of priceless pieces of our history is an insult to Australians.

Labor’s decision is particularly sour, given how much money they happily spend giving away public land and national parks in Native Title deals which has already robbed the Australian people of previously shared spaces.

Our land is getting smaller, our birthright diminishing, and Australians are being made to feel as if the preservation of culture has an ethnic hierarchy.

This is reinforced every time an activist tears down a statue or desecrates a war monument with almost no interest from Labor Prime Ministers or Premiers.

Under no circumstances should these Defence buildings be allowed to disappear for commercial housing projects or general demolition. Nor should they be allowed to fall into disrepair while deals are made to the point their heritage protections are outweighed by safety which sees them torn down.

Not only is this problem one of cultural protection, there are grave concerns that Richard Marles, as Defence Minister, has allowed his giddiness at the dollar value obstruct the critical strategic value of these sites as the world approaches the edge of war. Not every military asset is used in peacetime, but they can become critical overnight.

What sort of fool thinks this is the time to shrink Defence holdings by 68 properties?

‘We’re not a heritage organisation, we’re a defence organisation,’ said Marles.

Labor don’t seem to make particularly good accountants either.

Instead of selling of Defence assets and pieces of our history, why didn’t Labor make cuts in its renewable energy spending which has wasted hundreds of billions? If green energy is so wonderfully cheap and commercially viable, why are we footing the bill for failed projects, some of which are rotting at the bottom of city harbours?

Or why not audit the $50 billion per year NDIS for its extensive waste, fraud, and bloat which has become a drain on the nation’s finances?

Then there is the Indigenous industry, which despite costing the taxpayer enough to pave Uluru in gold, has seen a widening of the gap in the last two decades…

If we are so skint for cash, why did Foreign Minister Penny Wong get up and announce millions for Afghanistan and millions for Gaza?

Why did we spend $600 million on a football stadium for PNG?

There is clearly plenty of money to be saved in the Budget, but Labor has decided to destroy the one thing Australians cannot get back … their history.

Let us be frank.

If these were Aboriginal sacred sites instead of colonial sites, the Labor Party would set up an entirely new and fully-financed department to manage their preservation.

Instead, Labor has shown generational disregard for colonial history, and so they are to be flogged off as if the colony had died and its assets put out on the street.

Our Defence history has been reduced to a number on a spreadsheet, just as Chalmers reduces taxpayers to a revenue column.

We’re transitioning to a more efficient and economic Defence estate.

The Defence Estate Audit highlighted opportunities to strategically divest parts of the estate across the country – sites that are old, outdated and with no current or future need.

As a result, we will be able…

— Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) February 4, 2026

The loss of the Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne Victoria Barracks are the most egregious items within this decision.

Even Labor NSW Premier Chris Minns had something to say.

‘The heritage value of Victoria barracks in very important, not just to those that care about culturally significant buildings, but also for the veterans and the members of the armed forces that have gone through the barracks over a long period of time. I hope they do it sensitively. We’ll have a closer look at the proposed changes and see how it works.’

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said it best:

‘Shame on the Albanese government for the way they have stripped out the Defence budget. Shame on the Albanese government for the way they have compromised our warfighting capability. Shame on the Albanese government for the way they have destroyed the morale of our fighting men and women. And shame on the Albanese government for the news today that they are selling off our prime Defence land and bases across our country.

‘Labor is selling off historic bases like Victoria barracks in Sydney and Melbourne, central to the ADF’s identity and history.

‘Labor is selling off important bases like Irwin barracks in Perth, home to 13th Brigade, and the heart and soul of our Army Reserve in the West.

‘Labor is selling off key bases like HMAS Penguin, which provide an important presence and capability in Sydney for the Royal Australian Navy.

‘And Labor is selling off land near sensitive bases like Swan Island in Victoria, putting at risk important capabilities.

‘The Albanese government are not stewards, they are wreckers. And they are wrecking our inheritance.

‘They are pushing our fighting men and women, and their families, further away from the cities that we depend upon for the recruitment of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

‘Why? For money. It’s all about money.’

Richard Marles may as well have said they were cutting down the Sydney Harbour Bridge because it was in the way and costs money to paint.

Let’s not forget, this is the Defence Minister who cannot even manage to secure the Port of Darwin from China. Is this our nation, or not? Are these our harbours, or not?

Given the loss of barracks in the middle of our biggest cities, experts are deeply concerned about the roll-on impact this will have on recruitment, training, and critical defence in a time of war where an inner-city presence is considered vital.

‘Mobilising at scale requires training facilities, space, and locations accessible to the public, requirements that need to be understood before undertaking what the government has described as the most significant change to the Defence estate in Australia’s history,’ said an ANU National Security College expert.

What we want to know is which developers have been lurking around the edges, eying off previously untouchable harbourside property.

Someone is going to make a fortune from these public assets, and it is not the average Australian.