Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water, says in her 2023 Statement of Expectations that “I expect the Harbour Trust to: protect and preserve heritage assets and within the Harbour for future generations.” The article by Michael Koziol in the Sydney Morning Herald follows the release of Plibersek’s statement and the today’s release of the Revised Draft Master Plan for Middle Head by the Harbour Trust.
View full Sydney Morning Herald Opinion piece here > or read the transcript below:
Read the Trust’s Revised Master Plan documents here >
Read Plibersek’s Statement here >
The Headland Preservation Group (HPG) reviewed all publicly available submissions to the Draft Master Plan and from 169 submissions concluded that 61% had significant concerns regarding the Plan.
Middle Head is a heritage site of Indigenous, cultural, military and environmental significance which is Commonwealth Heritage Listed. HPG hopes that the Revised Plan reflects the community and stakeholder sentiment.
Sydney Morning Herald
"Middle Head plans scaled back but Plibersek wants heritage sites to make money"
By Michael Koziol
August 24, 2023
Nine historic defence sites around Sydney Harbour must raise revenue and attract more tourists, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has declared, even as the agency managing the sites scales back redevelopment plans in the face of community pressure.
The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust will on Thursday release a revised master plan for Middle Head in Mosman which abandons parts of the draft proposal following a backlash, but proceeds with the demolition of three 1950s timber barracks – to the alarm of heritage advocates.
It no longer proposes to reconfigure Middle Head Oval or move the change facilities, retains the former military guardhouse and its currently tenanted cafe, and rules out frequent large-scale events on the headland.
Instead, the Trust is proposing to use the headland for no more than two events a year – such as heritage open days, temporary exhibitions or community festivals – and cap visitors at 500 a day. The brick buildings of the 10 Terminal will still be redeveloped, including food and beverage.
“We’ve listened carefully to people’s concerns and taken those on,” the Trust’s executive director Janet Carding said.
Mosman Council, local sporting clubs and federal MP Zali Steggall raised concerns about planned changes to the oval that have now been scrapped. “There will be no reduction in its playing space, nor any reorientation of playing fields,” a summary of the new master plan states.
However, Plibersek’s new statement of expectations – quietly published online last week – makes it clear she wants the Trust to protect heritage at the same time as opening up the sites to more visitors. The portfolio also includes Cockatoo Island, North Head Sanctuary and Sub Base Platypus.
Plibersek says the agency “should be considering revenue raising opportunities in everything they do, to ensure long-term financial sustainability of its sites, particularly through tourism and re-imagining the adaptive use of space across the Harbour sites”.
The sites, many of which require extensive capital investment and repairs, need to attract more domestic and foreign tourists, and offer a broader range of experiences which appeal to diverse audiences, Plibersek instructed.
The government invested $45 million for site repairs in the May budget. Plibersek told the Herald: “I have made clear to the Trust my expectations for them to preserve the environmental and heritage values of sites for our kids and grandkids. That includes looking at opportunities to ensure they are on a sustainable funding path, consistent with the protection and conservation of the sites, and in line with other priorities of protecting nature, working with local and First Nations communities, and keeping the sites open to the public.”
While heritage advocates praised the statement of expectations as thoughtful and balanced, the imperatives to preserve the past and make money through adaptive reuse can create conflict.
Plibersek’s predecessor Sussan Ley met resistance to her own statement of expectations, which flagged the development of “commercial strategies for Trust sites to maximise revenue”.
At that time, the Trust wanted to grant 49-year leases to commercial operators, decried by then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese as “defacto privatisation”.
Carding said the Trust had always been tasked with raising revenue as it did not receive a yearly appropriation from government, but it did not seek to turn a profit. “It’s an interesting business model,” she said.
“Whilst we always need to consider the views of the local community, we also need to look at how we can make the site[s] more accessible and give it more profile. My sense is we can do that and maintain the heritage values.”
Headland Preservation Group president Jill L’Estrange said Plibersek’s approach seemed balanced. “It’s a big task to make them financially sustainable,” she said. “We must never lose sight of the important colonial and military heritage, indigenous and environmental values of the lands.”
L’Estrange was critical of the Trust’s draft master plan for Middle Head, including the proposal to knock down three timber barracks dating to the 1950s. They are part of the site’s broader heritage listing, but have largely fallen into disrepair.
Carding acknowledged a “mixed bag” of feedback about the demolition of the timber barracks, but said additional heritage advice provided to the Trust – to be published on Thursday – supported its decision. She said the “small contribution” the timber barracks made to the site’s overall heritage could be expressed elsewhere.
The revised plan for Middle Head is on public exhibition until September 21. The Trust is due to release draft master plans for Cockatoo Island and North Head Sanctuary later this year.
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ABOVE: The Barracks have significant heritage value and whilst they have been neglected for almost 30 years they are certainly not derelict!