Harbour Trust Independent Review 2020.
Most of our members will need no reminding of the brilliant and passionate community campaign that led to the establishment of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust in 2001.
A reminder of the history.
During the 1990s land around Sydney Harbour was to be vacated by the Defence Department and put to a variety of uses. Some was to be sold, some put to community purposes and only some was to become parkland. The sites included Middle Head, Georges Heights and Chowder Bay; Cockatoo Island; Woolwich Dock and North Head. Macquarie Lightstation, The Marine Biological Station and Submarine Base Platypus were added later. Snapper Island has not yet been handed over.
In 1996 the Headland Preservation Group (HPG) was formed, led by Linda Bergin and Don Goodsir. Other groups in similarly affected areas around the Harbour were also formed, joining in an umbrella group - the Defenders of Sydney Harbour Foreshores.
Membership of the HPG reached 3,000 individuals and included Mosman Parks & Bushland as well as organisations such as the National Trust, the NCC and the RSL.
The vision was to achieve a National Park, not just for Mosman, not just for Sydney, but for all Australians.
The campaign culminated in a great triumph. The passage of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Act in 2001 embodied the vision and objectives originally determined by the community, namely the preservation of the Aboriginal, military and environmental heritage of the sites around Sydney Harbour, for the benefit of present and future generations.
It was originally intended that the Harbour Trust would vest after 10 years and the lands handed over to an appropriate State or local government authority. As the end of that period approached it was obvious that the work of the Trust was far from complete.
Harbour Trust Extended to 2033.
The Headland Preservation Group and The Mosman Parks & Bushland Association (MPBA) lobbied to have the life of the Trust extended. An Amendment to the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Act extended the life of the Trust to 2033.
In the runup to the recent Federal election, the former Member for Warringah, Tony Abbott, succeeded in obtaining an allocation for the Trust of $22.3 million - $21.4 million for capital works (10 m for Ten Terminal, 11.4 for Platypus) and $900,000 for an Independent Review.
The Review’s purpose.
The review was conducted by the Commonwealth Dept of Environment.
The principle questions were:
What is its future? Should it remain a Federal agency or should some of its sites be handed to NSW, for management by the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS)
The conservation and remediation of some of the sites, particularly Cockatoo Island and the buildings at North Head are far from complete and the cost will be substantial. How should they be funded?
The Trust derives income from leasing its buildings and from events, but it is not self-funding. What level of commercialization is acceptable?
MPBA wanted the following outcomes:
The retention of the Harbour Trust as a Federally governed agency IN PERPETUITY and the retention of all its sites within that agency.
The guarantee of proper funding to maintain the structure of the Trust, the welfare of its sites, the protection of its heritage and the protection of the areas against inappropriate commercialisation.
The guarantee of proper funding to maintain the structure of the Trust, the welfare of its sites and the protection of the areas against inappropriate commercialisation
The MPBA does not want to see inappropriate commercial development on nationally significant land. MPBA considers that there is a need for additional funding to ensure appropriate use/leasing of buildings. Without proper funding and a long-term role for the Trust, MPBA considers that the sites and buildings will fall into disrepair and that the Trust will ultimately fail.
The retention of its own Act, noting its important and succinct objectives. The Trust is currently protected by its own Act of Parliament (the SHFT Act) and by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) as it relates to Commonwealth land. These give better protection than a NSW Act of Parliament which would be easier to change.
