JOINT STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON RJL HAWKE, AC MP
AND THE PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES. THE HON NK WRAN, QC MLA
SYDNEY, 17 NOVEMBER 1985
NAVY TO MOVE FROM PRIME SYDNEY WATERFRONT SITE
The largest waterfront site occupied by the Defence Force in
Sydney is to be relinquished by the Commonwealth for
qivilian use in the early 1990s.
This was announced jointly by the Prime Minister, Mr. Hawke,
and the NSW Premier, Mr Wran, at a news conference on board
HMAS Adelaide in Sydney today.
The site, which covers about 260 hectares on the Parramatta
River at Silverwater, presently houses the Navy's Newington
Ammunition Depot which is to be moved: to the Jervis Bay
area. Mr Hawke and Mr Wran said the site would be redeveloped
under arrangements jointly agreed by the Commonwealth and
NSW Governments. Possible uses for the site included a
riverfront park and residential and commercial development.
A small area on the western fringe of the site of less than
hectares would be retained for use by the Army.
As a result of nearly 90 years occupation by the RAN,
Newington was a rare green oasis in the centre of the inner
western suburbs. It was unlikely that such a site would
ever again become available for redevelopment. .2/
-2-
The decision to move the depot to Jervis Bay offered an
unparalleled opportunity and challenge to the two
Governments to contribute to the development of Sydney, they
said.
The ammunition depot, located on the southern side oE the
Parramatta River, was first used as a storage area for
explosives in 1896 and was expanded during World War II. it
is now mainly used for storing gun and small arms ammunition
and as a staging point for other munitions being moved to
and from ships in Sydney Harbour.
" The Federal Government has decided that the depot must be
moved because of the increasing environmental problems
associated with it," Mr Hawke said. " Civilian development
in the surrounding areas and increased traffic both on -the
roads around the depot and on the harbour are making -it
increasingly difficult for the Navy to maintain the
necessary high safety standards.
" The Commonwealth proposes to build a new depot on a far
larger site in the Jervis Bay area at. a cost of more than
$ 100 million. The new depot should be operational by 1992."
Mr Hawke said the Minister for Sport, Recreation and
Tourism, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, Mr.
John Brown, would begin consultations with the NSW
Government almost immediately to prepare a joint land use
plan.
Mr Wran welcomed the Commonwealth's decision to make the
land available for civil use.
" A thoughtful and sensitive mix of development on the site
will benefit all the citizens of Sydney," he said. 3/
-3
" In return the State Government has undertaken to assist
the Commonwealth in assessing the environmental impact of
the Proposed relocation of Defence facilities to the Jervis
Bay area. The State Government recognizes that a new depot
must be operational before the land at Homebush Bay can be
released by the Commonwealth Government."
Mr Hawke said the decision to relocate the ammunition depot
raised the prospect that nearby Spectacle Island, which is
used by the RAN in connection with the armunitioning of
warships, could be opened to public use.
Spectacle Island, which covers about two hectares, is one of
the oldest naval shore establishments in Australia. . In 1883
NSW made it available to the British Admiralty to store
explosives. The island contains several buildings dating
back to last century and is the repository for many historic
naval relics.
Mr Brown would discuss with the NSW. Government the extent to
which the Island could be used by the public in a way
consistent with the Commonwealth's requirement to use the
Island for the emergency removal of ammunition from RAN
ships.
Mr H-awke also announced that options for the relocation of
the naval supply facility at Rydalmere would be examined by
the two governments. Its transfer to another suitable site
in the Sydney area would make available for development
about 21 hectares of riverfront land on the northern side of
the Parramatta River near the Newington site.
Mr Hawke said that, beside returning the Silverwater site to
civil use and the prospect of other moves, the Government
was considering relocation of other naval facilities away
from Sydney. 4/
-4
The Minister for Defence, Mr Kim Beazley, had established a
study group in the Department of Defence under the
Ministerial direction of Mr Brown to examine all significant
issues and options associated with a relocation of other
naval facilities in Sydney, including its possible timing.
In particular the study would examine:
options for relocating the present Fleet Base
facilities at Woolloomooloo and Garden Island
( excluding the dockyard), the submarine base,
HMAS Platypus, at Neutral Bay and the pat~ rol
boat base, HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton, including
the prospects for increased ship basing at
EIMAS Stirling in Western Australia;
* strategic, operational, cost and social),
environmental and other public implications of the
relocation options, including implications for
the Jervis Bay region, and
* potential offsets to relocation costs from the disposal
of land, particularly in the Sydney metropolitan area.
" The study group is to present its final report by the end
of June next year," he said. " The move could take up to
to 20 years to accomplish."
Mr Hawke said if all the facilities under study were to be
relocated, the total cost of the move was likely to be in
the vicinity of $ 1000 milrlion, including naval facilities,
housing and community services.
Mr Hawke said that if the relocation went ahead it would
provide a major boost to the South Coast with significant
and lasting economic benefits in the long term for the
Shoalhaven region.
Mr Hawke said that before detailed planning for the first
stage move of the ammunition depot began the Commonwealth
would commission a major environmental study which would
report on the likely impact of the whole proposal on both
the physical and human environment of the Jervis Bay
region. " While the Government is anxious that this major relocation
go ahead we wish to be reassured that it will produce no
harmful side effects," Mr Hawke said.
" All interested community groups will have the opportunity
to contribute to this study and comment on its findings.
" The broad study will be followed by detailed environmental
impact studies for particular projects. The first of these
studies will relate to the relocation of the ammunitio'n
depot." Further Encuiries:
Navy: Reg McDonald
Prime Minister:
Paul Ellercamp: ( 062) 65 5170 ( b)
( 062) 31 8192 ( h)
( 062) 73 1210
Premier: David Hurley:( 0) 2053( 02) 270 5239