Media Releases

3 June 2026

Independent Warringah MP Zali Steggall has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
of abandoning decades of publicly stated opposition to the privatisation of Sydney
Harbour foreshore land, as the government presses ahead with plans to divest parts of
the HMAS Penguin naval precinct at Middle Head.

The Albanese Government is preparing to sell portions of the 16-hectare Defence site
on Sydney Harbour at full market value as part of its broader Defence estate divestment
program.

Steggall said the proposed sell-off directly contradicted Anthony Albanese’s own
warnings against selling off the Sydney Harbour foreshore and handing public assets
into private hands.

“This is not just a local planning dispute - it is a direct contradiction of positions the
Prime Minister has argued consistently for more than two decades,” Steggall said.
“In Opposition, Anthony Albanese repeatedly argued that Sydney Harbour foreshore
land should remain in public hands forever. In Government, he is now overseeing the
disposal of exactly the kind of nationally significant land he once fought to protect.”

In a 2021 parliamentary speech, Mr Albanese described Sydney Harbour as “an asset
that is a jewel for the entire country” and warned against governments selling harbour
land.

“Whilst it's true that very few people can afford to live with harbour views, the truth is
everyone can enjoy harbour views and can enjoy the amenity around Sydney Harbour
because of that access, which is why it's so important that this national parliament
continue to do what previous generations have done, which is to protect harbour
foreshores,” he told parliament.

“There are attempts from time to time to undermine that […] to essentially have Sydney
Harbour and its beautiful assets … for sale. That would, I think, be a very retrograde
step, because, if we get it wrong once, it disappears forever.”

In the same speech, Mr Albanese specifically referenced previous attempts to privatise
harbour assets including Cockatoo Island and “critical assets” at Middle Head, where
HMAS Penguin is located.

Albanese quoted his late mentor Tom Uren, who argued the harbour foreshore “belongs
to the nation as a whole”, and praised bipartisan efforts involving both Labor and Liberal
figures to preserve public ownership of Sydney Harbour land.

Albanese’s remarks to Parliament reveal his decades-long desire to keep Sydney
Harbour foreshore land in public hands. As far back as 2001, Albanese argued
passionately why Sydney Harbour foreshore should not be sold, saying “Sydney
Harbour belongs to everyone … Strong protection is needed here because at some point
in the future governments under financial constraints will be under pressure to sell
land.”

He went on: “We have seen on a number of issues relating to Sydney that people who
perhaps do not understand the importance of this green space are put under pressure
from bureaucrats in the departments of treasury, finance and others to find funds.”

Steggall said the Prime Minister’s past remarks were impossible to reconcile with the
proposed partial divestment HMAS Penguin, including Commonwealth-listed heritage
buildings and pristine Angophora forest.

“The Prime Minister himself warned that once these lands are lost, they are lost forever,”
Steggall said. “So what has changed? Why was Middle Head a critical national asset
worth defending in Opposition, but surplus real estate when Labor is in government?”
Steggall said Labor was using the Defence divestment process to monetise
irreplaceable public land in a misguided attempt at budget repair.

“As far back as 2001, Anthony Albanese warned governments would come under
pressure from bureaucrats to sell public land during periods of financial constraint,” she
said. “That is precisely the scenario now unfolding.”

Steggall wants forest at the site to be transferred to an agency that would conserve it,
and the rest of HMAS Penguin to remain in Defence hands. “These lands should be
preserved for future generations, not carved up and sold to to the highest bidder,” she
said.