Public property, private dealings in The Rocks

On Friday March 12 the Sydney Morning Herald ran a story, “Foreshore property deal rocks the boat”.

As a landlord managing more than $1 billion in foreshore property from Balmain through Pyrmont and The Rocks to Circular Quay, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) is expected to generate massive rental incomes for the State Government and the ultimate benefit of the public.

But this story, which seemed to slip beneath most news radars, detailed falling rental incomes and occupancy rates at a time of rising property values, and a culture of apparent secrecy seemingly in conflict with ICAC’s own recommendations of transparency and public access to information.

The NSW Greens have jumped on this new information to ask why the murk surrounding NSW State Government development and property deals continues to thicken, even in the wake of a worsening crisis of public confidence in government credibility and competence.

“Alarm bells should be ringing about the private negotiations, the absence of public tendering, and the culture of secrecy surrounding the way in which the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority manages and leases public properties under its control,” said Greens spokesperson for Planning, Sylvia Hale.

Hale is also concerned that of two recent reviews of SHFA practice and administrative process, one was conducted by SHFA, and the other was generated by an independent consultant hired by SHFA.

Of particular interest are activities surrounding the five-storey 154-year-old Mariners’ Church at 100 George Street. The authority has spent $6 million upgrading the property for sound, safety and heritage purposes so it can become Club 100 under the terms of a new lease.

But questions are being raised about the business logic of the massive spend, the fact that the lease was never publicly or privately put out for tender, whether any other factors contributed to such an outcome, and why objections to the possible impacts of a super club in The Rocks and on the building itself appear to have been set aside..

“It’s inevitable that public suspicions are aroused when SHFA pours more than $6 million of public money into renovating a heritage property it then leases to a company with links to the Labor Party,” said Hale. “That it does so in the face of objections from the Police and the National Trust simply adds to the unease.

“When parliament resumes next week I will be moving to have all documents associated with SHFA’s leasing policies and the leasing of 100 George Street made public.”