Thousands gathered in Sydney's Moore Park on Sunday to protest the planned sale of Victoria Barracks as former prime minister John Howard urged Anthony Albanese to intervene and stop the 'madness'.
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Howard → gather → madness
Victoria Barracks, one of Australia's oldest and most significant military precincts, faces an uncertain future after Defence Minister Richard Marles earmarked the landmark for sale as part of a wider Defence asset disposal program.
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Marles → face → program
Organised by NSW Labor MP Marjorie O'Neill and Liberal senator for NSW Jess Collins, the rally drew figures from across the political spectrum who were united in opposition to the Albanese government's planned sale.
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who → organise → sale
Federal independent MP Allegra Spender and NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich joined Australian Greens leader David Shoebridge, federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane and former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott in opposing the sale.
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Spender → join → sale
With veterans, politicians and community advocates calling for the site's protection, pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Marles to reconsider the planned sale.
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pressure → call → sale
The 'Save Victoria Barracks' rally, originally scheduled outside the Oxford Street gates at Paddington, was shifted to nearby Kippax Lake in Moore Park to accommodate the large crowd.
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rally → save → crowd
Addressing the audience, Howard gave an impassioned defence of Victoria Barracks and called on Albanese to personally step in to stop the sale.
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Howard → address → sale
'Let me say that if the Prime Minister were to intervene and cancel any of this madness, then I will be the first to go on 2GB in the afternoon and congratulate Anthony Albanese,' Howard said.
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Howard → let → Albanese
Crowds gathered to rally against the sale of Victoria Barracks on Sunday in Moore Park
With veterans, politicians and community advocates calling for the site's protection, pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Marles to reconsider the planned sale
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pressure → gather → sale
The rally attracted attendees from across the political spectrum, united in opposition to the proposal
Howard said the campaign had united Australians from across the political divide behind a shared cause.
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campaign → attract → cause
'You will have the support of people irrespective of whether they are Labor, National Party, One Nation, whatever, and the Greens and independents, because they all care about our country.
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they → have → country
They care about its history and they care about our heritage,' he said.
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he → care → heritage
The former prime minister argued Victoria Barracks was far more than valuable inner-city real estate and should be protected as part of Australia's national story.
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Barracks → argue → story
'We think it is a precious, irreplaceable, not-for-sale national asset,' he said.
'
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he → think → sale
It marched from there and was farewelled by a mass crowd.
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It → march → crowd
'And, of course, that was repeated in the Boer War and World War I. Units marched from here to their points of embarkation.
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Units → repeat → embarkation
Howard said that while he supported development, commercial interests should not come at the expense of Australia's heritage.
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interests → say → heritage
'I believe in development.
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I → believe → development
I have some close friends who are well-known developers, and they make a massive contribution,' he said.
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he → have → contribution
John Howard (pictured) slammed the proposal to sell the barracks in a speech to the crowd
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Howard → picture → crowd
The Albanese government has defended to proposal to sell the barracks to save money
'
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government → defend → money
But I don't think anybody wants that contribution to be at the expense of our history and our soul as a country.'
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contribution → think → country
'You don't give that up for a few bob.'
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You → give → bob
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor used his speech to accuse the Albanese government of putting budget pressures ahead of national security and heritage.
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Taylor → use → security
'We are fighting for our Defence Force at the most dangerous time since the Second World War.
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We → fight → War
You know who said that?
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who → know → that
The Defence Minister,' Taylor told the crowd.
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Taylor → tell → crowd
He claimed the government was pursuing the sale because of budget pressures rather than a genuine strategic necessity.
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government → claim → pressures
'We know the reason they say they're going to do this is because they've run out of money.
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they → know → money
A trillion dollars of debt,' he said.
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he → say → debt
'This is chump change compared to what Jim Chalmers is spending right now.
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Chalmers → compare → what
'
Marles has defended the planned sale of Victoria Barracks by arguing the military should focus on combat readiness rather than managing heritage assets.
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military → defend → assets
Marles said Defence was not the best organisation to oversee a historic site, describing its core responsibility as equipping and protecting Australian troops.
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Defence → say → troops
'Every dollar that Defence spends on the heritage of Victoria Barracks Sydney is in competition with a dollar that we would spend on defence capability, on making sure that we are giving our diggers the best protection possible,' he told News24 in September.
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he → spend → September
The Aporia
