Mosman Mayor wants green space — and no housing — on prime HMAS Penguin site

There is no room for new residential housing on the HMAS Penguin naval base site, Mosman Mayor Ann Marie Kimber told the Lorikeet on Thursday.

What happened: On Wednesday morning, Defence Minister Richard Marles announced that the Australian government would sell a number of its defence properties, including part of the HMAS Penguin naval base in Balmoral. 

Diver survivor: Unlike other military properties, only a portion of the 16-hectare base at Balmoral will be sold. The base will maintain all of its approximately 350 personnel, and continue to function as a site for diver training and underwater medicine.

Marles did not make clear which part of the site he’d be willing to auction off. 

Clues? However, an image uploaded to the Department of Defence website with the filename “HMAS_Penguin_Plan_final-01” showed an aerial view of the site that appeared to outline the section of land that would remain as part of the naval base. 

Kimber said any land sold from the HMAS Penguin naval base must not be for “the benefit of developers”.

She said it would “not be an appropriate place to put more density and housing”, instead calling for the space to be retained as public land.

Paved paradise: “Once you lose those spaces, you don’t get them back. As we increase our density, open green space is very important for liveability.” 

Kimber said there was a strong precedent for the land to be retained by the public, pointing to the many nearby forts, bunkers and batteries that are now accessible historical sites. 

Warringah MP Zali Steggall criticised the move to sell parts of the base, and said that any changes to the site should be subject to “genuine community consultation”.

Steggall will meet with Marles on Monday afternoon for a briefing on the planned sale.