# Anthony Albanese takes aim at ‘eastern suburbs’ journalists as he denies Victoria Barracks sell-off backflip: ‘You had never been’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/anthony-albanese-takes-aim-at-eastern-suburbs-journalists-as-he-denies-victoria-barracks-sell-off-backflip-you-had-never-been/
- Published: 2026-11-08T08:49:41+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-08T09:03:16+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16275503/anthony-albanese-victoria-barracks-journalists-backflip.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Victoria Barracks and three other sites will stay in public hands.
- The original sell-off proposal covered 67 Defence properties.
- Commercial use remains possible, and critics want more details.

## Summary

Anthony Albanese says keeping Victoria Barracks and three other Defence sites in public hands is not a reversal of the government’s sell-off plan. The decision follows broad opposition and matters because it changes the sites’ ownership arrangements while leaving open some commercial use.

The original proposal covered 67 Defence properties and aimed to reduce maintenance costs and redirect resources to the Australian Defence Force. Under the revised plan, the historically significant parts of the four sites will remain publicly owned, with the Australian War Memorial helping interpret their military history; the government says heritage protections remain in force. Defence Minister Richard Marles argued that maintaining unused sites is untenable, while critics say questions remain about whether they will continue operating as Defence facilities.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.