24/08/2026
Jane delivered her opening remarks about Cerberus on behalf of SWP at the divestment hearing in Queenscliff on Monday August 24:
Listen to SWP at the hearing on the YouTube recording https://www.youtube.com/live/cwtTtzftHqk?t=1187&si=pavfmUAO6haSSuxg
Senate Estimates Enquiry
Management of Defence Estate Assets Public Hearing- Queenscliff
24 August 2026
Opening remarks - Jane Carnegie
Save Westernport
Thank you for this opportunity to speak to Save Westernport’s Submission to your enquiry.
My name is Jane Carnegie and I am the President of Save Westernport, a not-for-profit community environmental organisation -focused on key environmental issues on the Westernport side of the Mornington Peninsula.
Our key concern for your enquiry is the future of HMAS Cerberus.
I will come back to this issue later in my opening remarks.
Firstly, I think it is important for your enquiry to examine what we believe are the systemic issues in this ‘divestment’ process.
These are outlined in some detail in our submission.
They relate to both the audit and its findings and the current process for
divestment.
The Defence Estate Audit Report
In relation to the Audit report and government’s endorsement, we focus on 6 key systemic failings.
1. The Terms of Reference for the audit were too narrow and as such drove the approach by the consultants and the final recommendations. The Terms
of Reference ,at a minimum ,should have included an examination of the
environmental asset value of the sites earmarked for sale and indigenous
heritage and value.
2. The Audit was conducted in secrecy, with no consultation with the
community; with the people of Australia. This narrow lens also drove the outcomes. If there had been widespread input from communities, the consultants may have proposed other outcomes and recommendations.
3. The Report is called an audit but our understanding of an audit is that
it is either financial in nature or a process, product or system audit
conducted in accord with international standards. This audit and its report
do not meet these definitions.
4. The Audit did not comprehensively examine and report on the individual proposed sites for divestment. It provided no cogent systematic analysis against specified criteria to determine the basis for divestment,
partial divestment or retention. In fact, there was no information of any kind
on the designated specific sites. This was a clear failing.
5. Despite the lack of detailed investigation, the Report recommended 32 sites for immediate divestment, with 36 requiring further investigation.
Cerberus was amongst those 36.
Yet all 68 sites were recommended for immediate divestment and are part of the current process. There is no rationale, evidence or justification for
divestment of all sites.
6. The Report provides no basis for determining the proposed revenue
from the sale or details of the costs of remediation. Without this information
the whole process now underway is operating in a vacuum.
We know the costs of remediation for Cerberus will be prohibitive if the
whole area were to be divested and the costs would probably outweigh any sale value. There are also the unknown costs of the divestment process itself which will not be cheap.
7. In summary, Save Westernport does not believe this Report is
adequate or should form the basis of the current process or acceptance by
the Federal government.
The Divestment Process - Key Systemic Issues
8. Given the delay in the release of the report the government should
have taken a different course and undertaken widespread consultations
before accepting the recommendations.
9. The current process being led by the Department of Finance has further
systemic issues. Communities concerned or interested in the divestment have really had to find out about this process through their own means.
10. The consultation process has been poor and not widely known. The
public consultation for Cerberus was badly handled and provided no
detailed information about the divestment process, leaving our community angry and distrustful. Key bodies like our Council were not formally notified of the consultation meeting.
11. The approach for submissions is equally poor, with interested persons
having to register their interest in the same text box as would-be developers. There is no capacity to upload a detailed submission, nor any timelines on the consultation period.
12. The Roadmap for Divestment leaves no question that commercial sale is the end point. This is different from the position stated by Finance
personnel in both emails with me and our public consultation that other options including transfer of lands for conservation purposes is a potential
outcome. This is also part of the Department of Finance’s own ‘Guide to Commonwealth Property Disposals’. Finance needs to publicly promote the alternative options so that interested parties better understand and options in their submissions.
13. Retention by Defence should be part of the process and outcomes.
This is not currently the case.
14. The outsourcing of the key components of the Roadmap to a ‘Strategic Industry Partner’ (SIP) to undertake the due diligence, risk assessment, and to propose recommendations to the government is of genuine concern. These aspects include meeting all components of the legal and statutory framework, including environmental and heritage referrals.
15. The fact that KPMG has been awarded this contract is even more
concerning. Given the current ‘scandal’ surrounding their business practices, Save Westernport does not support their involvement in this critical aspect, and we have no faith in their capacity or expertise to do this work. We do not believe outsourcing of this role, and outsourcing to this particular firm, is in the public interest. If the contract proceeds their reports and recommendations must be made public to ensure a transparent process.
Cerberus
16. As our submission makes clear, the sale of Cerberus for commercial
reasons should not take place. This site is of the highest environmental
significance, with its varied ecosystems and wide-ranging biodiversity values, and its long coastline that borders the Ramsar waters of Westernport.
17. The reality is that most of the land proposed for divestment is completely
unsuitable for development, being subject to coastal inundation, rising sea levels, large tracts of marshland and mangrove, subject to multiple overlays, due to its exposure to PFAS and unexploded ordinance - let alone the need for a significant buffer around the defence base. None of this is found in the Audit.
18. Preservation of this site for conservation purposes must be the
outcome. This land and coastline should be part of our National Reserve system as a protected area for current and future generations.
19 This position on Cerberus by Save Westernport is shared within our
community and by many other groups and local Council.
Recommendations
We did not make any recommendations in our main Submission, but we would like to use this opportunity to propose some now for your consideration .
Recommendation 1: A new approach is needed—
The government should reconsider its approach to divestment of Defence
assets. A detailed systematic analysis of each site should be
undertaken, measured against clearly defined criteria, including the
environmental and indigenous significance of proposed sites, before
the current process proceeds further. Genuine costings associated with risk assessments and remediation must be included in this analysis.
Outcomes should include recommendations for full or partial
divestment or retention by Defence and should clearly stipulate
governmental transfer as an option. All further reports and processes on divestment must be transparent and open to the public.
Recommendation 2: The Industry Strategic Partner - KPMG
The Minister for Finance should reconsider KPMG’s current contract
with regard to the current scandal and investigations by ASIC and
Senate Estimates. If the contract is retained, KPMG’s role in the process must be clearly visible in all public communications, and its reports and recommendations must be open to public scrutiny.
To further ensure transparency all environmental statutory requirements must be managed by the Department of Finance directly as the proponent,
not KPMG.
Recommendation 3: Cerberus for Conservation
The site of HMAS Cerberus should not be partially divested for commercial sale.
The site should either remain as a Defence asset or if partial divestment must occur, then this should be through government transfer for the purposes of environmental conservation and protection.
Recommendation 4: Statutory Obligations - Environment
As required under the current statutory and legal framework, this site must be the subject of a preliminary environmental and ecological assessment of its flora and fauna including ecosystems relationships with the surrounding Green Wedge and Ramsar Wetlands of Westernport Bay by the Department of Finance.
A Referral for a Controlled Action must be made following this step, as
required under the Commonwealth EPBC Act.
We recommend that this process be undertaken before any further steps in the divestment process.
We have emphasized the systemic issues with the Audit and the current
divestment process, alongside a clear lack of transparency, the outsourcing
of key roles and the need for Finance to be very clear to the public about its
statutory obligations.
We fail to see how Cerberus or many other sites could possibly be finalised
in the proposed two-year time frame and we query the enormous costs of
the current approach and the likely returns.
Cerberus and many other sites should be left in the public domain.
We understand that your role is advisory only, but we hope the Government will take on board your Report and its recommendations, and a different model and framework for the divestment process will emerge, including for specific sites such as Cerberus.
….
To comment on the Council’s position you only need to fill out a survey, saying you agree with their submission here…
https://shape.mornpen.vic.gov.au/council-position-hmas-cerberus-partial-divestment
Deadline is Tuesday August 25th at 11:59pm
Read the Council’s submission
https://hdp-au-prod-app-mpen-shapeourfuture-files.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/7017/8286/6908/MPSC_Position_on_the_Proposed_Partial_Divestment_of_HMAS_.pdf
Council will be making a Submission on the proposed partial divestment of HMAS Cerberus. We invite community feedback to help inform Council’s (Draft) Submission.
