Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (19:35): My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Training and Skills and concerns the opaque sale of a significant public asset, namely Glenormiston College, to a property investor. The sale was revealed at Monday’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) budget estimates hearing and is briefly referenced in the 2020 South West TAFE report. But the details in the public domain raise far more questions than answers. The headline sale price of $4.7 million is simply far too low for a property of this extent and quality, and the claims made around the continuing requirement for education on the site and indeed the existing education provision there simply do not stack up.

We need to know: is the entire property—including the historic heritage-listed homestead and its grounds, the commercial property and the 280 hectares of farmland—included in the sale? Is the continuation of education provision past 2027, as mentioned by the minister today, in any way legally enforceable or simply a naive suggestion on a matter entirely at the owner’s discretion? Was the sale made to Glenormiston Land Pty Ltd, as the minister claimed here yesterday, or to Montgomery International, as her officials stated at PAEC? The minister’s colleague Ms Terpstra claimed last night that Glenormiston remains in public hands. Who is telling the truth here: the minister or Ms Terpstra? It cannot both be sold and remain in public hands. Why will settlement not occur until 2024? Why have these generous terms been given? Does the valuer-general’s valuation date from 2016 or now or does it anticipate 2024 prices? What is happening to the peerless Prenzel woodwork? What has happened to the $2 million state government grant given to assist in the, quote, ‘refurbishment of Glenormiston’s training, accommodation and specialist equipment’? Has it increased the capital value of the property, now sold for less than $5 million? Will it increase the new owner’s rent revenue? Has the current owner complied with Heritage Victoria’s request to date? Who pays the ongoing insurance and rates, including the CFA levy, before the transaction settles in 2024? Are all payments currently up to date?

The action I seek relates to my final question. Despite the boasts from this government that education has been returned to the site, local people have seen no evidence and are baffled by the claim. Just what courses are being delivered at the Glenormiston property? Minister, Polwarth member Richard Riordan has accepted your invitation to visit the site with him to break off the padlock and inspect what you claim to be a vibrant and successful facility. I can promise you will be shocked by how far you have been misled. I ask you to accept his invitation along with all the Moyne, Corangamite and Colac Otway shire councillors, the local CFA and me.