BONWAG

The Hurlstone Inquiry does NOT support the NSW Government’s mini-budget idea of selling the farmland around Hurlstone Agricultural High School for housing. Booyah.

As always, the devil’s in the detail, and we expect a few days of discussion about what Hurlstone would look like IF the NSW Government carries through on its promise to implement the findings. It seems Hurlstone School will be partitioned from Hurlstone Farm and Hurlstone Boarding School. Blessing or Curse?

The inquiry recommends:

• new facilities be built,
• more industry partnerships be established,
• the appointment of a Commercial Manager and advisory board for the farm and the boarding school,
• the sale of $15M worth of land to fund the recommendations

The major sticking point will be taking the ‘Hurlstone’ out of the ‘Hurlstone Farm’ – expect more debate on that topic.

I think the proposed outcome -saving the green space and the farm to continue the brief of providing Agricultural education for Sydney students on the land around Hurlstone – is the best possible, and an outcome that any Hurlstone supporters should be happy with.

Wanna see a politician tapdance?

Next week, the NSW Government releases the findings of the inquiry into the sale of farmland at Hurlstone Agricultural High School, nearly a year to the day since the issue first hit the headlines. Since that time, there’s been a lot of water under the bridge and many public statements of varying veracity:

From the time when a bellicose Rees government had factored 239M of land sale proceeds into its forward planning; to a realisation that the plan incorporated a war memorial and flood plains, as well as productive farmland and valuable green space; met by a revolt from local and national politicians, agriculture experts and community groups; to a pitiably one-sided public debate; to an eleventh-hour (and overdue) heritage listing for the land in question; and finally to a low-key public inquiry which has already ‘soft-launched’ its findings to the government ahead of the public release next week.

To my knowledge, there has not been an argument proffered in support of the sell-off, outside of an Excel spreadsheet, and a feeble attempt at wedge politics by the government in accusing Hurlstone of hoarding assets which could be transmogrified into policemen or nurses or teachers for other schools.

The counter-argument has been well-prosecuted by SHEAP, and congratulations should go to the team for their co-ordination and clarification of the important issues in the public debate. Well done, team.

Word is that the inquiry is likely to recommend a small sell-off of land in order to save face, acknowledging the lack of a case for a wholesale sell-off. I believe the inquiry will explicitly encourage the school to re-commit itself to the service of NSW and Australian agricultural education and propose some changes in the schools brief to ensure Hurstone is seen to be making the best use of its land allocation.

What then of the Government’s dreams of a Hurlstone-led budget bailout? It will be awkward: the role of local Labor members will be loudly trumpeted in advocating on behalf of Hurlstone, the state treasury will point to a recovering economy as a reason for not needing as much money (rather than seek to sell more land elsewhere), but later use the inquiry’s ‘snub’ in justification of the state’s further failing financials.

I’m cautiously optimistic – I believe the case has been made for Hurlstone’s Farm. Let’s see on Monday.

UPDATE: Seems The Land has some inside running confirming these suspicions, but suggesting the Inquiry could recommend additional inventment in the school. If true, it’ll certainly upset the government – turning a 9 figure landgrab/windfall into an 8 figure, long-overdue set of repairs for the school.

UPDATE II: SHEAP posts its response to The Land’s preview: cautiously optimistic, maybe overly so. Too early for congratulations just yet. Roll on Monday.

UPDATE III, Nov 15: Some details are leaked: the NSW Government thinks it can do a better job of running the farm, and is proposing relieving Hurlstone of its farm management duties so the school can get on with teaching agriculture. SHEAP’s response – not positive. Roll on Monday.

The battle to save the farm and land at Hurlstone Agricultural High School (my alma mater) from property developers just got tougher: politicians representing the region having returned from their ‘community consultations’ with a clear message – Hurlstone’s farm is not for sale.

The Four Labor MPs- Andrew McDonald (Macquarie Fields), Graham West (Campbelltown), Geoff Corrigan (Camden) and Phil Costa (Wollondilly) are now on record saying they will join the fight and speak directly with Nathan Rees voicing their opposition to the proposal.

Stay tuned, sports fans – there are irresistible forces and immovable objects at play now. In the red corner, the Department of Education already decided that the sale is crucial to local services and has already planned to spend the money they make on the land sale on police, health and education. Team Macarthur leaps the rope to joins the fight in the blue corner, carrying the weight of 2 government ministers, shouting to the crowd as one that the farm ‘should not be sold’.

The opposition to the sale is now so overwhelming that it appears the only people in support of the sale are the bean-counters in the NSW DET and Treasury. If caucus members can’t be convinced of the merits of the sale, is there any more cause to proceed?

The government no doubt is waiting for the outcome of the current inquiry into the sale so they can save some face. It’s up to those who support the continuation of Hurlstone as a practical agricultural education to contribute their submissions to the inquiry and make it obvious to the Powers That Be.

Here’s hoping that the strength of opposition to this insane decision is enough to keep this off the political agenda for another 15 years, at least. As Tiff Spears said in the press – if Team Macarthur can’t change the government’s mind, what good are they?

It’ll be an fascinating test of whether grass-roots democratic process is still important to Labor.