ENVIRONMENT group Save Westernport has appeared as the first witness at a Senate Estimates Hearing held at the Queenscliff Town Hall last week (24 August) into the planned disposal of Defence estate assets, including land at HMAS Cerberus. The hearing was held as it emerged a firm currently banned from government contracts is the “Strategic Industry Partner” for the divestment process.
The planned “partial divestment” of HMAS Cerberus was announced by Defence Minister Richard Marles on Wednesday 4 February as part of a massive sale of 35,000 hectares of defence real estate – including some of the nation’s most historic barracks – that is expected to raise almost $2b (HMAS Cerberus to be ‘partially divested’ in defence land sell-off, The News 10/2/26).
A community consultation was held in Crib Point on 10 June with an estimated crowd of around 300 confirming the lack of local support for the commercial sale, subdivision, or development of the land (Fiery meeting over Cerberus sell-off plans, The News 16/6/26).
Subsequent to that meeting, the shire developed a draft submission that states its advocacy position for the preferred future use of the land is primarily for conservation purposes with limited recreation, tourism and aquaculture uses that protect and enhance the special ecological values of the site.
Further, that at least five per cent of the divestment proceeds be used to deliver increased social housing stock on the Mornington Peninsula, within the Urban Growth Boundary.
The draft document details reasoning for the shire’s advocacy position that focuses on long term conservation, including unsuitability for agriculture, susceptibility to coastal inundation, and unsuitability of surrounding infrastructure for urban development.
The draft document was put out for a term of public consultation that concluded last week (25 August).
At the public hearing on 24 August the president of Save Westernport, Jane Carnegie, said Cerberus should not be divested for commercial sale.
“We, as a community, say hands off. This land is not for sale,” said Carnegie.
“Cerberus is of the highest environmental significance with its diverse ecosystems, endangered species, migratory birds and border with the Ramsar Wetlands of Westernport.
“‘It must be preserved for conservation and its flora and fauna protected.
“This land is completely unsuitable for development and would cost more to remediate than it is worth, let alone be suitable for development with an operating defence training base at its centre.”
Carnegie told the senators of critical systemic flaws in the divestment process beginning with the report that recommended the sale.
“The whole process is flawed beginning with the Terms of Reference for the Audit Report, which did not even mention environmental and indigenous heritage. These aspects were never considered by the consultants proposing the commercial sale,” said Carnegie.
“We fail to see how the government can recommend these sites be part of the current process. No analysis of these sites was undertaken and no evidence presented to support the sale.”
The divestment process is being managed with consultancy firm KPMG as the “Strategic Industry Partner” undertaking the roles of due diligence, risk assessment, and proposing recommendations to the government.
KPMG has been scandal-plagued in recent times and is currently banned from tendering for government contracts while the government investigates the firm’s practices.
The Department of Finance said, in a 16 June announcement, they are the body “responsible for managing the Commonwealth’s response to the ethical concerns arising from KPMG’s use of confidential client information, and forming a whole-of-government view on KPMG’s ethical soundness”.
“To support Finance’s consideration, Finance will commission an independent review of KPMG’s governance, culture, ethics and integrity frameworks.”
The current ban from tendering for government contracts does not affect previously awarded contracts, including that of “Strategic Industry Partner” for the Defence land divestment process.
The News believes KPMG’s contract for the role resulted in a $16.8m payday for the firm.
The Senate Reference Group is due to report on 15 September and the transcript and Save Westernport’s full submission is available at savewesternport.org.
First published in the Mornington News – 1 September 2026
