Former Inverbrackie detention centre to be put on market within weeks

THE former Inverbrackie detention site, near Woodside, will be put up for sale on the open market within weeks

Inverbrackie Detention Centre Front gate, general shots and buses coming and going. refugee camp near Woodside set up for illeagal arrivals in the Adelaide Hills. Playground and Vegi garden. Pic Greg Higgs

THE former Inverbrackie detention site, near Woodside, will be offered for sale on the open market within weeks.

Assistant Infrastructure Minister Jamie Briggs will today announce that the Defence Department, which owns the former army housing complex, expects to advertise the site by the middle of the year.

Mr Briggs, whose Mayo electorate includes the site, has been arguing the site should become an aged care facility.

The centre includes 80 former defence personnel houses, a medical clinic, library and community centre

The last detainees were moved out of Inverbrackie in December last year, ending the site’s five-year stint as an immigration detention centre.

Inverbrackie, near the Adelaide Hills town of Woodside, was controversially announced by then prime minister Julia Gillard as a detention centre in October 2010, a move which drew criticism about insufficient consultation.

Mr Briggs said Australian taxpayers spent about $10 million upgrading houses on the site and continued use of these facilities would deliver substantial economic activity for the Hills area.

“It is vital that the Adelaide Hills Council ensure the land is appropriately zoned so the existing facilities can be utilised for the benefit of the local community,” he said.

“It would be appropriate for the Council to clarify their intention as soon as possible to give certainty to those who will be interested in improving the property.”

Inverbrackie is next to agricultural land about 3km from Woodside, which might reduce its attractiveness as an aged care complex, as Mr Briggs has conceded.

This is because of the distance from town services.

The detention centre’s closure and the planned site sale were announced in May last year as part of the shutdown of six detention centres expected to save $70 million per year.

The Coalition says this resulted from its success in deterring people smuggling operations and stemming the flow of people seeking asylum in Australia.

Inverbrackie also is next to the Woodside army barracks, home to the 16th Air Land Regiment, whose role includes defending land forces from enemy air attack using a short-range missile system.

An Australian Financial Review report on Tuesday said the Woodside barracks was among three defence bases on federal sale hit list after a review of Defence Department assets.

Mr Briggs has said this was part of a broader review being conducted by Defence and there were no plans to sell the Woodside base.

Former Mayo MP Alexander Downer, commenting on the detention centre announcement in 2010, said he had for years fought Defence attempts to close the Woodside barracks.

Originally published as Former Inverbrackie detention centre to be put on market within weeks