*Pic: Treasurer Peter Gutwein
In February, 2017, the Department of the Premier received an updated Conservation Management Plan for the Treasury Buildings next to Franklin Square. This had been commissioned by the department of Treasury and Finance, who wanted an earlier 1992 conservation plan brought up to date. This is the expert’s very clear advice from the report (all 341 pages of it, download available at the bottom of the page).
‘The Franklin Square Offices are of national historic cultural heritage significance as a collection of buildings that demonstrate the history of government administration in Tasmania from 1825 until the present. Its heritage significance is connected to its history, its buildings and the people who have been associated with the place. The place should be conserved and interpreted for future generations.
5.03 Client aspirations Client broad aspirations were articulated within the commission brief …’to provide advice on the opportunity to reconfigure the building to allow for more contemporary open spaces and to accommodate more staff. … It is Treasury’s desire to modernize the internal fabric of the Offices whilst protecting and maintaining its Heritage aspects.’ (p. 19)
Fast Forward: June, 2018
‘Peter Gutwein used his budget speech to reveal the State Government would begin an expressions of interest (EOI) process for the historic building, which he said was no longer “fit for purpose”.
“We need to ensure it’s use is more appropriate in respect of the standing that it has — and that is as a fantastic tourism asset.
“It may be for a hotel, it may be for accommodation, it may be for a range of other public uses, but we’ll frame up the EOI and have that conversation over the coming year.”
Michael Bailey from the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said there were other government assets and businesses that could be sold.
“We always say that state assets should be looked at, and we’ve said for some time that there should be a review of things like the Burnie Port,” he said.
“The more we can move our assets and roles into the private sector the better [because] we know the private sector delivers more efficiently than government.” .’ (ABC News, 15th June, 2018)
So Treasury wants to stay in place and to keep the heritage buildings in public hands and they believe they can, but suddenly the building is not ‘fit for purpose’ according to our leaders?
But it is fit for purpose as a luxury hotel; perhaps a new casino; or a business convention centre, so Gutwein’s mates can sip Chardonnay and chatter? It is interesting to see how he considers a private company operating a hotel for private profit, as a ‘public use’… And So Lovely to see them being cheered on by business interests grunting and smelling profit and waving the old, discredited, and disproved ideology that private business is better than government business (just ask what happened to electricity bills…), and using that as an the excuse for selling off our heritage. Rosny Hill will be so better managed in private ownership as an exclusive up-market resort/hotel, the Government by keeping it an open public space is really not ‘efficiently’ managing it.
You can download the Conservation Management Plan for the Treasury buildings here:
http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/356003/Franklin_Square_Conservation_Management_COMPLETE.pdf
*The Hag is Tasmanian Times’ scurrilous gossip monger …
