The company that wanted to develop a controversial aged care facility in parkland at Sydney's Middle Head has reached an out-of-court settlement with the Abbott government, several months after launching legal action over Canberra's reversal of the plan.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a statement quietly released on the Department of Environment website, the Commonwealth says it has agreed to "resolve all aspects of legal proceedings" between itself and Middle Head Healthcare, the key player in the proposal, to allow "all parties to move on".
Neither side has revealed the terms of the settlement, including whether the federal government will pay compensation for reversing its original approval. The company said in court documents that it would incur substantial losses because of the backflip.
The proposed development of a private, for-profit, 89-bed aged care home on parklands owned by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust triggered uproar when first unveiled late last year. High-profile Sydney broadcaster Alan Jones took a lead role in lambasting the government for green-lighting it, saying Prime Minister Tony Abbott was facing a "Julia Gillard moment".
The plan was shelved by new federal parliamentary secretary for the environment Bob Baldwin in May as the growing opposition – including from local Liberal party branches – became clear.
Critics said the plan would fly in the face of the trust's primary obligation to preserve former defence sites on the scenic headland for public use.
The government says it will now "ensure that trust land, including Middle Head, is integrated into the life of the city in a way that is consistent with the objects of the trust, with a view to creating a lasting legacy for the people of Sydney and Australia."
A spokesman for Middle Head Healthcare would not comment on the settlement. In May the company principal, Teelia Peploe, said she was "devastated" by the government's U-turn.
However the end to legal action was welcomed as "great news" by Linda Bergin, president of the Headland Preservation Group which campaigned hard against residential development at the site, formerly occupied by the army's 10 Terminal.
"We can now be sure that Middle Head and its heritage buildings and fortifications will be one of the finest foreshore parks in Sydney and in the world for generations to come," Ms Bergin said.
