Tuesday, 17 February 2026

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (19:00): (1519) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Finance, and I am not sure whether it is also for his role as Minister for Government Services. The action I seek is for the minister to finalise at long last, after 11 years, the sale of the old Sale police station. Indeed the minister at the table, the Minister for Police, could also almost get this, because I understand the old Sale police station is still under the purview of Victoria Police. But that may not last long because, as the minister is aware from my own information to him, the old Sale police station was burnt down last Thursday, and that was a particular concern. It has been an eyesore for a long time, and unfortunately it was set on fire and a significant fire affected that particular site. There were 70-odd firefighters and around 20 appliances there from all around Gippsland to assist with the fire. We now have a burnt-out shell of a former police station. I believe that the Wellington shire has in fact issued an edict that it must now be knocked down, I think, within 15 days, Minister, so I hope VicPol is getting on to it to actually make sure that happens. The last thing we want after having this site sit there idle for 11 years is for it to sit there idle as a burnt-out shell. I know the member for Mildura knows about burnt-out shells being an issue in Robinvale.

However, the issue now is to get this site sold. The new Sale police station was opened in 2015, funded by the Nationals in government. We have been agitating for a long time to get this site, which has been declared surplus to requirements, sold off. I understand and I appreciate that there have been native title issues, that there has been a need to get the agreement of the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, but how long can this process take? It has been 11 years now, and the government still has not been able to address it. I have been raising this, and I have had local residents, I have had the neighbours and I have had the Wellington shire agitating for this to be addressed, partly because it became a site for antisocial behaviour. There was criminal activity occurring there, and it has been an eyesore for the community. It is a wonderful site, close to the centre of town, right on Lake Guthridge, perfect for a hotel, restaurant or some sort of tourism attraction, and it is being wasted. It does need to be actioned, and the Minister for Government Services and Minister for Finance is aware of this issue. I urge him to now act to make sure we bring this to a conclusion and make sure that we actually do something with this site, which has been sitting there for too long.