Monday 30 October 2017

The heritage minister’s appalling decision not to list Sirius on the State Heritage Register shows the heritage system is broken and that this government has no regard for Sydney’s cultural history.

The Land and Environment Court ruled that ignoring expert advice and refusing to list a rare example of Sydney’s brutalist architecture just to get a higher price on the building’s sale is not lawful. Sirius was recommended for protection by the Heritage Council, the National Trust and the Australian Institute of Architects, and is one of 25 sites worldwide included on the World Monuments Fund 2018 watch list.

It’s obvious that the minister’s decision to ignore the evidence of Sirius’s importance was motivated by a wish to sell the building to a developer at a higher price. The government should put the social heritage hopes of heritage experts, architects, courts, environmental defenders, social housing tenants and the wider NSW communities ahead of yet another public asset flog-off.

The inner city has lost another community asset and social housing built to replace homes lost in The Rocks, completing the ‘social cleansing’ of the area. Ironically the two remaining tenants are now being relocated.