Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (13:38): I am delighted to make a brief contribution to debate on the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Defence Lands Parliamentary Approval) Bill 2026. I commend my colleague and friend the member for Lane Cove for introducing the bill to the House to address a very important issue and acknowledge that he is a fellow veteran—though I know the bill goes beyond the boundaries of his own personal position. I also acknowledge in the Chamber my other good friend the Minister for Veterans, who is a strong supporter of saving Victoria Barracks and has worked very hard within the parameters provided to us by the Federal Government to do the best we can.

Of course, the Defence sites proposed for divestment by the Australian Government are significant public assets with a long and important history. Their future should reflect not only their strategic and community value but also the service and sacrifice of the veterans and Defence personnel who have contributed so much to our country and to New South Wales. At this point I acknowledge my good friend the passionate advocate the member for Coogee, who would be in the Chamber today if she was not unwell. If she were here, she would be passionately speaking, as she has been in her community and among other veterans' communities.

Members on all sides of the House and members of the other place recognise that any proposal affecting these historic Defence sites warrants careful consideration and appropriate public scrutiny. The member for Lane Cove has already articulated the history and significance of Victoria Barracks and other Defence sites. I will revisit that history only to add to what my friend has already contributed. Something was lost in the disappointing public commentary I heard around it, that it was a wine cellar for officers or something like that. Victoria Barracks is the home of the army and the heartland of the soldier. The grass of the parade ground is the burial ground of the fallen. I am advised that ashes of fallen soldiers are sprinkled along that parade ground. Anyone who has served knows that parade grounds are sacred places. They are places where we remember the fallen and never forget the purpose and significance of our own sacrifice in the service to our country.

Victoria Barracks used to have soldiers doing what was called Victoria Barracks guard, or Vic guard. More than a wine cellar, it was commonly used for injured soldiers. They had been on operations wherever they may be and were put on restricted duties. That means they could not exercise, go on operations, do physical training, go to the range or do the other normal daily practices that soldiers would partake in in their battalion, squadron, unit or whatever. I know that because I was one of them. When I was injured, I spent three months at Victoria Barracks while I got better and healed so that I could get back to my unit and continue my operations, including as a paratrooper.

That is enough about me, because this issue is not about me. It is about preserving a historic site, and the central concerns of everyone involved are around the preservation of that sacred place. Recently I was asked by the media whether the Prime Minister should intervene. I would like to see that. I know that the Prime Minister is a strong supporter of those who serve our nation and those who have served our nation. He has the deepest respect, and I know that he has always been on the side of the soldier, and it would be good to see him on that side again. [Extension of time]

I will be very short. I have made as many personal reflections as I would like. It is right for the bill to be referred to committee to consider the legal and constitutional issues it raises, any unintended consequences, whether alternative mechanisms could better achieve its aims, the interaction of the proposal with recent planning reforms, and any related compliance and enforcement matters. I discussed this with my friend the Father of the House and am advised that he accepts this. I thank him for that. Though the Government does not support the bill in its present form, it acknowledges the issues that have prompted its introduction. We thank the member for Lane Cove. When this issue was brought to my attention by the member for Coogee, I could not have more quickly and appropriately taken a position to support the cause to save Victoria Barracks.

I acknowledge the Federal Government's intention to use unused assets that perhaps could be reinvested in the defence of our nation and to support veterans. I accept that position. I acknowledge that the Federal Government is doing as other Federal governments have done in the past. When this issue first came around, I spoke to the Premier, who said, "Go hard, son. This matters." I thank him for that. I thank all my colleagues for their support and thank the Minister for Veterans. To conclude, I thank the member for Lane Cove, the Father of the House.