Sale of the Hurlstone Farm

This page is dedicated to the discussion of the proposed sale of the Hurlstone farm.

If you are concerned at this proposal, I suggest you contact your local member and/or the office of the education minister to voice your concerns. Also, please share your opinions / suggestions on this matter by posting a message of the alumni forums for this topic.

For further information, please refer to the Alumni Forums (see menu on left), or the BONWAG blog-site or the "Save Hurlstone" Facebook page

In case you haven't heard anything yet ...

The purpose of the sale is to raise revenue for the recent mini-budget (see page 5-6 of the mini-budget document under Asset Divestments). The DET has confirmed that the "surplus land" mentioned in the mini-budget refers to Seaforth TAFE and Hurlstone farm.

Of the current 160ha school property, 140ha has been designated as "surplus to future educational purposes" and is to be sold. This is basically the entire farm, leaving only the area "currently used for teaching purposes and agricultural study".

SHEAP Association formed

• President - Tiffany Spiers
• Vice President - Lloyd Setter
• Secretary - Adrian Alexander
• Treasurer - Simon Chhoeu
• Committee - Russell Bush, John Maitland, David Moore, Colin Watts, Felicity Woodhill

SHEAP is now incorporated and a bank account has been established as a 'fighting fund'.
You can become a member of SHEAP by printing the Membership Application Form and returning it to the Secretary.
Membership is $10 per annum.
Alternatively, you can make a donation to the SHEAP fighting fund (details of the bank account are on the membership application form).

"Save Hurlstone" Newsletter

• Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1 (November 2008) [Full-size Version (PDF 968 KB)] [Email-size version (PDF 236KB)]

Some points to consider

• Hurlstone's farm is not 'surplus' land

  The government has been poorly briefed on this issue, and so is operating with false assumptions.
  
  The wording of the DET announcement was as follows "A maximum of 140 hectares at Hurlstone Agricultural High School will be sold in 2011. The school will retain the 20 hectares currently used for teaching purposes and agricultural study." (emphasis mine)
  
  In other words, the DET seems to think that the school's existing buildings and its existing 'working farm' (and of course the existing memorial forest) occupy merely 20ha of the current 160ha property and that the rest is "surplus" land that can therefore be sold off at no great detriment to the school.
  
  However, this is not the case. The current "working farm" is comprised of all of the available land. It operates as a commercial venture (including an active dairy farm) which provides valuable formal and informal agricultural education for the students.

• The sale of the land will be detrimental to the school

  The idea that you can sell off over 90% of the working farm and have no impact on the agricultural education of the school is ludicrous.
  
  For a start, the dairy farm would be untenable. Also, the practical, hands-on, experience offered by exposure to a commercial farming enterprise would be lost. Whilst it must be feasible to teach agriculture with only a 'petting' farm, this hardly represents best-practice, and is inconsistent with Hurlstone continuing as a centre of agricultural excellence.
  
  Furthermore, the continuance of the boarding school is under threat. Many current boarders report that the existence of the Hurlstone farm was the key factor in choosing to attend Hurlstone. Without the farm, it is likely that demand for boarding placements would drop off, thereby leading to the eventual closure of the boarding school. The day by day interaction of city and country which Hurlstone uniquely provides its students, would cease to exist.

• The sale of the land will be detrimental to the community

  While Australia no longer "rides on the sheep's back", its agricultural sector is still a significant contributor to our economy and culture. Hurlstone graduates have had significant input into that sector at all levels, from production to policy. The sale of the farm would severely lessen the effectiveness of that contribution.
  
  Also, the sale of the land would remove one of the last vestiges of the "green belt" which provides much needed as "breathing" space in the midst of urban sprawl.
  
  Furthermore, the introduction of up to 1200 new houses (along with 1200 more cars, 1200 new students at local schools, etc) would overload the local community which already doesn't have sufficient infrastructure to cope with its existing population.

• Quick-fixes are the 'easy' way out

  However, our state needs long-term solutions, not short-sighted fiscal quick-fixes. Clearly, any package of land is attractive to a cash-strapped government. The dollar signs must be flashing large.
  
  The question remains, however: Is the government tough enough to resist the temptation of an easy quick-fix and act in the long-term interests of the state by not flogging off such a valuable educational and environmental asset?

Action Meeting held Saturday November 22

• Mr Lloyd Setter, School Captain 2008 (Click here for transcript of Lloyd's speech - MSWord 29KB)
• Mrs Rose Fernandes, President of the Hurlstone P & C Association
• Dr Russell Bush, Lecturer in Animal Nutrition and Livestock Production (University of Sydney)
• Mr John Maitand, Chairman of the 1982 "Preserve Hurlstone Association" (which had successfully fought a similar proposal)
• Hon. Duncan Gay MLC (National Party), Deputy leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council
  (representing Opposition leader Barry O'Farrell and Shadow Education Minister, Andrew Stoner)
• Hon. Charlie Lynn MLC (Liberal Party)
• Mr Brenton Banfield, former Mayor of Campbelltown

The meeting decided to form a steering committee, to be chaired by former student Tiffany Spiers (tiffany@hahsalumni.com). Also, it was decided to raise a "fighting fund" to help promote the retention of the school farm. (Further details of the fund will be available soon.)

A full report of the meeting should be available soon.
(See also the Macarthur Chronicle's front page report and photographs of the meeting)

Items of interest

• The Greens re Verity Firth's visit to Hurlstone
• Letter to Verity Firth from Leo Jeffcott (Dean of Veterinary Science at Sydney University)
• Letter to Verity Firth from David Guest(Associate Dean of Agriculture Food and Natural resources at Sydney University)
• Andrew Stoner on Hurlstone 'Fire Sale'
• Liberals/Nationals move to block sale
• Letter from Clover Moore to Verity Firth
• Press Release from Peter Draper (Tamworth)
• Photo of HAHS students presenting petition (Students are Brent Cleary, Harish Nair, Lloyd Setter, and Abana Maheshwaran presenting the petition to South Western Sydney Liberal MLC Charlie Lynn, NSW Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Western Sydney Barry O'Farrell, NSW Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Education Andrew Stoner)
• Opposition Press Release re HAHS petition (signed by over 500 HAHS students)
• Text of HAHS Student's petition
• Alan Jones interview on 2GB with David Moore, November 18, 2008
• Macarthur Chronicle front page article, November 18, 2008
• South Western Rural Advertiser, November 19, 2008
• Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser, November 20, 2008
• Macarthur Chronicle, November 25, 2008 (Report on Council vote against sale proposal)
• Macarthur Chronicle, November 25, 2008 (Report on Nov 22 meeting)
• Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser, November 26, 2008
• Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser, November 26, 2008
• Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser, November 26, 2008 (Report on Nov 22 meeting)
• Alan Jones interview on 2GB with Tiffany Spiers, Lloyd Setter and Russell Bush, November 27, 2008

Things you can do to help

• Write to your local member (or better yet, make an appointment to talk to them) to express your concerns over the sale. (Some sample letters are included below, though it is always better if expressed in your own words)
• Contribute your ideas via the alumni forums
• Pass the word on to anyone you know who might be interested

• Sample letter to Labor MP
• Sample letter (updated)
• Sample letter (yet another ...)
• Letter to the Editor (The Land) - Russell Bush

Nathan Rees claims that the Memorial Forest will be staying with the school

Alan Jones: Yesterday morning I spoke about Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Who has decided to sell 120 of their 140 hectares and who has decided that amongst this land the memorial forest, Australia's first living war memorial, is to go as well?
Nathan Rees: Alan, I had a look at this, I know it was raised yesterday. The bit of land we're talking about, Hurlstone Agricultural High School, is the size of 10 ANZ stadiums put together, it's 160 hectares. I spoke with Minister Firth yesterday, and the memorial forest will be staying with the school.
Alan Jones: But how can you have an agricultural high school if you cut out most of the land that they need to service the school?
Nathan Rees: "Well, we'll take advice from the department on that. The college remains an agricultural college and we'll make sure that that's accomodated"

Presumably, this should mean that the memorial forest is a closed issue. However, the sale of the farm is still very much an open question

Further information is available at the following links ...

• Maralyn Parker blog - Daily Telegraph
• SMH November 11, 2008
• ABC news item November 12, 2008

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