The federal government has confirmed it still intends to sell the former Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI) site at Mount Macedon, dispelling rumours the training centre could be reopened in some capacity.
The institute, set on three hectares of heritage gardens, has lain dormant since it was closed in June last year when the AEMI moved to a virtual model.
The 40-year-old institute, which had close to 60 staff, had offered a diploma of emergency management to public servants and CFA and SES members.
Bendigo MP Lisa Chesters said Mount Macedon residents remained fearful the planned sale could lead to inappropriate development and were concerned about possible maintenance problems at the vacant site.
‘‘People are asking questions about what the government’s doing, but at this stage there’s not a lot of answers,’’ she said. ‘‘There is a lot of fear and anxiety about what’s going to happen.’’
Speaking after a listening post had been set up in the village, Ms Chesters said heritage and bushfire overlays would be extremely difficult for the property’s new owners to deal with.
‘‘There’s also a number of sensitive and endangered species at that site,’’ she said, referring to populations of rare birds and plants, platypuses, koalas and echidnas.
Ms Chesters said repeated questions to the government had failed to shed any light on the future of the property.
She called for Mount Macedon residents to be consulted during the sale process.
A spokeswoman for Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said
that plans to sell the property remained in place.
‘‘The government … expects the sale to be completed within this calendar year,’’ she said, adding that maintenance contracts were in place for the former AEMI buildings and grounds.
The government has previously said any sale would be subject to a deal ensuring ongoing access to parts of the site by Mount Macedon Golf Club and the Macedon Ranges Horticultural Society. The golf club has arrangements for a 15-year lease with an option for another 15 years.
