The CSIRO Ginninderra site offers 700 ha for new housing. Photo: CSIRO.
Completion of the sale of the CSIRO Ginninderra site to the ACT Government could be just a few weeks away as complex negotiations continue.
The ACT has had its eyes on the 700-hectare greenfield site on the Barton Highway for a decade, and an announcement has been close several times since the ACT wrote to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and then Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic early last year.
But the commercial talks between government officials have been drawn out and complicated by a pause forced by this year’s election caretaker period.
Sticking points are believed to be the price, the GST component and how the sale will be structured.
Ms Gallagher confirmed to ACT Senator David Pocock this month that she approved the sale in February 2025.
“I have met with the ACT Government to discuss this issue, and I am working closely with Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Science, to ensure we reach an outcome that delivers for the people of the ACT,” she told Senator Pocock in an exchange of letters last week.
“I understand that CSIRO and the ACT Government have been progressing the outstanding matters regarding the disposal, and that finalisation appears to be close.”
The response surprised Senator Pocock, who said the site could add thousands of desperately needed new homes, mainly social and affordable homes, to the ACT.
“After a three-year delay, I am frankly floored to learn that despite my ACT Senate colleague Finance Minister Katy Gallagher signing off on the disposal of the site in February, the deal still hasn’t been finalised,” he said.
“We need both levels of Labor government to be acting with urgency when it comes to housing for people in the ACT.”
An ACT Government spokesperson could only confirm that the negotiations were progressing.
“The ACT Government and CSIRO are working constructively, and the community will be updated once a final agreement is reached,” the spokesperson said.
The prolonged negotiations have been frustrating for the ACT Government as much as anyone.
In March 2024, it wrote to the Commonwealth Ministers calling for the deal to be done, emphasising the urgency to start building homes if the National Housing Accord target is to be met.
The ACT Government aims to build 30,000 new homes in the ACT by 2030, and CSIRO land figures prominently in its plans.
In May, before the election, Senator Pocock joined stakeholders on site, including the Property Council, ACT Shelter, Australian Institute of Architects and Greater Canberra, to urge the governments to finalise the deal.
