Veil of secrecy on Gillman valuations
Renewal SA has refused to release a series of valuations of the land at Gillman that is subject to a controversial sale agreement.
The State Government agreed to negotiate a sale to Adelaide Capital Partners of the 400 hectare piece of land without going to tender – a decision which has been criticised by rival companies and is now the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry.
Opposition urban development spokeswoman Vickie Chapman applied to Renewal SA via Freedom of Information laws for valuations of the land.
However, Renewal SA refused to release six valuations dating back to 2008.
Each refusal was based on the fact that they were “documents affecting the economy of the State”.
The valuations kept secret include three valuations undertaken last year by Knight Frank, Maloney and Savills, as well as separate valuations undertaken in 2012, 2010 and 2008.
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Outgoing Renewal SA chief executive officer Fred Hansen discussed the details of several valuations at a select committee inquiry into the sale last Friday.
Hansen, who officially leaves his position in July, told the committee that “arguably there is no large parcel of industrial land in South Australia that has had as much professional independent analysis regarding its value”.
He said a Savills evaluation of the Dean Rifle Range – part of the Gillman land sale which was compulsorily acquired from the Adelaide City Council in 2010 – estimated its worth at $7.07 per square metre in 2008.
Adelaide City Council, which has taken legal action against the Government because it believes it was under-compensated, commissioned its own valuation by Southwick Goodyear, which came up with a figure of $13.49 per square metre.
Hansen asked for any further detail about the valuations to be discussed “in camera” because he didn’t want to provide the council with legal “ammunition”.
“Adelaide City Council is our friend, but in this regard I do not intend to give them ammunition – our playbook, if you will – to assist them in their arguments before the Supreme Court,” he said.
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“Why is all this discussion about valuations important? The answer is straightforward.
“The offer from Adelaide Capital Partners for the purchase of property at Gillman, which our agreement provides them with an option to do, is $30 per square metre. This represents a value of just over four times what Renewal SA’s valuer, Savills, gave it and over twice what Adelaide City Council, through Southwick, says it is worth. In my view it is clear that Adelaide Capital Partners offers good value which represents a significant premium for the taxpayers of South Australia.”
He said there were nine additional valuations after the Savills and Southwick assessments, including smaller parcels of land “which by definition are substantially higher value”.
Chapman said that given a deal between ACP and Premier Jay Weatherill had been signed, there was no need to keep the latest valuations secret.
“If the ACP deal is a good result for South Australians as Premier Weatherill keeps claiming then he needs to produce evidence of that,” Chapman said.
“Mr Weatherill has already said he will refuse to provide evidence to a Parliamentary inquiry into this matter – he needs to ensure these documents are released to allow proper scrutiny of this deal.
“As Premier, Mr Weatherill could have these documents released tomorrow if he wanted to.”
Chapman will apply to have the FOI decision reviewed by Renewal SA and then, if necessary, the State Ombudsman.
InDaily has asked Weatherill’s office for his response.
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