It’s been exactly seven years to the day since I first wrote to challenge the-then premier Peter Gutwein’s announcement of his intention to call for expressions of interest for the disposal of Hobart’s Treasury buildings – as he deemed them not fit-for-purpose as appropriate offices for the State Treasury officers.

Then just over a week ago, our newly minted Treasurer, the very experienced Minister Guy Barnett who is now also our Deputy Premier, announced his intention to do more of the same.

As far as I am concerned nothing has changed in those seven years and those seven individual Georgian sandstone Treasury buildings – including the Executive Buildings – which have served continuously as the home of the administration of Tasmania in part for 200 years are, in the eyes of the public, ‘theirs’ and therefore Not For Sale. Personally, I think it is likely this government – just as Peter Gutwein and some of the previous treasurers with similar aspirations of cashing in our state’s heritage found – will not succeed in this endeavour.

Nothing is likely to change in the internationally sought EOI process except that those submitting new submissions of their developments for the seven buildings – which would no doubt be spectacular but complicated with heritage issues – now face significantly increased construction costs. As we all know, construction costs have virtually doubled since the impacts of Covid hit in 2020, at which point the previous 2018 EOI process was abandoned.

The government should consider allowing Treasury to continue to occupy (as opposed to leasing commercially) the 3500 square metres of equivalent floor space, for which Treasury had sought in 2019 a fit-out estimate heading towards $3m plus relocation expenses. So by staying put our Treasury officers – who appreciate the central city location of being practically very close to the Executive Building and Salamanca Tower – would be saving a commercial rent of say $2m each and every year. These savings might well be spent on adjusting the interiors to be fit-for-purpose plus a regular budget allocation towards maintaining the people of Tasmania’s priceless asset. As the old saying goes, ‘plough money into the family farm but never sell it’.

So when it comes to our state’s heritage – exactly of what – are we the custodians? The finest collection of government buildings purpose-built to administer the island colony which were at their time of construction, the largest and grandest administrative assembly in Australia. The fact that they are still intact as such is an indication of the importance and value that Tasmanians hold them with and a point which was recently emphasised by the fact that 68 per cent of our visitors who come to Tasmania are here to enjoy our built heritage.

These magnificent seven Treasury buildings contribute immensely with their commanding presence – by which they stand central to the best examples of Georgian architecture – outside of the UK. Flanked by the heritage precincts of Davey, Murray and Macquarie streets, bordering Franklin Square and continuing past the Town Hall the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, to the 1804 Bond Store into which valuable foodstuffs and supplies were unloaded from sailing ships berthed alongside the TMAG courtyard, they command heritage streetscapes that no city in Australia can match.

Being continuously occupied by government officers has contributed to their well-preserved fabric. Equally stunning are the interiors of the Executive Council Chamber, with ceilings to match Government House, Australia’s oldest Supreme Court with the Great War Honor Roll – in marble.

Treasury officers have gone to great care when making internal changes (with not a sign of kilometres of computer cabling in sight) including protecting the classic ceilings, cornices and skirtings. Beneath the Treasury buildings there are basements of various reputes – including several barred cells, the cell for the condemned, a caretaker’s flat, an enormous arched chamber built for archives plus the Deeds building with fireproof 60cm walls and floors. All seven buildings have their own unique heritage features which are all, of course, a heritage consideration for any development.

So where to next? It depends on Treasury and Minister Barnett as to what remains deemed a secure area for Treasury function and if it can be mixed to give him the public access he desires. Some options could be – guided tours of the stunning Executive Building including the office where Inglis Clark wrote the Australian Constitution, Charles Darwin’s office for the six months that he spent studying the flora and fauna of kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

Another option could be to relocate the Tasmanian Visitor Centre from its very busy Davey St office to the Treasury precinct – where the original Tasmanian tourist bureau offices opposite St David’s Cathedral were based – to become a spacious 21st century information point that showcases all aspects that Tasmania can offer to the 245,000 cruise ship passengers who will come ashore this season.

Another idea is to hang some of the 900 paintings by early Tasmanian artists – of which The Royal Society of Tasmania, which founded TMAG, is the custodian – in the Treasury buildings’ public areas on a perpetual rotational basis.

The possibilities are limited by how much and which spaces Treasury can spare whilst still operating within those ‘magnificent seven’ but retaining public ownership of our Treasury Buildings will give a far greater perpetual return on their uniqueness.

Chris Merridew is a past councillor of the National Trust of Tasmania