Andrew Barr has written to Anthony Albanese in a push to keep the AIS in Canberra, warning a decentralisation attempt could suffer the same fate as another move described as pork-barrelling.
A letter obtained by The Canberra Times reveals ACT Chief Minister Barr and Deputy Chief Minister Yvette Berry have reached out to their federal counterparts about the future of the AIS.
In it, they have raised the former government's move of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra to then deputy prime minster Barnaby Joyce's seat in Armidale, a move they said was disrespectful to the staff and "rightly described by many members of parliament as 'pork-barrelling' ".
The commonwealth government has commissioned an independent review of the AIS infrastructure ahead of the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.
Australian Sports Commission chief executive Kieren Perkins has rejected attempts to move the AIS away from Canberra, instead pushing for greater investment at the Bruce campus.
But Queensland officials have been pushing for a move for years, arguing an undesirable location has become too old and tired to have any meaningful impact on athletes on the world stage.
Documents released under freedom of information laws show the Australian Sports Commission considered three proposals as part of an AIS masterplan and presented the options to the federal Sport Minister Anika Wells last year.
The three options included a complete relocation to south-east Queensland, flagged to cost a minimum of $600 million, exclusive of land costs; decentralisation of the AIS to other states and territories, and; spending $200 million to upgrade existing facilities to keep the AIS in Canberra.
Mr Barr and Ms Berry are adamant keeping the AIS in Canberra is the best way to support athletes chasing international success, warning of the perils of decentralisation.
"As you are aware, the previous coalition government made various attempts to move Commonwealth agencies out of the ACT under a 'decentralisation' model," Mr Barr and Ms Berry's letter said.
"Not only were attempts like the relocation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APMVA) disrespectful to the staff employed by the agency, it was rightly described by many members of parliament as 'pork-barrelling'.
"It was very reassuring that you made a commitment to end this sort of decision-making in government when your government was elected.
"As you have previously noted, the nation's capital also suffered under the previous government's chronic under-investment in ACT infrastructure projects required for a growing city.
"It has, again, been reassuring that your government has taken a different approach, most notably the major investment you have undertaken to better support national institutions located in the capital.
"Given that the AIS is such an important part of our city, and has admirably met its sports training objectives here for many years, the ACT government will be actively advocating for the commonwealth to keep the AIS in the nation's capital.
"In our view, investment in strengthening its capacities here will be the best way to support athletes preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games over coming years, as well as befitting Canberra's role as the nation's capital."
Ms Berry has labelled the AIS a significant part of the Canberra community with "thousands of athletes" passing through its doors to enter elite sporting programs.
"It's something that the Canberra community recognises and calls it their own, we have invested our own hearts and souls into it as well as the financial investments that we all make to the facility itself," Ms Berry said.
"So we really do want to see it here. We know it needs to be upgraded and revamped and we've seen those commitments from the federal government with regards to the AIS arena which we are really happy about.
"I hope that through the review it identifies investment into the existing facility, but also what could the rest of the facility be used for? It's quite a large piece of land and there's some underutilised space out there. Like what, what are the opportunities there? So I hope the review even goes further."
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