The NSW government has been accused of compromising the Hunter's economic growth to protect its controversial port lease deals after putting a key parcel of Newcastle industrial land on the market.
The government called for expressions of interest on Monday for 52 hectares of former BHP steelworks land known as the Intertrade site.
The site is on the landward side of Port of Newcastle's proposed large-scale container terminal, a project the government opposes. The government has remediated the site but rejected a port offer to lease it in 2019.
Planning Minister Anthony Roberts said in a media statement on Monday that the site could be used for advanced manufacturing, clean technology and energy, or for the defence industry.
The statement did not mention its potential use as a transport and distribution centre for a future container terminal.
Port of Newcastle special project director Ross Cadell said the land announcement was a surprise.
"As the previous proponent of an unsolicited proposal, we would have thought that we might have been contacted prior, but obviously we aren't regarded in that esteem," he said.
"In a time when we're looking for a post-COVID economic recovery, and these guys are talking about doing something on that site to promote recovery in the Hunter, are they blind to the $2 billion the port is ready to spend tomorrow and the 19,000 jobs that will create.
"Nothing in the Hunter is as employment-generating as a diversified economy, and, while we may love the benefits of coal at the moment, we can only keep selling as long as others keep buying."
The government's call for expressions of interest in the Mayfield site comes three days before an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Federal Court appeal challenging the port lease deals.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp characterised the move as a "deliberate attempt from the government to protect the interests of themselves and their mates".
"The government has thrown everything it can at stopping PoN from proceeding with its development plans," he said.
The government will detail potential uses for the site in documentation available to interested parties after February 28.
"The Department of Planning and Environment would be open to considering any proposal put forward by any party, including Port of Newcastle, with the successful proposal demonstrating how it would best contribute to our long-term strategic objectives for Newcastle and the Hunter region," a departmental spokesperson said.
"We want proposals for the site that will make a significant contribution to the local economy and which will create jobs over the long term."
Port of Newcastle is campaigning to overturn provisions in the Newcastle, Port Botany and Port Kembla privatisation agreements which penalise Newcastle financially if it develops a large container terminal.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison called last year for a resolution to the dispute and backed Port of Newcastle's plans to build a new terminal.
"I want these ports to be able to service the regions as fully and as competitively as is possible," he said in March.
Mr Cadell is a Senate candidate for the Nationals in the upcoming federal election.
The Nationals have backed the Newcastle terminal because it would serve farmers and manufacturers in northern NSW regions where the party holds seats.
"The federal government is so sure that what was done [with the lease deals] was illegal they [ACCC] have appealed it to the full bench of the Federal Court, and we are told they will go higher, and this is just another step of the NSW government making it difficult for the Hunter to diversify," Mr Cadell said.
"We have had undertakings from the Treasurer, from the Prime Minister's Office, from the Finance Minister that they believe the [lease] terms entered into are illegal or at least should be illegal."
Mr Cadell said the terminal could proceed without Port of Newcastle owning or leasing the Intertrade site.
"But the opportunities to build ancillary businesses around it and make it bigger and more vibrant for the Hunter certainly diminish," he said.
"There are plenty of other uses for that site, but it obviously lends itself best to making a more efficient freight distribution centre."
He said it was likely the port would submit an expression of interest in the site "but given the way we've been treated by the state government we're not hopeful how that will go".
"There is no doubt in my mind that the state of NSW may have got $50 million, $75 million more by the [port container] exclusivity deal, but this government will spend that on cycleways in Sydney, and that's the price they got for effectively selling out the future of the Hunter."
The NSW government bumped up the long-term lease price for Port Botany by implementing contracts which protected the Sydney container operation from competition from a future rival terminal in Newcastle.
The ACCC says the terms are "anti-competitive and illegal", but Federal Court justice Jayne Jagot found last year that the arrangements were not anti-competitive in purpose or effect, in part because the prospect of a Newcastle terminal was "fanciful" and "far-fetched".
Justice Jagot found Port of Newcastle had little chance of convincing the state to change a policy which prioritises container terminals at Botany and Kembla and therefore was not a credible player in the market.
She also ruled that the government enjoyed derivative Crown immunity from prosecution.
The ACCC's appeal against these findings is due to start on Thursday.
Mr Crakanthorp said the government was trying to "shut down" the Newcastle terminal plans by "selling important port access land".
He characterised the move as a "deliberate attempt from the government to protect the interests of themselves and their mates".
"The government has thrown everything it can at stopping PoN from proceeding with its development plans," he said.
"The federal government backs this project, Business Hunter backs it, the conservative advocacy group Committee for the Hunter backs it, and the people of this region back it. The NSW government is the only thing standing in the way.
"This is a state government that is addicted to selling things, and it says a lot about their attitude towards Newcastle and the Hunter.
"This is not just a once-in-a-generation opportunity potentially going down the drain; this a malicious campaign from this government to protect their own interests."
Mr Roberts said the site was an opportunity to diversify the Hunter economy.
"As the seventh largest city in Australia, with close proximity to Sydney and critical infrastructure including port, rail and road networks, Newcastle has great potential to specialise in innovative markets such as clean and green technologies," he said.
"It's time for a new era as we transition into the next phase of job creation in emerging industries, boosting local employment and attracting new investment from domestic and international markets."
Business Hunter chief executive Bob Hawes welcomed the call for expressions of interest.
"I'm relieved that there has been some kind of movement to unlock this incredibly important site for Greater Newcastle and the region," he said.
"It is one of the most important strategic investment opportunities along the east coast of Australia and has been substantially vacant now for over 20 years.
"Where else will you find 52 hectares of industrial land in so close to major trade and investment infrastructure like the port, rail, and airport services, all within 10 minutes of a major city?"
Mr Hawes said it was "critical" the land was "reactivated to capture the economic diversification objectives of the land and its context with surrounding industrial neighbours".
"Business Hunter is supportive of the final use of this land reflecting the long-term plans and ambition of the region, and we can understand why Port of Newcastle has been an interested party as reported on Monday."
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