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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly and Benita Kolovos

The Block secured a huge Victorian government property for only $1m. Neighbours and MPs want to know why

the old Sunbury Lunatic Asylum
The Block has bought a site that includes the old Sunbury Lunatic Asylum, first opened in October 1879, for $1mln. Locals are worried the government sold it too cheaply. Photograph: KC Hunter/Alamy

Community groups and MPs are demanding answers from the Victorian government after it sold a 2.6 hectare (6.4 acre) site containing a former psychiatric hospital for just $38 per sq metre, so it can be renovated on the next series of The Block.

It was revealed this week the government had sold the historic Sunbury property to Channel Nine for $1m – the cheapest purchase in the reality show’s history. Three of its buildings will reportedly be converted into five homes by the program’s contestants.

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