Australian defense land selloff runs into multiparty opposition

SYDNEY — Former Prime Minister John Howard urged the Australian government to reverse its plans to sell defense land in prime locations at a rally Sunday characterized by multipartisan bonhomie on-stage — and angry calls for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to resign off stage.

Howard told a crowd of a few thousand gathered in Sydney near the site of its Victoria Barracks that he would be the first to congratulate Albanese if he changed course on the land selloff.

Also present at the rally were members of the nationalist One Nation party. Orange shirt-clad members of the far-right party and others wearing blue Make Albo Go Away (MAGA) hats called instead for Albanese to resign or be sacked.

Decades of local opposition to higher density, often characterized by not-in-my-backyard politics, has left Sydney with one of the most expensive housing markets in the world. Most mainstream political parties have responded, now declaring themselves “YIMBY.” The defense land selloff is one exception to this pendulum reversal, uniting groups across the political spectrum.