Bishopscourt, the Archbishop of Sydney's official residence in Darling Point, will not be sold after the Diocesan Synod rejected the proposal in a close"run secret ballot, 249 votes to 218.
In some respects the closeness of the vote is a surprise.
Synod witnessed the extraordinary situation of two of its highest decision-making bodies in stark disagreement. In those circumstances you would indeed expect caution to prevail.
Bishop Robert Forsyth moved the motion proposing the sale of the 150-year-old neo-gothic property on behalf of Standing Committee.
He argued that it costs “us about $1 million in forgone cash per year to keep housing our Archbishop” in Bishopscourt and that “despite the many good features of the residence, in our present and future circumstances, this price is unjustified and unjustifiable. There are more important calls on our resources”.
Mustering the skill of a stump politician, the Rev Craig Roberts, rector of Neutral Bay, presented the case against arguing there was “no guarantee” that the expected sale price would be realised.
He said he was speaking on the behalf on the Anglican Church Property Trust which "is unanimous in its opposition" and claimed he would never have liquidated Bishopscourt in his previous business career on basis of the evidence presented.
The numbers in Standing Committee's report "don't stack up", he said, claiming “a shortfall of between $7million to $9.6 million” in its projections.
That suggestion was refuted by the seconder of the motion, Peter Kell, who used a chart to explain the calculations of the Archbishop’s Commission.
In hindsight, one of the more decisive interventions came late in the two hour debate from Dr Stephen Judd, CEO of independent health provider Hammondcare.
Dr Judd argued that Bishopscourt was an unique ministry asset that provided a point of connection with the city's movers and shakers.
"The proponents mistakenly regard it as the residence of one person. It is not: it is one of the few hospitality houses in the fellowship of the Diocese," he said, explaining that when successive Archbishops have invited Heads of State and other VIPs to Bishopscourt they come.
Dr Judd also described how Bishopcourt's conference and accommodation facilities were key in the unrolling of Connect09, as the Archbishop used it for overnight briefings for rectors.
"Bishopscourt is as much about Connect as what our parishes do," he said.
It was clear the proponents had not provided sufficient hard evidence for how this peculiar ministry asset could be replaced.
Dr Judd also pointed out that "the problem is not Bishopscourt" but the EOS' "interest in St Andrew's House".
"When Archbishop Loane reluctantly agreed in 1973 to use the assets of the EOS to complete SAH, he wanted that repaid as soon as possible. This ended up not being repaid but being rolled into a 50 percent interest in the building.
One solution to the EOS is in my view roll SAH into a unit trust and allow interested persons in the Anglican family to have a stake in an excellent long-term asset," he said.
Lack of trust
Lack of trust in those governing the Church's Endowments was a major thread running through the debate. In the end this proved fatal to those who wanted to sell.
Bishop Forsyth tried to tackle the issue head saying, "we need to be honest about some of the unstated issues behind this debate"
"I believe that there has been as erosion of trust in the governance and ability of some of our key diocesan decision making bodies in these last years, especially in view of the lamentable financial situation we now face in the EOS. But we can not react by becoming paralyzed when action is needed. We should take the Commission's recommendations very seriously."
Those against the sale argued that EOS governance structures are so flawed that they should be fixed before a sale is considered.
Of all the arguments against the sale, Mr Roberts described this as "most compelling of all".
"How can we put another $24 million into that slot?" he said. "We need to fix the governance of EOS before considering selling Bishopscourt."
Mr Roberts also pointed out that the "last time EOS rolled the property dice" with the Greenoaks apartments development on part of the Bishopscort property, the return "was nothing".
"Messing around with property is how the EOS got shot in the foot," he said.
Amendments
Again and again those proposing amendments to the Forsyth sale motion raised the spectre of the governance problems.
Bruce York from East Lindfield said "the professionalism of management in recent years has left a lot to be desired".
The Rev Zac Veron, CEO of Youthworks proposed an amendment ensuring that any difference between selling Bishopscourt and buying a new residence was no less that $15million.
Although this amendment was accepted by the movers, he still gave the motion to sell a caning.
"This debate is not about whether our prince should be in a palace," he said, but about building a case to sell a property asset.
He said if "any parish was proposing this with supporting evidence so thin" it would be knocked back.
"A windfall gain for the EOS is pure assertion," he said.
In an uncharacteristically animated speech, Professor Bernard Stewart, proposed an amendment that would explore options to redevelop Bishopcourt, lamenting the proponents "sterile vision for this asset".
"In my opinion, if you sell the property you are out of your head," he concluded to cheers from the Synod floor.
Professor Chris Bellenger, proposed a compromise motion that would have brought the propose sale back to Synod next year, arguing that proceeding now would see the sale "overseen by bodies the Archbishop has said has significant governance flaws".
"They could go and sell and at the end of the day we are left with a lot of money out of our pockets," he said.
The vote on Professor Bellenger's amendment was particularly close, lost on a show of hands. But it provided an inkling of the vote to come.
Way Forward
After the result of the Bishopscourt vote was announced this afternoon, Synod passed a separate motion asking the EOS and the Archbishop’s Commission to look at ways to realize it’s interest in St Andrews House. If such efforts fail, then there will be a 1.14 percent assessment on parishes in Sydney Diocese for 2011 only.
