Decision details

Moved by Councillor Ellsmore, seconded by Councillor Gannon -

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         Wolli Creek Regional Park (WCRP) is an important piece of bushland in Sydney’s urban inner southwest. Wolli Creek Regional Park has 50 hectares of bushland, which includes a 4.5km walking track, parklands, heathland, woodland, rainforest trees, wetlands and saltmarsh. It offers a home to a large array of birds and grey-headed flying foxes;

(ii)        due to its proximity to the City of Sydney, many of the City’s residents go to Wolli Creek Regional Park for recreational purposes;

(iii)      the Wolli Creek Preservation Society (WCPS) plays an active role in bush regeneration activities;

(iv)      in 1988, the former NSW Government announced that the Wolli Creek Regional Park would be “permanently protected”. Successive ALP and Coalition governments have overseen the gradual addition of lands to the Wolli Creek Regional Park, prompted by Wolli Creek Preservation Society campaigns in 1999, 2006, 2010 and 2018;

(v)       five blocks of land, constituting just two per cent of the Wolli Creek Regional Park, remain to be acquired. These small blocks are critical to the connectivity of the park’s bushland and access to it. They are owned by Sydney Water and three private owners; and

(vi)      City of Sydney Councillors have received a request from the Wolli Creek Preservation Society to support the community campaign to add these remaining lands to the park; and

(B)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to write to the NSW Government:

(i)         requesting that the NSW Government take the steps necessary to expedite the acquisition of the remaining lands necessary to complete Wolli Creek Regional Park; and

(ii)        requesting that the NSW Government support the Wolli Creek Regional Park with increased funding and staffing, to provide for its continued protection and enhancement.

Carried unanimously.

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