Decision details

Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Thalis -

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         the Berejiklian Government has created a super oversight agency to manage and potentially remove the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, and other trusts of famous Sydney parklands;

(ii)        this new government managed agency risks not providing the same protections that a public Trust does and will threaten the independence that local Trusts maintain by challenging government attempts to commercialise and develop these public spaces;

(iii)      the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust which been active since 1983, is a powerful, local group committed to ensuring the parklands remain public, green spaces. In 2016, the Trust successfully stopped the Sydney Cricket and Sports Grounds Trust from building another stadium on its land;

(iv)      the Trust has been at the forefront of local initiatives. In 2016, they established the Cyclist Liaison Committee to provide a formal framework to consultation between the cycling community and the Trust to ensure that people were safe and satisfied. This was a thoughtful step towards making Sydney are more environmentally sustainable and safe city just as cycling was becoming more popular; and

(v)       the City has valued the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust's consultation and advice over the decades regarding development proposals, environmental policies and local initiatives, and commend the Trust for their ongoing commitment to protecting the parklands so diligently; and

(B)      the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the NSW Government Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes urging him to:

(i)         ensure the independence of the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, and other local parklands Trusts, to preserve and protect the independent local governing authorities of the public parklands in NSW; and

(ii)        provide recurrent State funding for the parklands, to ensure they do not need to rely on commercialisation of the public parklands.

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Note – the motion above was not carried. The resolution as below was carried -

It is resolved that:

(A)      Council note:

(i)         the Centennial and Moore Park Trust was established in 1983 and is responsible for the long-term strategic planning of the parklands, as well as the operational day-to-day management of the three parks - Centennial Park, Moore Park and Queens Park;

(ii)        on 17 July 2020, the NSW Government launched a new 50-year vision for Greater Sydney’s network of parklands and green open spaces. The draft vision is open for public comment until 11 September 2020;

(iii)      the vision will be overseen by a new Greater Sydney Parklands government agency that brings together the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, Parramatta Park Trust, and Western Sydney Parklands Trusts, as well as the parklands of Callan Park and Fernhill Estate;

(iv)      combined, the agency will oversee more than 6,000 hectares of parklands across Sydney, which host almost 40 million visits each year;

(v)       the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces briefed the Lord Mayor on 21 July 2020 with an overview of the new government agency and its primary aims and responsibilities;

(B)      the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces about the new Greater Sydney Parklands government agency conveying Council’s responsibility to represent the community’s interests, and capacity to contribute to:

(i)         the governance model for the new agency especially the level of community and Council input now and in the future; and

(ii)        models for local community involvement in the management of the Parklands that are enshrined in legislative changes to provide increased protection to the Parklands, and propose that:

(iii)      the monetary savings resulting from the amalgamation of the Trusts be preserved for the parklands’ upkeep; and

(iv)      the funding models remove the need for commercialisation of valuable parklands, especially Moore Park; and

(C)      the Chief Executive Officer be requested to review the NSW Government’s draft vision for Greater Sydney’s open space and parklands that is currently open for public consultation and the City make a submission with reference to priorities raised in part (B) above.

The amendment was carried on the following show of hands –

Ayes (9)          The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Chung, Forster, Kok, Miller, Phelps, Scully, Thalis, and Vithoulkas

Noes (1)          Councillor Scott.

Amendment carried.

The substantive motion, as varied by consent, was carried unanimously.

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