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.
X086659