Moved by Councillor Jarrett , seconded
by Councillor Gannon –
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
on 10
January 2024, mulch in the Rozelle Parklands was discovered to have been
contaminated with asbestos;
(ii)
on 13
January 2024, a request was submitted to the Chief Executive Officer by Ms
Natasha Moulton, asking the City to test all City parks for potential asbestos
contamination;
(iii)
on 15
January 2024, the Chief Executive Officer provided advice that the request to
test all City parks was rejected;
(iv)
on 19
January 2024, Councillors at the City of Sydney received an email from the
Chief Executive Officer which stated “at the CoS mulch is generally
replaced on a six-monthly to annual basis, the oldest mulch in the CoS was
installed within a 24-month period. During this period the City has not sourced
mulch for parks and open spaces from Greenlife Resource Recovery (the supplier
named in the Rozelle Parklands issue);
(v)
on 12
February 2024, almost one month after this initial email was sent out by the
Chief Executive Officer, Councillors received another email from the Chief
Executive Officer confirming that after receiving notification by the NSW
Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on 8 February 2024, three City parks
had returned positive results for asbestos contamination;
(vi)
the
following sites across the City of Sydney have further been confirmed to have
asbestos contamination, with confirmation on the following dates:
(a)
Rozelle
Parklands - 10 January 2024 ;
(b)
Belmore
Park, Haymarket - 12 February 2024;
(c)
Victoria
Park, Camperdown - 12 February 2024;
(d)
Harmony
Park, Surry Hills - 12 February 2024 (friable asbestos);
(e)
Munn
Reserve, Millers Point - 17 February 2024;
(f)
Bicentennial
Park - 19 February 2024 (friable asbestos);
(g)
North
Rosebery Park - 19 February 2024;
(h)
Honeykiss
Park - 20 February 2024;
(i)
Jubilee
Park - 21 February 2024;
(j)
Observatory
Hill Park - 21 February 2024;
(k)
Wood
Street Lands - 22 February (friable asbestos);
(l)
Harold
Park - 22 February 2024;
(m)
Wentworth
Park – 22 February 2024;
(n)
Robyn
Kemmis Reserve – 23 February 2024; and
(o)
Giba
Park - 26 February 2024; and
(vii)
throughout
the duration of this debacle, the Lord Mayor Clover Moore has not explained to
ratepayers, users of our recreational facilities or anyone else affected by the
asbestos contaminated parks, why the City chose not to take action before it
was too late;
(B)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to:
(i)
provide
written advice explaining and justifying the inaction of the Council on behalf
of the residents and ratepayers of the City of Sydney including why:
(a)
the
City rejected the call by Ms Moulton to test all City parks for potential
asbestos contamination until prompted by the EPA approximately one
month after the initial contamination in Rozelle Parklands; and
(b)
the
Lord Mayor has failed to exercise a duty of care in relation to the asbestos
risk by not proactively prioritising testing and inquiries into the potential
risk given the available and disturbing information and in
keeping Councillors informed on behalf of the community and ratepayers
safe and fully informed of the potential risks;
(ii)
write
to key stakeholders in the LGBTQIA+ community apologising for the City’s
partial responsibility for the cancellation of the Mardi Gras Fair Day at
Victoria Park due to the lack of proactive investigation into the potential
asbestos contamination of the City’s parks; and
(iii)
write to the key stakeholders in the Yabun Festival
held on 26 January 2024 at Victoria Park apologising for the City’s lack of
communication regarding the lack of proactive investigation into the potential
asbestos contamination of the City’s parks and festivalgoers' potential
exposure to asbestos considering Victoria Parks’ positive contamination result
after the festival had taken place; and
(C)
the
Chief Executive Officer be requested to:
(i)
disclose
how much it has cost and will continue to cost the City to:
(a)
test
all sites necessary where there may be asbestos contamination;
(b)
construct
fences, tape affected areas and install signs to keep the public out of harm’s
way;
(c)
hire
licensed asbestos removalists to clean up the sites;
(d)
provide
adequate insurance to cover any risk to Council resulting from Council’s
neglect to act and care for the community properly; and
(e)
remediate
all contaminated sites;
(ii)
provide
Councillors with a copy of the contract and tender documents that the City has
with its mulch supplier/s and responses from suppliers concerning their testing
practices; and
(iii)
explain
to Councillors via a CEO Update what compliance measures were implemented in
the tender and contractual process undertaken by the City with its mulch
supplier/s to ensure adherence to best practice and the law in avoiding the
risk of asbestos exposure or harm to any person.
The motion was lost on the following show of hands –
Ayes (4) Councillors Gannon, Jarrett, Scott and Weldon
Noes (6) The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Chan, Davis, Ellsmore, Kok and Worling.
Motion lost.
X086657