2022-03-25
Critical Greens amendments to the Government's Greater Sydney Parklands legislation have ensured some of Sydney's most well-loved parks will be preserved and protected for future generations. Greens amendments passed NSW Parliament late last night that will ensure local community trusts for Centennial Park, Callan Park, Western Sydney Parklands and Parramatta Park will now have a real say in the future of their local parks.
Greens MP David Shoebridge also successfully amended the Coalition Bill to ensure parking is removed from the Lower Kippax part of Moore Park in 2023 which will transform it into a fully fledged park, delivering new open green space for tens of thousands of residents in Green Square and many more beyond.
The amendments were supported by a strong city-wide Alliance of community groups dedicated to protecting parklands and passed with support from across Parliament including Labor, the Coaliton and the AJP.
Greens MP David Shoebridge said:
"Protecting parks should unite everyone in politics, but this legislation has been contentious from the start because the initial draft took parks management away from communities and concentrated that power in a large centralised trust.
"The Greens amendments give real power to communities so they can make decisions about the future of their parks and protect them from privatisation and overdevelopment.
"With the passing of this legislation we will finally get cars off Moore Park so it can be turned into a fully-fledged park and much-needed green space right next to tensed of thousands of residents in Greens Square.
"Greens amendments to provide permanent protection to hundreds of hectares of parklands surrounding Homebush were opposed by Labor and the Coalition. However amendments were agreed to review providing protection to the Millennium Parklands over the next two years.
"Without these protections this green open space is at risk of being bulldozed for development because they under the legal control of Planning NSW, a government agency with a ruthlessly pro-development culture. It is an area of green open space the size of Centennial Park and Parramatta Park added together and the Greens are committed to seeing it protected.
"Developers would love to get their hands on the state's precious parkland, which is why it's so important to protect it for future generations - the work is not done," Mr Shoebridge said.
Background:
Amendments to the Greater Sydney Parklands Bill adopted last night establish a federated management structure with a City-wide Parks Trust together with genuine local management park committees with powers to:
- Approve each park's plan of management
- Approve any use of locally generated funds other than in the parkland where it was generated, and
- Expanded membership of local management committees to include community representatives nominated by each adjoining local council.