10 February 2016

Today, Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich, Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Member for Newtown Jenny Leong and Member for Heffron Ron Hoenig condemned government proposals to build a massive new stadium on Kippax Lake in Moore Park.

The Minister for Sport is reported as saying the government will hand over open green space in Moore Park from the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust to the SGC for a much larger stadium on public open space, with the existing site to be taken over for elite sports and car parking. 

Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich said: “I’m astounded that the minister can’t fix up the women’s toilets, expand the food services and prevent largescale public drunkenness and violence from patrons without spending $800 million on a new and larger stadium.”

“Last weekend they couldn’t even manage 30,000 people, let alone 55,000. This caps a long history of expansion and commercialisation of the parkland.

“It is a simple and much cheaper job to refurbish the current stadium on the existing site and better use the SCG land, buildings and car parking.

“This proposal doesn’t sit right with the government’s repeated promises of better infrastructure in Western Sydney.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said: “Kippax Lake is a beautiful community park, an oasis for wildlife like black swans. Yet the SCG Trust and their government allies want to fill it in – destroy it – and build a stadium that is not even needed.”

“We all know attendance at the Allianz stadium rarely gets close to its existing capacity, and that the problems it has could be fixed with a much cheaper upgrade. Why on earth would we waste millions building a new stadium that will also be mostly empty?”

“The last thing the government built on Moore Park, the Tibby Cotter bridge, blew out to $38 million – and no one even uses it. Repeating this mistake would be a gross misuse of taxpayer funds.”

“Metropolitan Sydney needs new and upgraded spectator sports venues, but they’re needed at the centre of our population in Sydney’s west where the demand is.”

There was widespread opposition to this plan from local representatives and the regional communities who rely on this parkland – when it was just a rumour.

The communities of the inner city, inner east and inner west will strongly oppose this proposal and defend public parkland, as they have so often in the past.

The parklands are a vital green space and recreation resource for in the adjacent residential areas, many living in apartments with no outdoor space, and an extra 60,000 people moving in with Green Square redevelopment.

“We should be improving and expanding open space not further eroding it. This parkland and the lake will never be returned to the community. 

Contact Alex Greenwich on 9360 3050