Dear Supporter,
Allianz Stadium and Moore Park
We’ve been quietly working behind the scenes to secure confirmation from the Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, of a commitment by the former Premier, Mike Baird, that any redevelopment of Allianz Stadium will be on existing SCG Trust land, and not impacting Moore Park and Driver Avenue - whether permanently or temporarily.
We understand that the Chairman of the SCG Trust, Tony Shepherd, has written to the Chairman of the Centennial Park & Moore Park Trust confirming that this will be the case. However, the Government isn’t bound by this assurance, and we’ve been unable to secure a response from the Premier on this issue.
With the Weekend Australian talking of a $700 million Allianz Stadium rebuild, we felt it necessary to go public with our views in an Open Letter to the Premier. It makes three key points:
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There may be a need for safety expenditure on the Stadium ($137 million has been suggested) but is there a need for a new Stadium when the existing one is rarely more than half full?
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Whatever happens with the Stadium, we need an assurance from the Government that all work will be confined to existing SCG Trust land.
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We want to see $10 million (a mere 1.4% of $700 million!) allocated towards revitalising Moore Park.
Read the full text here.
Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Act 1978 Review
In June 2016 we wrote to the then Premier expressing concern about the continuing exemption of the SCG Trust from the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) and the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW). Mike Baird replied that the SC&SG Act was due to be reviewed during the current term of this Government.
In May 2017 Alex Greenwich asked the Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres, the following questions:
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When was the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Act 1978 last reviewed?
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To what extent has the Government considered a future review of this act?
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Will the Government honour the commitment to local residents to review the act during this term of government?
In June 2017 Stuart Ayres responded: At this time there is no statutory review planned for this Act. As previously advised governance of stadia will be reviewed as we progress implementation of the Government Stadia Strategy.
It would seem that, despite Mike Baird’s commitment to review the Act, the Government has no plans to do so. If the proposed $700 million Stadium proceeds, the SCG Trust will be able to construct whatever it likes with the tick of approval from the Minister for Sport and
without regard for the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) and the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW). This is clearly unacceptable.
We need more supporters
To convince the Government it needs to listen to us, we need to keep increasing our supporter numbers. Please ask you friends and anyone you think may be willing to support us, to register their support on our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (links below) (Those registering on our website automatically receive our newsletters.)
Michael Waterhouse
Convenor
Saving Moore Park Inc.
21 November 2017
http://www.savingmoorepark.com
