Image: Star Observer journalist Serkan Ozturk prepares to run with Christine Forster. (Photo: ANN-MARIE CALIHANNA)
BY CHRISTOPHER HARRIS
A new community group,Saving Moore Park Inc., have formed in an effort to protect the green space from what they see as the continual threat from the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, who wants to obtain more land.
Convenor Michael Waterhouse said that it was vital to protect the land, as a quarter of the park has been lost since it was opened in 1888.
The past few weeks has seen Sports Minister Stuart Ayres agitate for a new stadium on the site, sparking fear in the local community that green space will be sacrificed in the Moore Park vicinity.
Mr Waterhouse said that the new group had no political affiliation, but was simply the community wanting to protect the park, because “once it is lost we won’t get it back”
He said that the focus of the group was to build a registrar of supporters of our objectives, which include preserving Moore Park from intrusions from the SCG trust, including not using it for parking, and not redistribution of boundaries.
“If the stadium is rebuilt, we want to see a proper business case. But there clearly isn’t a need, the average number of attendees at an NRL game at Allianz is only 14,000.”
He said it was important that the government heard the community’s concerns, because of the ongoing threat of the SCG Trust to public space.
He said that the SCG Trust was not accountable to the public.
“The SCG trust are exempt under their act from Environmental Planning Assessment Act, which means that they can do what they want. They don’t need approval to cut down trees, so we are obviously concerned about that.”
Sports Minister Stuarty Ayres sparked controversy when he suggested building a stadium on Kippax Lake in Moore Park.
Management of the Centennial Parklands responded to the Minister’s idea earlier this month to post a history of the lake- from its days as a swamp to the heyday of model boating.
The post from the management of the parklands also contains information of the importance of the lake to the stormwater system, as well as its importance to the local environment.
The lake is contains eels among other invertebrates, as well as being a nesting place for several native birds.
“As one of the only two remaining original features of the Sydney Common, Kippax Lake has high heritage value, and is referenced on the Register of the National Estate listing for Centennial Parklands,” the website states.The lake was used from 1919 as a place to sail model yachts, and in 1931 was used for a model seaplane competition.
A scultpture of a female athlete designed by Diana Hunt in 1967 after a competition held by the Sydney City Council to design an art piece to recognise Australian Sportswomen.
Again on Monday, Minister for Major Events Stuart Ayres advocated for a new 55,000 capacity stadium for the CBD and eastern suburbs.
The minister had previously said that any new stadium would not be built on Centennial Park land.
