Saving Moore Park - Newsletter #36
27 February 2024
Are you part of the next Saving Moore Park team?
We need a completely new Committee to take Saving Moore Park into its next phase. That’s why we are coming to you, our 4,000+ supporters, to see who will take up the reins.
A bit of history
We formed as a committee in 2015 in response to a bid by the then Sydney Cricket Ground Trust to the NSW Government to rebuild the Sydney Football Stadium on top of Kippax Lake. We and others fought hard against that. Our advocacy worked, that plan was killed off, and the new stadium now sits on its original footprint.
That got us looking at why Moore Park was such a neglected cousin compared to its glamorous neighbours Centennial and Queens parks. The answer was cars, which parked on grasslands on game days up to 60 times per year. This left the park degraded – a soggy muddy mess in wet weather and dustbowl much of the rest of the time. Successive governments found little reason to invest in the park’s rejuvenation. Why would you, when it would be crushed so regularly under car wheels?
It took years, but we finally won the battle, with legislation now in place to phase out parking permanently. It has already ceased on the upper section of Moore Park East. While the phase out of the deadline for the middle section and area across from the Royal Hall of Industries has been extended by the Minns Government, the Minister for Planning's office has assured us that this is only temporary and the Government is committed to the permanent removal of all car parking from Moore Park.
Recently we've been addressing:
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The safety of mulch used in Moore Park (yes, it’s clean)
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The future development of the Entertainment Quarte
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Moore Park Golf Course – implications of Government’s decision, including for the future funding of Moore Park
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Removal of car parking on remaining areas of Moore Park East
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Possible renaming of Upper Kippax as ‘The Anzac Field’.
In addition, we have in place with the NSW Government a $12 million bid to repair and revitalise the park after so many decades of neglect. We have even created a Vision for what such an investment could see emerge into reality - a village green with much-needed community sports field for junior cricket and football, BBQ and picnic facilities, flower beds, an urban forest, an Indigenous heritage space and an upgrade to Kippax Lake.
How do we operate?
We’ve stayed independent of any political or activist group. While we love them, we’ve never tied ourselves to a tree. We've kept our membership small, but built a large supporter base. Among our committee members have been architects, urban planners, environmental planners, lawyers, and people with government experience. Most importantly, we’ve been deeply committed to the belief that Moore Park matters, that access to nature is critical to physical and mental well-being, and for the tens of thousands of residents living in apartments in the rapid growth area of Green Square and Zetland, the park is their backyard.
We work constructively with Government and its agencies, largely out of the public eye. We have excellent relationships with the office of the Minister for Planning, Greater Sydney Parkland executives, senior officials in Transport for NSW, Alex Greenwich, Clover Moore and their advisers. We engage with a range of other officials as required.
We would, of course, introduce a new committee to these important stakeholders.
The ANZAC Dawn service
Many of you will know that since 2017 we've conducted an ANZAC Dawn Service at the historic 1917 Obelisk in Moore Park East. Public liability concerns mean we are looking to make other arrangements for the conduct of these this year and in future. The new Committee will not be responsible for these services.
What happens if SMP folds?
So much will be lost. It's amazing how Governments react when they realise our capacity to communicate at very short notice with 4,000 supporters through newsletters, Facebook, X and Instagram. Our website may need a little style refresh but it has been vital to projecting who we are.
For many years successive Governments have cast greedy eyes at Moore Park. We cannot assume this will cease. New issues will arise which will involve the alienation and inappropriate use of this green space. But in the absence of an active community group such as Saving Moore Park, these will go unchecked.
If you’re interested and would like to discuss taking Saving Moore Park into its next phase, please be in touch.
You can do that by emailing Michael Waterhouse at mwaterhouse@bigpond.com and Vivienne Skinner Vivienne.skinner@gmail.com – feel free to leave your phone number if you have questions and would like us to call you back.
Please send your expression of interest by Friday 15 March.
Vivienne Skinner
President
Saving Moore Park