Balmain MP Opposes Callan Park Privatization Plan
Kobi Shetty MP has today called on the Minns Labor Government to reject a recommendation to privatise Callan Park.
Ms Shetty has made these comments on the back of a review of the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Act 2022 that was tabled in Parliament today.
As stated by Kobi Shetty MP
Callan Park is one of the most significant parklands in the inner west. For more than 20 years our community has worked incredibly hard to preserve Callan Park as public green space and community asset. Time after time our community has had to fend off moves to allow for the commercialisation and privatisation of Callan Park, and this is the latest iteration.
The whole point of the Callan Park Act was to save the park from privatisation, and to ensure it is never again proposed as a site for profit-driven development. Any moves to wind back the Act’s protections are of grave concern. The review committee has absolutely got it wrong on this.
Allowing the Minister to sign off on 50-year leases that can effectively cut the community out of the park without any public scrutiny would be a terrible outcome.
My community believes that Callan Park should be reserved for education, health and creative not-for-profit uses for the community. Government can, and must, maintain not-for-profit activity while securing funds from external sources for larger upkeep costs like much-needed heritage conservation work in the iconic Kirkbride precinct.
This argument that the park needs commercial investment in order to be maintained is simply not true. There are literally dozens of not-for-profit agencies who are willing to take Kirkbride on. This would save the government millions and ensure the place is kept in good order, while keeping it open for our community to enjoy. I’ve presented these suggestions directly to the Premier, and now it’s time that Premier Minns and his government take them seriously, instead of opening the floodgates to commercial interests.
This week we are celebrating another significant investment in Callan Park, which is on top of the millions put up in the last term by the coalition. The former government’s Landscape Structure Plan sets out a blueprint for revitalisation and now we just need to get on with the job.
Background
Callan Park, Rozelle is in the heart of the Balmain electorate. It contains 61 hectares of open and accessible green space in one of the most densely populated parts of Sydney, and where public open space is in short supply.
The Joint Select Committee on the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust has handed down its review of the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Act 2022. The report makes 26 recommendations including that the Callan Park (Special Provisions) Act be amended to:
Further enquiries – Ned Cutcher, 0405 433 996
https://greens.org.au/nsw/news/media-release/member-balmain-rejects-inquiry-recommendation-privatise-callan-park