Fore-closure: Zali Steggall calls for local golf course to shut, be repurposed for other sports
Federal MP Zali Steggall has been accused of “picking on golfers” after calling for a 100 year old public golf club to be closed and the land handed over to a nearby school.
National
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Federal MP Zali Steggall has been accused of “picking on golfers” after calling for a 100 year old public golf club to be closed and the land handed over to a nearby school.
Balgowlah Golf Club, a public nine hole course celebrating its centenary this year, had sought a five year lease from Northern Beaches Council to give it some certainty after years of being threatened with demolition as part of the now shelved Northern Beaches Tunnel project.
But Ms Steggall yesterday told her 15,000 Instagram followers that granting the lease was “a poor use of valuable public land that would be better used for local education and sporting groups like football, cricket and AFL.”
“Is this fair ... to the next generation when there are a number of golf courses in the area?” she wrote. She suggested the land could be used for playing fields for Balgowlah Boys High School.
The Olympic skier also gave instructions on how to write to council to oppose the project.
The post sparked fury from club members and golfers still angry over the state government’s move to cut Moore Park golf course in half.
One member accused her of attempting to “play class warfare between a golf course and a public high school.”
However, Premier Chris Minns said there would be no repeat of Moore Park at Balgowlah and called Ms Steggall’s move a “thought bubble.”
“No one from the state government is pushing this agenda, it’s not our plan or our proposal,” he said.
Club general manager Flora Johnson called Ms Steggall’s post “bizarre” and said the club had increased membership since the tunnel was shelved.
“We’ve gone from 447 to 561 members in a year,” she said.
“Everything was going ahead until Zali Steggall intervened with her post basically opposing our lease at the 11th hour, and now Northern Beaches Council have extended submissions to February 29.”
A spokesperson for the council said the consultation period had been extended because “the holiday period is a difficult time for many to engage in such matters.”
Former golf pro Mark Allen said Ms Steggall was wrong. “All these moron politicians — they see the manicured golf course and think the work happens magically for nothing and that golfers are privileged people,” Mr Allen said.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. The public courses are full of tradies, high vis, seniors and kids.
Graeme Smith, who plays at Balgowlah where a round costs $27.50, said affordable green fees were a huge attraction for all walks of life.
“They’re just picking on golfers again,” he said. “I’m not a rich person and if I had to move to another course to have the privilege to play, it’d have to pay a lot more money.”
Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said golf was a “sport for all”, with more than two million people playing a round in the past year.
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