Hunters Hill Council votes to keep charging outsiders for parking at children’s park
PARKING costs outside a children’s park in Hunters Hill has sparked class warfare, with those living outside the ‘rich’ area forced to pay up to $5 an hour for the privilege of using the park.
NSW
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A CHILDREN’S park has become a battleground with “free riders” claiming an “offensive” tax is class warfare designed to keep them out of a rich area.
Buffalo Creek Reserve is on the border of Hunters Hill and Ryde but, three years ago, Hunters Hill Council installed parking meters for anyone who lives outside of the area.
Furious parents who live on the wrong side of the border claim it is aimed at keeping “westies” out but at the September 10 meeting, the council knocked back a proposal to remove the parking meters.
“We call these people free riders,” Hunters Hill general manager Barry Smith told The Sunday Telegraph.
“I am sorry they feel that way but if you go anywhere in Sydney you have to pay.
“Ninety per cent of the people who use the park are from outside the council area.
“We believe that our residents are already paying for the facilities and so we are not going to charge them twice.”
Hunters Hill residents park for free by either entering their numberplate details or parking permit card into the parking meter.
It costs between $3.50 and $5 per hour to park. The council collects $30,000 per year from the meters and the average parking fine is $235.
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But parents from outside the exclusive 2110 postcode said the council is more concerned with keeping outsiders away from their precious park than doing the right thing by locals.
Dural mother Kimberley Rubbo said she uses the park 10 times a year but doesn’t pay for parking on principle.
“It’s almost as if the council is saying that we don’t want people from out of area in the park,” Mrs Rubbo said.
“There are plenty of councils which do not charge people to use a children’s park. They might as well put up a sign saying: ‘Go back to where you came from’ or ‘No westies allowed’.”
Mosman gives residents three hours free parking at Balmoral, The Spit and roads opposite Taronga Zoo.
Woollahra residents get free parking in zones, while Northern Beaches Council offers residents free parking at 40 locations.
Planning Minister and Lane Cove MP Anthony Roberts also jumped into the debate, saying he has recently allocated Hunters Hill $1 million in grants for parks.
“People have the right to feel outraged that, at a time you have the state government working to take pressure off families’ cost of living, you have a council that has put a tax on a traditional Aussie family day out,” he said.
“This tax by Hunters Hill Council offends everyone.”
Ironically, although Hunters Hill has the city’s sixth richest postcode, with an average taxable income of $147,757, it claims it needs the meters because it is so poor.
It is the smallest council area in Sydney and claims it is broke, with a September 10 council business paper referring to “the perilous state of our long-term financial position”.
It wants to increase council rates by at least 7 per cent to stay afloat, although it fought forced amalgamation in the courts, declaring that it was strong enough to stand alone.