Labor’s Penrith candidate ‘concerned’ about plans for Paceway redevelopment

Questions have been raised about Labor’s commitment to upgrading Penrith Stadium in light of the local candidate’s voting record.

Labor candidate for Penrith Karen McKeown has been caught out opposing the proposed Penrith stadium upgrade, despite insisting to voters last week that Labor wants the “best possible stadium” for locals.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that in a council meeting in November last year, Ms McKeown — a Penrith councillor — voted against a motion in support of the “proposed redevelopment of Penrith Stadium on the Penrith Paceway site”.

By voting against the motion Ms McKeown also voted against opposing high-rise development on the Paceway site.

Her voting record calls into question whether Labor would go ahead with plans to use the Paceway site to upgrade the Penrith Stadium — as the Coalition plans to do.

The government last year earmarked the Paceway as the preferred site for the new stadium. However, there are fears within government that the cost of acquiring the land at the Paceway could blow out the cost beyond $309 million already budgeted.

Penrith MP Stuart Ayres last week said his preference was to enter a “commercial agreement” with the Paceway rather than to compulsorily acquire the land.

“We want this to be in agreement with the Paceway,” he told The Telegraph’s Penrith debate.

At the debate, Ms McKeown said Labor would honour $309 million already committed to upgrading Penrith Stadium, but called for a business case to see if the project will blow out.

“We want the best possible stadium for the people of Penrith,” she said.

Asked on Thursday whether she supported the Penrith stadium upgrade, Ms McKeown said she was “concerned about the lack of detail around the current plan”.

“The mess that we’re in at the moment seems like just another example of Stuart Ayres and the NSW Liberals being more focused on themselves than on getting the best deal for Penrith,” she said.

It can also be revealed that Ms McKeown voted last year to progress a major project in Penrith while serving as a director of a superannuation fund which had financial interest in the project’s developer.

In July, Ms McKeown voted to progress a planning proposal from Mirvac for a 2300 home development in Glenmore Park.

That is despite Ms McKeown serving as a director on the board of Active Super, a superannuation fund which holds millions of dollars worth of shares in Mirvac.

A NSW Labor spokesman said there was no obligation on Ms McKeown to declare her board position in the council vote, and said the superannuation fund’s investments were handled independently.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]