Canterbury-Bankstown: Fresh proposal to fund Ramadan Night Markets using ‘pork barrelled’ funds

Australia’s largest Ramadan street markets could be bankrolled using $36m the NSW Government “clawed back” from a Sydney council from a fund described as “one of the most egregious examples of pork barrelling”.

People visit Ramadan Night Lakemba on March 30, 2024. Picture: Roni Bintang

Australia’s largest Ramadan street markets could be bankrolled using $36m the NSW Government “clawed back” from a Sydney council from a fund described as “one of the most egregious examples of pork barrelling”.

Canterbury-Bankstown councillor Charbel Abouraad will bring a motion to Tuesday’s council meeting for the Ramadan night markets in Lakemba to be financed for five years using the funds Hornsby Shire Council will return to the state government from the Stronger Communities Fund.

The grant program, which the Auditor General of NSW has described as “deficient” and “lacking integrity”, awarded Hornsby Shire Council $90 million across two rounds of grants.

In 2018, Hornsby Shire was given $40 million for the Westleigh Park project to transform 30h into a mountain biking green space, but only $4 million of the grant money has been used.

The state government rejected the council’s request for an extension of time to spend the remaining cash and ordered the council to repay the unused $36 million earmarked for the unbuilt park.

Osama Oreiq at the Ramadan Night Markets. Picture: Chris Pavlich.

Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig said the Stronger Communities Fund was “one of the most egregious examples of pork barrelling”.

“The fund was originally established to support councils which had been forcibly merged by the former government, yet Hornsby Shire Council received $90m despite not being one of the amalgamated councils,” he said.

Cr Abouraad said the state government had the opportunity to reallocate the money “rightly clawed back from Hornsby (Shire Council)” to other councils who are struggling to deliver significant projects.

“This is an opportunity for our council to get its fair share of funding and an opportunity for

the NSW Government to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to Ramadan Nights,” Cr Abouraad said.

Vendors selling at the Ramadan Night Markets in Lakemba. Picture: Chris Pavlich

He said Ramadan Nights attracted more than 1.5 million visitors in 2024, which made it a state significant event.

“Unfortunately, the government’s commitment to funding the event has finished and we have

had no news if they are willing to continue supporting this event that is the biggest in NSW

outside Vivid,” he said.

This comes after Canterbury-Bankstown mayor Bilal El-Hayek said council would seek additional funding after the event – which has grown from a single smoky BBQ into a tourist attraction, will cost council more than $2.5m to run.

“We did receive a $1m grant over two years from the state government but that has now ended, and we are in the process of trying to secure more funding,” Mr El-Hayek said.

Nazneen Akter and Farzana Hossain at The Ramadan night markets in Lakemba. Picture: Chris Pavlich.

“It is quite clear that the event has outgrown the original intention and it is time for a rethink and a review on how it operates.”

Mr El-Hayek floated ideas during a previous mayoral minute, including exploring a private operator to run the event with council having oversight and a rethink of hours and days of operation, the number of stall holders and where they are located.

“What is very clear is that we need to review the event in light of the escalating costs … including reviewing both sponsorship or income opportunities as well as reducing costs to ensure its financial viability into the future,” he said.

A NSW Office of Local Government spokesperson referred this publication to the Minister for Multiculturalism for comment.