Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek weighs into Rushcutters Bay skate park debate
SYDNEY Federal Labor MP Tanya Plibersek has thrown her support behind the proposed skate park at Rushcutters Bay, putting her at loggerheads with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Wentworth Courier
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SYDNEY Federal Labor MP Tanya Plibersek has thrown her support behind the proposed skate park at Rushcutters Bay, putting her at loggerheads with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The fate of the proposed youth facility, which includes a basketball court and table tennis, will come to a head tonight when Woollahra Council debates the controversial plan.
In an eleventh-hour letter to the council, Ms Plibersek, who is the deputy leader of the Opposition, said the proposal would make Rushcutters Bay Park “a more inclusive public area that can be enjoyed by all”.
“When I lived in Elizabeth Bay and later in Woolloomooloo, I was a frequent visitor to the park and my children still use the tennis facilities often,” she wrote.
“I observed over many years that Rushcutters Bay Park already has great facilities for passive recreation, dog walkers, soccer, cricket, rugby, joggers and young children.
“But it lacks recreational facilities for older children and young people.”
Ms Plibersek said the facility would take up less than two per cent of the park and “would not impinge on passive recreation”.
As local schools reach or exceed capacity, she said more facilities were needed for young people aged between five and 17, who represent 12 per cent of the Woollahra LGA.
“With more families raising their children in the inner-city, it is essential public spaces include facilities that encourage those children to be active.”
She said it would help the community tackle the obesity epidemic.
“In 2016, one million Australian children — 27 per cent — aged five to 17 were overweight or obese,” she wrote.
“Most families living in the city live in either apartments or houses with small backyards.
“This limits young people’s opportunities to be active in their homes and encourages them to stay indoors playing with their computers rather than playing outside with their friends.”
Ms Plibersek’s electorate borders Rushcutters Bay Park, which is in Mr Turnbull’s jurisdiction as the Wentworth Federal Liberal MP.
Mr Turnbull also wrote a letter to the council opposing the move.
He raised concerns about the proposal to build skating facilities on green space which was used by locals for recreational activities, picnics, outdoor sports and dog walking.
“Adding hard surfaces and concrete structures is not sympathetic to how the park is currently used by its visitors,” Mr Turnbull wrote.
“These facilities also raise noise concerns for local residents that neighbour the park. “Furthermore, there is an exceptional skate park in Bondi Beach that is available to everyone in the eastern suburbs.”
He feared a skate park would compromise a “treasured park in an increasingly urban area that is densely populated.”
“Access to Rushcutters Bay Park is a key part of local livability and quality of life and I believe it would be best kept as an open green space that can be used by everyone in the community.”
ALLEGED AUSSIE DRUGS TRAFFICKER’S MOTHER SPEAKS
Apologies have been received for tonight’s meeting from Councillors Matthew Robertson and James Keulemans, who are believed to be in opposition to the proposal.
Susan Wynne and Luise Elsing, who had supported the proposal, will not be there either.
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