Waverley Mayor John Wakefield: ‘no regrets’ over failed stadium court appeal

Waverley Mayor John Wakefield said the council is considering its options after a court ruled the demolition of Allianz Stadium could go ahead, as critics demand answers about the cost to ratepayers.

Mayor John Wakefield, Mayor Kathy Neilson and Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

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Waverley Mayor John Wakefield said he had “no regrets” over the council’s part in a failed bid to stop the demolition of Allianz Stadium, as critics question why it got involved at all.

The Land and Environment Court ruled on Wednesday that the State Government’s plan to tear down the stadium, which was halted by a last-minute legal challenge last month, will go ahead.

Waverley Council launched legal action independent of a separate challenge from community activists Local Democracy Matters, accusing Planning Minister Anthony Roberts of failing to follow proper procedure. Both cases were defeated on Wednesday.

Local Democracy Matters spokesperson Chris Maltby speaking outside the Land and Environment Court after the injunction on hard demolition of Allianz Stadium was lifted. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Cr Wakefield said the council would “consider its options” ahead of the lifting of the court injunction at 2pm on Thursday, when wrecking balls might close in on the stadium.

“Obviously we are disappointed,” he said outside the court today. “They have made an adjudication, we are considering our options in that regard, but we are where we are now.

“I don’t regret our decision, we were right to go down this path, but it wasn’t our first option. Our first option was to ask the Minister to explain … and he didn’t.”

Work can go ahead on the redevelopment of the Sydney Football Stadium, a court ruled on Wednesday. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Cr Wakefield said the council spent a year writing letters to Mr Roberts asking him to undertake studies into potential impacts of the stadium’s redevelopment on adjacent suburbs including traffic and noise concerns.

But Liberal councillor Leon Goltsman demanded the Mayor reveal the cost of the proceedings spent on what he labelled a “political stunt”.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Mayor John Wakefield and Mayor Kathy Neilson overlook Allianz Stadium.

“Thank you Mayor Wakefield and your Labor/Greens colleagues for squandering ratepayers’ money on a case that we were never going to win,” he said.

“I now intend on pursuing a full investigation as to why the Mayor and his colleagues chose to go down this path and reveal all costs associated … The residents deserve to know the truth and I will continue to fight for that.”

Neither City of Sydney or Randwick councils have pursued legal action.

Local Democracy Matters’ Chris Maltby said the fight was not over and pleaded with Premier Gladys Berejiklian to hold off demolition until after the State Election on March 23.

“It’s only two weeks until the election,” he said. “This election could be a referendum on this stadium.”

Greens MP David Shoebridge said residents could be outside the stadium at 2pm on Thursday in an attempt to stop the restart of demolition.