By Matthew Moore
EFFORTS to force a special commission of inquiry into the Barangaroo development have been dismissed by Paul Keating as advocacy by ''sandal-wearing, muesli-chewing, bike-riding pedestrians''.
The lord mayor, Clover Moore, was the subject of a tirade by the former prime minister after she presented to Parliament a petition of more than 11,000 names calling for the inquiry.
Paul Keating ... taking down the muesli-chewers.Credit: Steven Siewert
Tabling the petition was ''scandalous and irresponsible behaviour'' by a lord mayor who had a ''misplaced understanding of what Sydney is and what Sydney can become'', Mr Keating said.
''The lord mayor has no concept of a metropolitan city, she's an inappropriate person to be lord mayor of this city because she thinks it's a city of villages, she's for low rise, she's for sandal-wearing, muesli-chewing, bike-riding pedestrians without any idea of the metropolitan quality of the city.''
Most troubling to him was the threat to his vision, endorsed by the former Labor government, of the construction of a naturalistic headland on the site that would be ''a carbon copy of the botanical gardens'' on the northern end of the 22-hectare site.
He complained Cr Moore and her supporters wanted to return Barangaroo to the cruise ship terminal which the former government decided would be relocated to White Bay. Retaining the terminal in its traditional site would destroy the headland park he had always campaigned for.
''These are not cruise ships which bring international tourists, these are the rugby league, rum and rock 'n' roll cruises that leave Sydney for six and seven days … there's no reason they have to be at Barangaroo.''
The new government has yet to reveal if it will back Mr Keating's vision for the site or whether it will keep him as chairman of the design excellence review panel overseeing it. The matter is due to be debated in Parliament next week.
Cr Moore dismissed Mr Keating's attack as ''comical'', said she had never opposed development at Barangaroo and had never advocated low-rise buildings right along the waterfront, as Mr Keating claimed.
''The former PM's statements on four-storey development are simply false. The City of Sydney's submissions have supported significant development on the site as long as it is tied to public transport improvements and quality design,'' she said.
She said she tabled the petition because she was asked to by organisers. ''The fact that 11,000 people signed it signifies that this is a matter of major concern.''