Sydney’s too timid for a grown-up city. But is cloning V’landys really the solution?

NSW Premier Chris Minns wants Sydney to embrace big, bold ideas. His solution? Clone Peter V’landys.

The rugby league administrator and racing chief, who is loved and loathed (most vocally by NSW’s rabble rouser-in-chief Mark Latham), is the can-do master needed to help Sydney reach its full potential, at least according to his newest fan.

“We would have a more exciting, more dynamic city” with multiple Peter V’landys, according to Premier Chris Minns.Credit: Photo:

“I didn’t know Peter V’landys very well before I became premier,” Minns gushed on Tuesday, “but he’s a doer. He’s someone who grabs initiatives and pursues them, and that kind of can-do philosophy to the way he goes about his work is amazing to watch. I think Sydney could do with 10 Peter V’landys rather than one, and we would have a more exciting, more dynamic city as a result.”

Minns’ newfound adoration for V’landys was born from the Racing NSW chief’s behind-the-scenes championing of the now failed bid to sell the underused Rosehill Gardens racecourse for housing. V’landys largely kept his head down during the drawn-out process, which was launched with much fanfare in late 2023. But V’landys’ background involvement was significant.

It was Minns and the Australian Turf Club chairman Peter McGauran, however, who were trackside at Rosehill to unveil their once-in-a-generation plan for Sydney. A new mini city, 25,000 houses and a Metro stop. It was precisely the type of big, bold idea Minns says the city needs.

It was a unique offering. Where else within a 20-kilometre radius of Sydney’s CBD could you develop a new city on uncontaminated land and also be connected to a metro line? Nowhere, which is now Minns’ problem.

Premier Chris Minns backed the Rosehill deal which would have seen the NSW government purchase the site for $5 billion.Credit: Aresna Villaneuva

Credit to the premier, he backed a big idea that would be city-changing, but his excitement overlooked reality. The Rosehill deal was only going to be realised if a few thousand ATC members agreed to give up one of their racetracks for the greater good of Sydney. On Tuesday, it came down to just 7864 members to vote on Sydney’s housing future: 4413 said no to the sale of Rosehill and 3451 said yes.

Sydney wants to be a grown-up city on the global stage, but often, we are too timid when it comes to embracing risky ideas. The collapse of the Rosehill racecourse deal, and with it a metro station and tens of thousands of homes, is proof of just how faint-hearted we can be. Too often, we say no when we should be saying yes.

The Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park is another case of Sydneysiders baulking at big ideas.

Home to the former Sydney Showgrounds, the precinct should be so much more. It is nestled between Centennial Park, Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium with a light-rail stop on its doorstep. Instead of being tired and underused, it should be a bustling late-night hub. But disgruntled residents and some City of Sydney councillors have done their best to block its redevelopment over the years.

The state government last year took overdue steps to revive the ageing EQ and opened a tender process seeking proposals from the private sector. If the Entertainment Quarter is to ever meet its potential, and if the city is to have a world-class entertainment venue, Sydney must back its redevelopment. Saying no should not be an option.

Minns has taken other notable, brave steps since he came to government. He has lifted the caps on concerts at Allianz Stadium and the SCG from a measly four a year to 20. (Sydney’s fun police had the restrictions on the precinct put in place after locals complained about noise from a Rolling Stones concert more than 20 years ago.)

The premier has also moved to carve up some of the government-owned golf course at Moore Park to provide more green space as his government pursues high-density living around the city. His plan is to halve Moore Park’s 18-hole golf course to create a 20-hectare park. The golfers, of course, hate the idea. That does not mean it should not go ahead.

Minns wants an exciting and vibrant city, but that cannot happen without more housing. He has made good inroads with his program to allow more medium-density housing around 39 transport hubs, as well as allowing terraces, townhouses and small unit blocks within a 10-minute walk of a town centre or station. His Housing Development Authority can take power away from councils to get big developments moving.

But when it came to the biggest idea of all, Minns could have taken the brave step of compulsorily acquiring Rosehill. He would have faced an almighty showdown with some of the racing world – most notably the high-profile wealthy trainers – but he would have been in the driver’s seat to deliver a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Sydney.

It seems some risks are too big, even for Minns.

Alexandra Smith is the state political editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.