Allianz Stadium: NSW Land and Environment Court rejects injunction bid to stop demolition

The Land and Environment Court has rejected a bid to grant an injunction to stop demolition work on the Allianz Stadium.

Aerial shots of the demolition of Allianz Stadium at Moore Park. Picture: Toby Zerna

The demolition of Sydney’s Allianz Stadium has been given the green light after the NSW Land and Environment Court dismissed a community group’s last-ditch appeal to halt the venue’s dismantling.

A temporary injunction — put in place in February to allow a challenge to the $730 million project in the Land and Environment Court — was due to expire at 5pm on Friday.

Those behind the failed challenge, Local Democracy Matters, applied to have it extended until Monday when they head to the Court of Appeal in another attempt to stop the controversial project.

But Justice Nicola Pain this morning dismissed the application in the Land and Environment Court to extend the temporary injunction, which was preventing the Moore Park stadium’s walls and roof from being removed.

This morning’s ruling dissolved the freeze meaning bulldozers and wrecking balls can now legally roll into the stadium and begin “hard demolition.”

Speaking outside the court Local Democracy Matters spokesman Chris Maltby told reporters his group was willing to fight the matter to the end and was considering applying for a separate urgent injunction to halt hard demolition in the Court of Appeal today.

He was flanked by NSW Greens MP Nick Shoebridge, who said it would have been beneficial for the court to have extended the injunction so the premier “couldn’t destroy the stadium” before Monday.

“Her honour found it was unlikely serious damage could be done over the next two days,” Mr Shoebridge said. “But it looks like the premier is keen to do as much damage — irreparable damage — to the stadium.”

The Greens MP said it would be a “tragedy” if the Berejiklian government were to destroy the stadium and commit NSW to a $730m project when “so much of the state is against it.”

Mr Shoebridge said there was a “real concern” the demolition team would unpin the hinges from the roof, causing irreversible damage to the stadium.

The decision follows Ms Pain’s decision on Wednesday to throw out the legal challenge after she ruled in Infrastructure NSW’s favour, saying they had complied with the development process.

The Australian has learned that “hard’’ demolition is scheduled to begin tomorrow setting the scene for the stadium to be partly pulled down before electors’ eyes ahead of the March 23 election. The hard demolition work will start by ripping off the Allianz roof.

The government’s controversial stadiums build includes $730 million for Allianz, $810 million for a reconfig­ur­ation of ANZ Stadium and the Parramatta stadium project.

A further­ $200m was spent on buying ANZ Stadium back from the private operator.