Planning Minister Kristina Keneally has refused to commit to funding a Master plan Callan Park instead suggesting council can apply to increase rates.

This is despite statements during the press conference that announced the proposed handover of 60 percent of Callan Park to Leichardt council that her door was open to negotiate funding arrangements.

The Ministers letter only commits to maintenance of the seawall, which is not to be transferred to council in any case, and the already approved funding for the upgrade of the Bay Run.

It’s again worth stating that The Friends of Callan Park again call on the Minister and our Local Member Verity Firth to commit to funding a fully integrated Master Plan for the entire site not just the area proposed to be handed over to Leichhardt council.

You can read a full copy of Leichhardt council’s November 3 resolution and the response from Kristina Keneally below.

Leichhardt Council resolution and Minister’s response

There may be some who still wonder why this State Labor Government is described as secretive.

As you may be aware from a previous story on this web site the Greens’ MP, Sylvia Hale placed on notice a number of questions regarding Callan Park.  These question were detailed in nature and ranged from asking what money had been put aside by Government to fund the promised Callan Park Master Plan, what are the current costs of maintaining Callan Park and what was the cost of the failed Land Use Plan?

The response to these 20 detailed question was a single short answer much of which was contained in the recent press release.

The Friends of Callan Park will continue to seek adequate answers for these questions but we are left wondering why if we are supposedly in a new era of open State Government with Ministers and Local Members “listening to the community” these questions were not responded to fully.

You can read a full copy of the Questions and the Ministers inadequate response by following the link below.

Questions and answer (PDF 69k)

For those of you who were not at the 2008 AGM attached is a copy of the annual presdents report and a wrap up of the past year which has been another busy and significant year in the fight for Callan Park.

One of the many interesting points raises is that many wiseacres wanted to attribute the defeat of the university plan to the fact that Balmain is a marginal seat. But that’s to confuse cause and effect.  Balmain is a marginal seat because of Callan Park. In the 1998 state election the Labor’s primary vote was 54%; in 2003 it was 42%.  What happened in the intervening period wasn’t some sudden demographic revolution, it was the Callan Park issue. Labor tried to sell off parkland and there was huge campaign against it. An opinion poll in 2002 showed Labor’s support down to 31%. Despite Labor’s late abandonment of the sell-off, it was not enough to recoup all their lost support. The seat had been made marginal which in turn makes the government more susceptible to public pressure.

You can read the rest of the report by clicking here - President’s report 2008