On Tuesday night (13 August) the Inner West Council voted 8-7 to proceed with the design of two plastic-grass fields at Callan Park. The vote was purely on party lines with the Labor majority voting automatically as a bloc. Whether this proposal proceeds any further will be up to the new Council elected September 14. Hopefully that Council will consider the sad history of these fields related to the meeting by local resident Louise Appel. It is a story of essentially makeshift ovals at Callan Park. Before embarking on plastic grass, it’s worth rectifying the historic shortcomings. On another point, it’s worth noting that Labor Councillors on nearby Lane Cove Council voted against the installation of a plastic grass field on the Bob Campbell oval in 2022 and there is continuing debate within Labor ranks over support for plastic grass fields on public open space.
… Put simply, at this very late stage in the debate over synthetic grass in Callan Park, we still do not definitively have
- permission from the landowners to do so
- consideration of early feedback in the proposed Callan Park Plan of Management
- any visible sign that Council overall has read or engaged with very clear scientific data from the Chief Scientist and Public Health bodies indicating that synthetic turf is not best practice.
- a clear understanding of where the promised $20 million from Transport NSW is, and what we can do with it
- clearance to install plastic surfacing in an 1870s site which is on the State Heritage Register
- an honest and frank picture of why these playing fields have been failing us, and failing our children
May I be so bold Mr Mayor as to run through a quick history of the two fields in question?
Waterfront Oval is where the local Vintage Car clubs held open days and fetes, among other things, when I first knew Callan Park.
It is reclaimed land, and in over thirty years has been levelled, seeded, mowed, had sprinklers installed, but as the population of children in the area grew, it has never had proper planning to make it work for our kids long term.
It is not too different from 30 years ago, just less weeds.
Balmain Oval began being used later, but like Waterfront Oval has never been dug up and relaid with proper drainage. King George Oval HAS, and it is now servicing multiple sports.
Every child in the Inner West should have the right to play whatever sport they choose. Even the Matildas will tell you that they learnt to play on grass, possibly dirt in a drought, mud in wet seasons, but NOT synthetic turf.
As parents, before we ask ourselves whether access to these fields in rain, hail or shine is affecting the mental health of our children, I think first we should look at the catastrophic consequences of the irreversible environmental damage they have inherited instead.
And perhaps consider that covering playing fields with 10 years worth of single use supermarket bags that will slowly but surely begin to filter into our waterways, the fish we eat, our bloodstreams – will have far greater consequences on the mental health of our children. Not just for the 5 to 10 years they are playing sport, but for the rest of their lives and the lives of their children and grandchildren.
My own children grew up playing on these fields, and they are horrified to learn that anyone is even considering synthetic turf. If we can’t grow grass on the east coast of Australia, we are not trying.
So come on council, keep our playing fields natural, look after them, invest in our kids’ futures and uphold the Stamolis/Shetty motion to do the research and invest in really looking after all our natural turf fields.
