North Rosebery Park Tests Positive to Asbestos
Update: North Rosebery Park has tested positive for bonded asbestos!
Please stay away from North Rosebery Park until the asbestos has been removed & deemed safe.
Watch the City of Sydney council meeting descended into chaos with Lord Mayor Clover Moore & her allies voting down a procedural motion brought by Councillor Linda Scott to discuss the asbestos contamination crisis striking the city’s parks.
Watch via this link from the 1hr 13mins & 29 seconds mark.
Councillor Linda Scott: “Lord Mayor, I’ve got community members watching tonight with questions about the health of their children. I do think this is urgent and it’s very important that we have the opportunity to do this transparently so that community members can watch and seek responses, not have a briefing that’s behind closed doors, Lord Mayor.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore: “Thank you Councillor Scott. I think the fact of the matter, the seriousness of the matter, is that the EPA has now set up a task force. The State Minister for the Environment has set up a task force to look into the matter surrounding this and that should give us the answers about how this occurred, what the sources that it is, and of course the EPA is continuing to give us advice about any other parks that we need to have assessed. That work is continuing but the we can have an extended briefing where you can ask all your questions next week and we should know more. We should know more from the EPA task force. I think that’s the critical matter here. It’s the EPA that is now looking into this issue. This is not just a City of Sydney issue, this is a really important across the state issue.”
City of Sydney CEO Monica Barone: “The only thing I would say, Lord Mayor, is that everything that we know we have provided at emails to the Councillors and everything that we know for the community is also up on the website and we are continuously updating the website and sending information to Councillors as that information comes in and as the Lord Mayor says there are 120 people in the EPA investigating this matter now. They need to get to the bottom of this issue and there is a special task force and you know I mean even now I’m still getting messages from the head of the EPA saying this is where we’re up to and this is what we know and everything that we get I pass on. We process it and we let Councillors know and we put it all up on the website and that is all we can do. We do not know anything other than what we are telling you and I have told you in all of the emails that I have sent you and updates that I have sent you since this matter broke.”
Councillor William Chan: “Point of Order. What Councillor Scott is bringing to Council is actually in breach of the Code of Meeting Practice 8.14. A question must not be asked at a meeting of the Council unless it concerns a matter on the agenda of the meeting. Now we’ve debated a procedural motion for the urgency and that’s been lost because it didn’t gain a majority. And I uphold that point of order. And so we’re now dealing with item 7. Thank you.”
Councillor Linda Scott: “Lord Mayor. So I move a procedural motion that we have the ability to ask questions and that we consider this item”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore: “Councillor Scott, it is not a procedural motion. Councillor Scott, it is not a procedural motion. Could you please take your seat? Could you please take your seat?”
Councillor Linda Scott: “No, Lord Mayor, I will not!”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore: “You know, as former president of the New South Wales Local Government Association, that you need to sit down now because I’m standing. I have never stood in this council chamber before. The behaviour has never been so outrageous and coming from you it’s really quite shameful. And in accordance with Clause 9.36 of the Code of Eating Practice, all councils must be heard without interruption. Your interruption constitutes an act of disorder under Clause 14.19 of the Code of Eating Practice and I ask you to stop interrupting so that we can get on with the business of council. Item 7, report of the embark.”
Councillor Yvonne Weldon AM “Lord Mayor, I would like to table a request to you, an extraordinary council meeting to address the asbestos matter. I think there is something seriously wrong with our meeting processes and our practices that the contamination of our local parks and asbestos has not been considered or addressed at this council meeting. So I would like to table this with you, Lord Mayor, where you have five councillors that have actually signed that we have an extraordinary meeting to address it and to have our questions answered. They’re not a briefing, an extraordinary meeting.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore: “How disappointing it is that the first meeting of council has ascended to such a state. I’m now going to move that we have an adjournment. I’m going to adjourn the meeting for 10 minutes due to the behaviour that is happening and also to consider the matter that’s just been given to me. So I’ll move that adjournment, seconded by Deputy Lord Mayne. The floor is to you, all those in favour say aye. Those against - declare it carried. Thank you.”
Linda said in a Facebook post “Clover Moore gagged all motions & questions on asbestos contamination. She shut down debate on revelations she knew days before the public did, and didn’t inform the public about the risk of asbestos contamination. City of Sydney communities deserve better.”
The difference between bonded asbestos and non-bonded or friable asbestos?
Bonded asbestos also referred to as tightly-bound asbestos fibres to be released into the air under normal use or light disturbance.
Friable asbestos is more loosely held making it far more susceptible to releasing dangerous fibres into the air, even with minimal disturbance.
If you wanted to pick the better version of asbestos, you’d want bonded asbestos.
The asbestos found at North Rosebery Park was bonded asbestos.
In a concerning turn of events for our local community, North Rosebery Park, a new beloved recreational space that has brought joy & respite to families for the past two months, has been abruptly and partially closed.
The closure follows the alarming discovery of asbestos contaminations in nearby City of Sydney Parks, tracing back to a complex web of suppliers that could potentially implicate up to 50 different sources.
The landscaping product manufacturer will challenge the prevention notice that the EPA issued earlier this month banning it from selling mulch, after bonded asbestos was discovered in recycled garden mulch it supplied for the Rozelle parklands and other state infrastructure projects
This news has sent shockwaves through our Rosebery community, leaving many to question the safety of our public spaces.
Despite the potential danger, it has come to our attention that children are still accessing and playing in the park. While the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority has deemed the risk as “possible,” members of this community, strongly advocate for the complete closure of the park until it is deemed absolutely safe.
The lack of immediate action & clear communication from local authorities has been disheartening. Where are our elected representatives in this time of crisis? We call on local state MP & member for Heffron, Ron Hoeing & Clover Moore to step forward and address the community’s growing concerns.
We urge the City of Sydney including Councillor Linda Scott and the office of Ron Hoeing to provide transparent updates & swift measures to rectify this hazardous situation. The health & safety of our community, especially our children, must be the top priority.
The discovery of asbestos in North Rosebery Park is a stark reminder of the need for vigilant safety measures and thorough oversight in our public spaces. It is unacceptable for our community to be exposed to such risks, & we demand accountability and prompt action from our local authorities.
Let’s stand together to safeguard the health & well-being of our community.
Find out more from New South Wales Environment Protection Authority.
Contact Office of Ron Hoeing, Member for Heffron
