Archives: Media Releases

NEW POLICE RECRUITS WELCOMED TO THE SHIRE

I was delighted to welcome six new probationary constables to the Shire, fresh from their swearing in at the police academy.

They start work with the Sutherland Shire Local Area Command after eight months of foundational training.

These new officers, together with all our hardworking police, put themselves in danger every day to protect us, and I thank them for their service, particularly over the holiday period when many in our community are enjoying a holiday break.

FIRST STAGE OF CRONULLA HIGH SCHOOL UPGRADE NOW COMPLETE

The first stage of the Cronulla High School upgrade is now complete and will be ready for use on day 1 of term 1 2024.

I joined 2024 student leaders, Principal Tony Ibrahim and Deputy Principal Susan Geldart for a tour of the new “M Block” on the last school day of 2023.

The new building includes six advanced teaching spaces, new staff common room, other new staff facilities, modern student restrooms, and a new canteen.

Senior students will enjoy start of the art learning spaces from the start of 2024. I thank Tony Ibrahim and the school P&C for their input during the design phase and the entire school community for its enthusiasm and patience.

The previous Liberal Government announced an extensive upgrade of Cronulla High School in 2019. Construction began earlier this year.

The remainder of the upgrades will be completed progressively in 2024 and 2025.  These include another new building (“L Block”) (bringing the number of new teaching spaces to ten, plus additional core facilities), renovation of some existing buildings, new covered walkways and a major extension of the school hall.

BULLYING AND BLACKMAIL – HUNGRY POINT WALKWAY CUT A BETRAYAL OF SOUTHERN SYDNEY

The Minns Labor Government has cited dubious operational reasons to cut the proposed Hungry Point Cronulla clifftop walkway in half.

The previous Liberal Government had funded the entire clifftop walkway. A dedicated volunteer board (led by retired Sutherland Shire Council general manager John Rayner) had organised detailed planning and approvals for the walkway.

Now, with the walkway ready to go to tender, the Minns Labor Government has instead stood over Sutherland Shire Council, threatening the loss of the clifftop walkway and a takeover of the entire site by Marine Rescue NSW unless Council conforms to the Government’s conditions for Council to co-manage the site.

The part of the walkway that will still be built remains excellent news for the Shire community and beyond. However, the decision to cancel the rest of the walkway is a lost opportunity to have a complete walking loop around the South Cronulla peninsula.

The Government is relying on absurd ‘operational’ grounds to cancel half the walkway. Other rescue services like the SES, fire stations and surf clubs don’t require the closure of public land around them. Marine Rescue NSW supported a complete walkway when it was seeking to have a training academy built on the site and its own data suggest only several movements a day across a complete walkway.

At a time when the Minns Labor Government is pushing more housing density, including in southern Sydney, the last thing we should be doing is closing off public space. Instead the Government has blackmailed the Council by threatening the entire walkway project and threatening a Marine Rescue takeover of the entire site, if the Council didn’t capitulate to its bullying.

KAMPER OFFERS NO DETAIL TO STOP HUNGRY POINT WALKWAY

Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper could offer no details as to why the full Hungry Point walkway could not proceed, when quizzed in the Budget Estimates hearing today.

Neither Marine Rescue NSW nor Minister Kamper have offered any explanation of what has changed since Marine Rescue lodged its expression of interest (EOI) for a training academy with the former Hungry Point Reserve Land Manager and its application with the Heritage Council for approval of the proposed academy.

In its EOI, Marine Rescue identified no issues at all with the walkway, already being familiar with the site having been present for several years by that time. In fact, it stated:

Marine Rescue NSW supports the State Government’s commitment to the construction of walking paths to link the Reserve to the Esplanade and Cronulla. The Academy proposal envisages that the existing coastal walkway will be extended, entering the Reserve site immediately to the north of the built precinct, linking Salmon Haul Reserve and Darook Park.

In addition, the walkaway will be extended to the southern-most point of the Reserve and again entering the built precinct connecting to Darook Park, enabling visitors to enjoy the views over Port Hacking.

Marine Rescue provided a traffic study to the Heritage Council which suggested an average of six vehicle movements a day at a boom gate on the driveway which will cross the proposed walkway. Its plans showed a walkway around the entire point.

Marine Rescue was quite prepared to co-exist with a walkway when it was seeking permission for a training academy. Now it relies on safety issues to stop the full walkway to go ahead. The Minister should do his job and demand an explicit answer to what has changed since.

The truth is that nothing appears to have changed, “safety” concerns are spurious and the Minister is looking allowing a grab of public land by Marine Rescue to go ahead.

THREAT TO HUNGRY POINT CLIFFTOP WALKWAY

The Minns Labor Government is looking to scrap part of the Hungry Point clifftop walkway.

The outgoing Liberal Government planned and funded ($7 million) a spectacular clifftop walkway around Hungry Point Cronulla between Salmon Haul Bay and Darook Park. This would be a southern extension of the Esplanade – and allow an uninterrupted iconic walking loop around the South Cronulla peninsula (including along Gunnamatta Bay except at high tide).

The volunteer members of the board of the Hungry Point Reserve Land Manager have finalised detailed plans, secured heritage approval and expect an Aboriginal Impact Permit shortly; the project is ready to go out for tender. However the Government is instead looking at cancelling the project between the Marine Rescue NSW wharf and Darook Park and giving Marine Rescue NSW exclusive access to much of the site.

I have called on the Labor Government, and Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper in particular, to clear the air immediately and confirm that the whole walkway will go ahead.

I encourage you to urgently sign my petition here and to encourage your neighbours and friends to do so as well.

KAMAY WHARVES PROJECT APPROVED

I’m delighted that the Kamay wharves project (reinstatement of wharves at Kurnell and La Perouse) has now received final planning approval from the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).

The replacement wharves will allow a ferry connection between Kurnell and La Perouse for the first time in over 45 years. The ferry will allow people to access Kamay Botany Bay National Park by water. The wharves could also be used by small commercial vessels and recreational boats and people wanting to fish from the wharves.

I expect construction will start later this year.

This project is part of the NSW Government’s investment of over $70 million in upgrading park facilities, including a new visitor centre (construction commencing this year), new public art (installed) and new whale watching platform (completed) (plus $25 million funding from the Commonwealth), as well as previously upgraded walking tracks.

It also complements the NSW Government’s Great Southern Walk project, with a 67km walking track from Kurnell to Sublime Point (with ferry link from Cronulla to Bundeena). 

The wharves will help recognition and enjoyment of the park as a site of enormous cultural, historical and environmental significance.

ACTIVE TRANSPORT ON TRACK TO CONNECT SHIRE COMMUNITIES

Construction has started on stage two of the Sutherland-Cronulla Active Transport Link (SCATL) as the NSW Government’s record investment in walking and cycling continues to improve local communities.

Construction of the second stage begins next week and will link the Kingsway at Jackson Avenue, Miranda to Denman Avenue and Gannons Road, Caringbah.

SCATL will help locals to leave the car at home when they need to get to the shops, work, school or to enjoy our beautiful Shire.

Construction of stage two will start with the east section, while consultation will continue on the western leg of the project between Jackson Avenue and Sylvania Road, Miranda.

Early works will start with setting up of fencing and barriers adjacent to Malvern Road reserve, surveying, and putting erosion and sediment controls in place.

Transport for NSW is continuing survey and design work along the route to ensure impacts on vegetation can be reduced during construction.

The community will have an opportunity to comment on a revised route for Stage 2 West later this year, to be followed by detailed design and planning for Stage 3 through Woolooware and Cronulla.

I’m delighted that the entire SCATL project to connect Sutherland and Cronulla is now fully funded. 

WONDERING WOMEN FOUNDERS NAMED AS JOINT 2023 CRONULLA WOMAN OF THE YEAR WINNERS

Grays Point’s Lisa Tilsed and Cronulla’s Adriarn Crane, who together founded Wondering Women, have been named as joint winners of the 2023 Cronulla Woman of the Year Award.

Lisa and Adriarn have shown great passion and dedication over the last seven years to supporting women to lead active and fulfilling lives.

After starting out as a group to open up hiking to a broad range of women, Wondering Women is now engaging members in a range of activities and causes to help enrich the lives of women of all ages.

It’s testament to their hard work and enthusiasm that the organisation has grown to 2,100 members across the Sutherland Shire and a further 250 in the Bayside area.

As well as arranging activities and development opportunities to help women achieve personal growth, Lisa and Adriarn have driven efforts by members to give back to the community, such as fundraising for charities and a successful drive for household items to support people affected by the floods in northern NSW.

Lisa and Adriarn continue to work in successful careers alongside their hard work to grow and develop the Wondering Women community.

More information on Wondering Women is available on Facebook.

FIRST SOD TURNED FOR CRONULLA HIGH SCHOOL UPGRADE

I was delighted to join school, P&C and student leaders at Cronulla High School to turn the first sod to officially mark the start of construction of new state-of-the-art facilities.

The major upgrade at Cronulla High School will deliver 10 new permanent learning spaces, a new canteen, administration areas, and upgraded student and staff amenities, providing high quality modern facilities that will transform the school to meet the needs of Cronulla High students and staff.

Thank you to Principal Tony Ibrahim, Cronulla High staff and members of the P&C for their input into the design. Their work will mean the school has impressive and fit for purpose facilities to meet the needs of the school community for many years to come.

Work on the project will be completed and handed over in stages. A new building with canteen, toilets and six learning spaces will be completed first. This will be followed by the second new building to accommodate administration facilities and four new learning spaces. Car park works, new landscaping and refurbishment work to create new staff amenities will also be carried out. The entire project is expected to be finished by early 2025.

In addition to this upgrade project, work will begin within the next week or so to upgrade the Cronulla High School hall and expand it by around 50%. This will allow all students to be accommodated inside the hall at the one time.

Replacement shade structure works were completed in January 2023 in time for the first day of the school year.

FUNDING BOOST FOR GRASSROOTS SPORT IN CRONULLA

Eight community sport organisations across the Cronulla electorate will share in $50,000 of funding under the NSW Government’s Local Sport Grant Program.

The successful projects will help promote local participation in a range of sports and provide a welcome boost for the dedicated volunteers and participants at eight of local sporting organisations.

The projects funded by the grants will help provide better equipment, facilities, training and events to help encourage kids and adults to get involved in sport and lead active and healthy lifestyles.

The projects receiving grants are:

  • Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks JRLFC (canteen upgrade) $10,000
  • Cronulla Youth Weight Training Association (new carpet in training area) $10,000
  • Sutherland Shire Junior Cricket Association (new shade gazebos) $10,000
  • Cronulla Seagulls Football Club (covers for synthetic pitch area) $6,367
  • Cronulla Sharks Boardriders (education and training for juniors) $5,773
  • Surfing Sutherland Shire (first aid and shark attach response training) $3,610
  • Southside Malibu Club (replacement of core equipment) $2,250
  • Elouera Boardriders Club (competition / event costs) $2,000.

Grants of between $2,000 and $10,000 per project were available with up to $50,000 available in each electorate.

More information about the program is available here.