Protesters bang on for Barangaroo

Three red balloons 209 metres in the air marked what will be the height of the tallest tower of the proposed redevelopment at Barangaroo.

“I can hardly see those balloons up there,” said Cr Jamie Parker, Mayor of Leichhardt Council, at Sunday’s rally against the Lend Lease development of the site: “If everyone has a look up at those balloons, you’ll feel giddy.”

The rally, organized by community group Friends of Barangaroo, condemned the controversial $6 billion development at the harbourside site.

Critics of the proposal are concerned the development will significantly alter the character of the waterfront.

Of particular concern is the secrecy with which the project has been executed.

“Normally when a huge development takes place, a variety of different developers come in, so that you get diversity,” City of Sydney councillor Marcelle Hoff said after the rally.

“The entire development has been handed over to Lend Lease. It has been done without any transparency. It’s all been done behind closed doors.”

Green Bans activist Jack Mundy called the Lend Lease proposal and the bypassing of Council “disgraceful”.

“I think we should call on Clover Moore to play a more positive role in this,” he said.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore sits on the board of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority.

“I think that she’s mistaken to believe that it’s better to be in the tent with these people than outside,” he said.

He called on supporters to continue their campaign against the development.

“It’s going to be a very hard campaign because the corruption level between Lend Lease and the government is manifestly important. It’s been so bad that we’ve got to do something about it,” he said.

Cr Parker said claims by Lend Lease that the site would be carbon-neutral were false.

“It’s lies, it’s spin, and it’s downright fraudulent what’s being proposed at Barangaroo,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Barangaroo Delivery Authority said that public consultation and engagement had underpinned the planning process, and that planning application and exhibition processes occurred every year from 2006 to 2010.

In response to accusations of impropriety between the State and Lend Lease, the spokesperson said “The selection process of the preferred proponent was undertaken with the highest level of probity and independence.”

Denying claims that the development would not be carbon-neutral, the spokesperson said the site would generate and export more water than it uses, send no waste to landfill, and would achieve carbon neutrality by generating renewable energy.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she was concerned about the development overshadowing the public domain.

“I remain concerned that development in the southern precinct is too big, even though the number of commercial towers reduced from four to three, and I oppose proposed increases in the gross floor area,” she said.

“It is important that Barangaroo integrates with the City and adjacent residential areas.”

Friends of Barangaroo were collecting money to help mount a case through the NSW Environmental Defender’s office.

By Alex Giblin