Sydney mayor slams Rozelle contractors in the wake of asbestos contamination
Image: Rozelle Parklands. Facebook, Kobi Shetty MP
by GRACE JOHNSON
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne has slammed Rozelle Parklands contractors as “arrogant” and “disrespectful” following the recent discovery of asbestos near the children’s playground.
After extensive testing, a total of 17 samples have returned positive for bonded asbestos. The discovery was first made after a child had taken home some mulch.
The contractors who built the park, John Holland and CPB, have been ordered by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to remove all contaminated material by February 29.
But the mayor is demanding answers, saying the contractors are “still arrogantly refusing to meet with the local community to discuss the remediation and reopening of the park.”
“Having made a fortune in profits from the Rozelle Interchange, these internationally owned entities are now trying to wash their hands of the contamination problem they left behind.”
The mayor said he had written to the CEO of John Holland, Joe Barr, and the Managing Director of CPB, Jason Spears, requesting them to meet with him at the parklands. Neither responded.
“Neither of these highly remunerated executives have even bothered to reply, let alone come to Rozelle to take responsibility for the mess they have left us,” said Mayor Byrne.
“This total lack of accountability is a continuation of the disrespectful way they have treated residents around the Rozelle Interchange for the last half-decade.”
The parklands were promised to local residents as compensation for the extreme disruption caused by the opening of the Rozelle Interchange.
At the time, Minister for Roads John Graham said, “The Inner West, and specifically the Rozelle community, has accepted much more than its fair share of disruption during the construction of WestConnex.”
“The former government promised their reward would be a new parkland that met the wishes of the community.”
The asbestos contamination was discovered only three weeks after the opening of the parklands.
Kobi Shetty MP told City Hub, “The community is right to be outraged about the discovery of asbestos in our newly opened parklands.”
“The government need to urgently remediate the parkland and ensure it’s safe and accessible to our community as soon as possible. They also need to look at significant reform to ensure we don’t have to face a mess like this again.”
Echoing the mayor’s frustrations with John Holland contractors, she said, “We have seen an unwillingness from John Holland throughout this project to accept responsibility for the impact it has had on our community, so people are right to be sceptical about whether this will be well managed by the contractor.”
“Our community expected a park that was safe for our children, and instead we’ve been left with asbestos contamination,” she said.
