Today I speak about the Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Centre. Successive local, State and Federal Liberal candidates have promised a new pool and recreation centre in Carnes Hill at successive elections for close to a decade. In that time, sadly, nothing has materialised. Instead, there is an overgrown paddock that cannot be safely used for any public purpose in this fast‑growing community. The people of Carnes Hill and surrounding suburbs deserve better than a decade of inaction. I have spoken many times in this House about the huge growth in housing and the failure of infrastructure to keep pace in my electorate. This includes parks, open space and recreation facilities.
People in south‑west Sydney deserve the same quality and access to facilities as those in other parts of Sydney. That is why, in part through my strong advocacy, the Minns Labor Government provided a grant of $53.4 million to Liverpool City Council in the 2023-24 budget as part of the Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants Program, or WSIG Program, for delivery of the Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Centre. These funds were meant to go towards an outdoor Olympic‑size 50‑metre swimming pool, water play park and sporting fields. Members can imagine my surprise, then, on learning that Liverpool council convened an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday night at which they decided to significantly reduce the scope of the Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Centre.
The 50-metre swimming pool has now been removed and a spa has been added. Further, the business papers reveal that the cost of the project has blown out from the initial $53.4 million to more than $100 million. That is contrary to the mayor's own words, who said toThe Daily Telegraph in April 2023 that the funding would cover the entire cost of the aquatic centre. Obviously, I am deeply disappointed by the fact that the residents of Leppington and Liverpool will be deprived of the facilities they deserve due to the council's delay and mismanagement of the project.
Those revelations raise serious questions around probity, management, planning and budgeting matters at Liverpool City Council. First and foremost, given the project is funded by taxpayer money, why has the community not been consulted and kept in the loop about the significant change? When was council planning to tell residents that they are not prepared to deliver the Olympic-sized, 50-metre swimming pool that the community was promised many years ago? The papers for the meeting, which detail the proposed changes, were only published on the council's website on the weekend before the Tuesday meeting, despite the papers being from a deferred item for which the material was surely readily available for some time. To that end, why has the issue been shrouded in so much secrecy by council?
As the local member, I was only made aware of the proposal to scrap the 50-metre swimming pool when a councillor alerted me to it. Why were the proposed scope changes and budget blowout not raised with me when I met with council staff about open space and sporting facilities in Leppington in October? Has council advised and sought approval from the State Government on the significant changes to the scope of the project, which it is required to do under the terms of the WSIG Program? Importantly, where has the money gone from this budget black hole and how can council possibly hope to recover it and complete the project? Does council seek funding from either State or Federal government grants? Given that Liverpool City Council recently announced a deficit of $11 million in the 2024 audited financial statements, that seems to be the only option to fill the funding shortfall, unless the Liberal-led council plans to sell off public assets. If that is the council's plan, given the lack of transparency on this issue, there is little chance that it is going to be up-front on any potential privatisation agenda.
After years of delays and broken promises, a budget blowout, the scrapping of the centrepiece Olympic‑sized swimming pool and a lack of transparency surrounding the project—not to mention the myriad of other issues facing the embattled council, including a much publicised investigation and public inquiry—the people of Liverpool deserve answers. I call on Liverpool City Council to front up to residents and provide answers on the future of the Carnes Hill Aquatic and Recreational Centre.
