Piper welcomes agreement on Myuna Bay


12th December 2019

Member for Lake Macquarie Greg Piper has welcomed an agreement on the future of Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre.

Under the deal being announced today, a brand new centre will be built on a waterfront site near the original Myuna Bay facility which was closed in March.

“A second independent report has come back and unfortunately it recommends that the original centre cannot be reopened,” Mr Piper said.

“But we’ve been able to negotiate an agreement that will deliver a new state-of-the-art sport and rec centre, as well as deliver compensation to affected parties, protection of the original site, and options for staff.

“All costs will be met by Origin Energy which has also agreed to fast track repairs on its ash dam wall at Eraring.”

 

Key parts of the agreement include:

  • The Office of Sport will be given a 99-year lease on a waterfront site owned by Origin Energy. Planning and construction of a new sport and recreation centre will be fast tracked, and paid for by Origin Energy.
  • Origin Energy will be required to urgently repair its ash dam wall at Eraring because, as it stands, it poses a risk not just to Myuna Bay but to the lake and to anyone travelling on Wangi Road.
  • The existing site will be retained in Government hands. It will be rehabilitated and revegetated at Origin’s cost and protected from any sort of future development.
  • All current Myuna Bay staff will be offered redundancy or redeployment to other sport and rec centres, and given priority re-employment when the new centre is opened.
  • The water ski club will be compensated for its tournament losses by Origin. Its sheds and equipment will be relocated, again at Origin’s cost, while access to Whiteheads Lagoon or a new location will be the subject of further negotiations with the club.
  • Origin has also agreed to compensate Morisset Rotary Club for the loss of its storage shed on the Myuna Bay site, and for costs incurred since the closure.

 

“I stand by the view that this closure was handled appallingly and I believe that the risk posed to the Sport and Recreation Centre by the ash dam wall is so infinitely small that it didn’t warrant the panicked response and immediate closure,” Mr Piper said.

“That said, the action was taken and we need to now move forward with what I believe will provide a good long-term outcome.

“I appreciate that Origin Energy and the Office of Sport have agreed to this deal and I appreciate the State Government’s efforts, particularly from John Sidoti and the Acting Minister for Sport Geoff Lee who drove these negotiations on behalf of myself and the local community.

“Most importantly, I want to acknowledge the many thousands of people who have contacted my office and played an active role in getting this result – especially the 20,000 people who signed my petition.

“I thank everyone who supported our campaign on this issue. I believe we’ve achieved an acceptable outcome, and that simply couldn’t have happened without the fight that our community has put up.”

Media inquiries: Greg Piper on 0407 770 837, or Jason Gordon on 0419 633 325

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