SYDNEY ACADEMY OF SPORT AND RECREATION ATHLETIC TRACK
Mr MICHAEL REGAN (Wakehurst) (12:29): My question is directed to the Minister for Sport. Is the Minister aware that participation in athletics clubs is down 40 per cent on the northern beaches after the closure of the synthetic track at the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation at Narrabeen on December 2023? What is the Government doing to fix the track or build a new one elsewhere in northern Sydney so that athletes, young and old, can get back to the sport they love?
Mr STEPHEN KAMPER (Rockdale—Minister for Small Business, Minister for Lands and Property, Minister for Multiculturalism, and Minister for Sport) (12:29): I thank the member for Wakehurst for his question and for his continued and ongoing advocacy on this matter and on many matters in his community. We should all take a leaf out of his book. He is a great MP. I am aware that participation may be down this season, with the temporary arrangements potentially contributing to the lower participant numbers. The existing synthetic track in its current condition has been deemed unsafe for users, although the throwing and jumping areas remain in use. While working through the issues with the synthetic track, the Office of Sport has committed to providing and maintaining a temporary grass track on site, providing access to school carnivals, Little Athletics and other athletics groups, and casual users. Being a natural grass track, it is subject to weather conditions and does not require more ongoing maintenance. The Office of Sport and the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation are working hard to try to balance multiple user groups using the facilities in less than ideal circumstances.
I will focus on the core issue, which is remediating the track itself. This problem has been ongoing for a number of years—ever since the synthetic track suffered significant flood damage in March 2022. Approximately 60 per cent of the surface of the track was repaired between April and July 2023. However, on the weekend of 9 and 10 September 2023, users reported "bubbling" on a part of the new surface. That week the Office of Sport notified the contractor that completed the repair work. A short time later, the Office of Sport also notified the insurer, icare. Over the following 12 weeks, the Office of Sport worked with the contractor that completed the work and the office's insurer, icare, to manage the bubbling. Over that time, the site experienced a series of wet weather and hot weather events and a gradual expansion of the bubbling problem.
On Wednesday 20 December icare provided the Office of Sport with a risk assessment that recommended the Office of Sport close the track due to safety risks associated with the bubbling itself and the effects of the bubbling on the track surface. The Office of Sport's insurer, icare, engaged a specialist third party to investigate the cause of the bubbling and to provide advice on rectification. An engineering consultancy firm was engaged to conduct groundwater monitoring, which was done over a three‑month period, from 8 February until the middle of May 2024. The member will want to hear this. [Extension of time]
Over this time, ground and surface water data was captured and extracted from four boreholes that were drilled in the athletics track. A draft report was received by the Office of Sport on Thursday 18 July. This report outlined underlying watertable data during rain events. We do things properly, Mr Speaker, and members opposite are offended by that. The Office of Sport is currently working to engage design and engineering consultants to prepare concept designs that would not only reinstate the athletics track but could also improve the flood resilience of the track, with the aim of avoiding future significant flooding impacts.
As the member can attest to, we have had several stakeholder meetings to keep the community up to date with progress. While we acknowledge that some in the community would like this problem solved faster, we must acknowledge that this is a complex problem. We do not want to paper over the cracks and then find ourselves in the same position a few months down the track. We want to fix this problem and we want to do it correctly. The Office of Sport has communicated to the athletics community that it expects to have more certainty around the viable available options in this regard over the coming months. The Office of Sport has, and will, continue to keep key stakeholders updated. I look forward to doing the same for the local member and this House.
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17 September 2024.