Friends of McPhillamy Park lobby group welcomes Environment Minister statement

Minister Sussan Ley issued a statement last week saying she would extend the existing Section 9 order that prevents any work on the site, at McPhillamy Park on Mount Panorama, for another 30 days.

She also confirmed she has drafted a potential Section 10 declaration that would prevent the future construction of any buildings on the site, nor allow any bulk earthworks.

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The Friends of McPhillamy Park group said the Wiradyuri Elders and "other community groups have always recognised that Mount Panorama/Wahluu is a special place for many people".

"Motor racing, camping, and the various activities there were never under threat," the group said in a statement.

"The camping on the mountain during race days, the picnics, the dog walking, the children's playground are all part of the cultural heritage of Mount Panorama/Wahluu.

"It is a living, ongoing heritage that all of us can share, enjoy and protect.

"The cultural heritage embodied within McPhillamy Park doesn't just go back to when it was created in 1938 but holds our heritage stories going back thousands of years."

The lobby group said in its statement that it believes it has a generational responsibility to protect public open space.

"There is no doubt that when Mrs McPhillamy gifted her 10 acres to add to the 15 acres gifted by Mr McPhillamy, it was her intention that it was to be added to the existing Walter J. McPhillamy Park," spokesperson Jan Page said.

"This council now needs to take the necessary steps to ensure that the whole of McPhillamy Park that was gifted to the public by both Mr and Mrs McPhillamy is retained for public open space.

"The Friends of McPhillamy Park call on Bathurst Regional Council to do what they should have done five years ago - build an appropriately funded go-kart track on uncontested land and stop the division which has been fostered."

Mayor Bobby Bourke responded to Minister Ley's statement last week by saying it did not represent a final decision.

He said the minister had to consult further with the groups involved, including council.

"The minister has had it on her table for two years, and I didn't expect to see any urgency on it straight away; I always believed she would take more than the 30 days to look at it, because of the complex issue that it is," Cr Bourke said last week.

While he's uncertain what the decision will be, he reiterated his concern about the impact a Section 10 declaration could have, saying it had the potential to "affect the whole operation of Mount Panorama".