City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore allegedly lobbied Premier Chris Minns just three months before the government’s announcement to seize up to 20 hectares of Moore Park Golf Course for a new public park, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
The documents, obtained under a freedom of information request, disclose that the two leaders discussed the possibility of halving the golf course during a meeting in July.
The Telegraph reports that Mayor Moore, in a letter dated July 17, urged Premier Minns to consider the City’s 2021 proposal to reconfigure Moore Park Golf Course from 18 holes to 9, allocating a significant portion for public parkland. She wrote, “I ask that you carefully consider the City’s proposal to provide more equitable access to Moore Park, including reconfiguring Moore Park Golf Course from 18 holes to 9.”
This information came to light after the July 18 meeting, as revealed by the obtained documents.
Despite the government’s denial of any deal with Mayor Moore or Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, it is now evident that discussions about altering Moore Park Golf Course were ongoing well before the official announcement.
One month later, Mayor Moore followed up on the July meeting by providing Premier Minns with additional information about the membership of Moore Park Golf Course. She referred to a 2019 Australian Sports Commission report on golf’s participation trends, emphasising the lack of publicly available data on course usage. She said, “At our meeting, you asked for more information about the membership of Moore Park Golf Course.” The report estimated that almost 986,500 people over 15 played golf annually, with 80 percent being male.
Contrary to the 2019 data, the Australian Sports Commission’s most recent statistics indicate that 1.076 million Australians over the age of 15 participate in golf yearly. Golf’s Australia’s latest participation report, data that was ironically announced at Moore Park Golf recently, revealed a fourth consecutive year of participation growth, with 17.6 percent of adult Australians hitting a golf ball in 2022-2023.
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland confirmed a total of 3.5 million adult Australians played golf in the past year – at golf courses, driving ranges, simulators or mini-golf facilities – with golf club membership now up by 10.2 percent across the past three years.
Despite the growing popularity of golf, Premier Minns announced in October the government’s plan to convert half of Moore Park Golf Course into a new “central park” to support housing growth around Green Square. The decision is driven by the expectation of 80,000 people residing within 2km of Moore Park by 2040.
Premier Minns faced scrutiny after the announcement, with questions arising about whether Mayor Moore had directly lobbied for the seizure of land from the golf course. Initially denying direct communication with Mayor Moore in a radio interview with 2GB’s Ben Fordham, Premier Minns later issued a clarification stating that the issue had been raised by the Sydney Lord Mayor.
Planning Minister Paul Scully defended Mayor Moore, stating that she has consistently pressed her case for reducing the golf course from 18 holes to 9 in discussions with various governments. He confirmed that Mayor Moore raised the issue with him early in his tenure.
Amidst the political controversy, concerns have been raised by up-and-coming golfers who warn that reducing Moore Park Golf Course to nine holes would endanger the future of the sport. Golfer Steph Kyriacou, who tied for fifth in the Women’s Australian Open, emphasised the role of public courses as gateways for junior golfers to enter the sport. She said, “Moore Park was where I first fell in love with golf at the age of three.”
Even the country’s most famous golfer, Greg Norman, weighed in on the issue. “I’ve spent a lot of time going to Moore Park when I used to live in Sydney back in the mid-1970s. There are certain things you need to protect… and Moore Park was one of those. From my standpoint, you’ve got to give as many opportunities for the golfing public to get out there and enjoy it.”
Jared Kendler, a key figure in the Save Moore Park Golf Course campaign, rejected claims that golf is exclusively for elites. He highlighted the diverse range of teenagers playing at Moore Park, many of whom use affordable or second-hand equipment, challenging the perception that golf is an elitist sport. Kendler stated, “You’ve got people like Clover Moore, who continue to try and paint golf as elite, that’s fine, but that’s a separate issue to look at.”
As the debate rages on, the fate of Moore Park Golf Course hangs in the balance, symbolising a broader struggle between the preservation of greenspace and the accessibility of golf for diverse communities in Sydney.
