Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A priority for me since my election to parliament has been the protection of our harbour environment and its foreshores. It is a passion that I share with local residents and why I have been supporting a campaign to ensure the future of Lavender Bay on Sydney Harbour. Residents have been working to see the little-used Lavender Bay rail line given a future worthy of its location beside this bay. I pay tribute to all those residents—several hundred of them—who have been involved in this campaign.

The track once formed part of the North Shore Line before the completion of the Harbour Bridge and is now used for training and stabling. We have urged the state government to ensure this land remains in public hands and to adopt a visionary approach for its future. We want to see it become Sydney's own high-line—one that would rival those in Paris and New York. What an incredible feature it could become for both Sydney residents and visitors to our city.

I am therefore excited that this week the Berejiklian government announced it was giving an iron-clad commitment to ensure the Lavender Bay rail line will remain in public hands when it is no longer required for railway purposes. Just as importantly, the government has committed to investigate the high-line proposal and will establish a process bringing together the community and state agencies for this purpose.

I want to congratulate the New South Wales Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, and the Liberal candidate for North Shore, Felicity Wilson, for their commitment to this outcome. I know it is an issue Felicity raised with the Premier as one of her highest priorities for our area. It is a great outcome and the most concrete start we have had to creating a future for Lavender Bay which will reflect its extraordinary beauty. (Time expired)