WALLSEND MP Sonia Hornery has come out swinging against Newcastle councillors after what she calls an "attempt to rewrite history" on the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre proposal.
In a social media post, Ms Hornery said the CEO, council chief executives and former lord mayor Labor Cr Nuatali Nelmes met with stakeholders multiple times about the facility since September 2022, which she said spoke "volumes" about the council's involvement in the process.
"Certain councillors attempting to deflect their role in this fiasco was disappointing," she said.
"Yes it's state funding, yes it's a State Significant Development (SSD), however council have played an enormous role in choosing this site with zero consultation to the community.
"Sadly, council are now a part of the efforts to clean up this mess whether they like it or not."
At Tuesday's meeting, council made it clear the state government is the one calling the shots on the controversial Wallarah and Blackley Ovals location proposed for the new Newcastle Basketball Stadium.
The council did not deny its involvement in the process over the years but pointed out it was not the council's project to approve or refuse.
The council acknowledged the SSD will be assessed and determined by the NSW Government's Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in the motion it approved on Tuesday.
Lord mayor Ross Kerridge also made a social media post about the stadium decision, in which he referred to a concerning "rushed nature" of recent decisions.
In a joint statement, sitting deputy lord mayor Liberal Cr Callum Pull and future deputy lord mayors Greens Cr Charlotte McCabe and Labor Crs Deahnna Richardson and Declan Clausen said there was no "rushed decision".
"There was significant discussion and councillors even took a recess which lasted more than twenty minutes during the meeting to ensure all members had a thorough understanding of the proposed resolution," the statement said.
"After that recess, and after lengthy discussion the lord mayor and his fellow independent councillors all supported the amended motion which was carried with unanimous support on Tuesday night, and did not cite any concerns during the meeting about it being rushed."
The statement from the councillors said that Cr Kerridge indicated he was comfortable with the Lambton site at the meeting provided compensatory green space could be found elsewhere in the Broadmeadow precinct.
"The meeting papers and director's comment were very transparent about council's involvement in this project and its position moving forward," the statement said.
"This is a state government project and if the state member wants it moved, and can facilitate a viable alternate site that protects the $25 million in grant money and has broad community support, we are confident that, after due consideration, councillors would support it."
Cr Clausen said ultimately it doesn't matter how many meetings anyone from council has attended, the stadium remains a state-driven project.
On Tuesday, Cr Richardson said that it was "important to note" that the council is not the consent authority.
"This is a state significant development, we do not own the land, it's state government funding," she said.
"Like all councillors, I expect I've received hundreds of emails in the last 24 hours from members of the Newcastle Basketball community and I just wanted to thank them for their time in reaching out to councillors to express their support and also just recognise the considerable angst that's been felt by Lambton residents and the users of Wallarah and Blackley Ovals as a result of the proposal.
"These concerns I would expect would be considered and addressed as part of the State Significant Development application process.
"It's not the role of the City of Newcastle to provide support or withdraw support, we don't have a role to play in in this particular development application."
Ward 3 Greens Cr Sinead Francis-Coan and Independent Cr Mark Brooker co-signed a motion asking the council to investigate alternatives to the Wallarah and Blackley ovals site in areas such as Lake Macquarie or Port Stephens.
That motion was shot down, instead the council voted to reiterate the Hunter Park sports and entertainment precinct, not Wallarah and Blackley Ovals, as the preferred location for the stadium with the recently sold former Jemena gas works site as a back-up.
The council voted to support a "merit-based" assessment of the Lambton site for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre as a State Significant Development (SSD) and seek reassurance the community's concerns would be taken into consideration.
At the meeting, Cr Nelmes said the community had been "messed around" by different versions of the state government for close to seven years.
"It is not fair to our community to not have an all-year round indoor sports centre, and we can't allow that to happen on our watch," she said.
"But we have to allow these processes to take place."
Ms Hornery said she will keep working with state ministers to try to find the most appropriate site for the development.
"... and I will happily work with anyone from council who intends to work honestly and with integrity to achieve the best outcomes for the community and our local sporting communities too," she said.
Wallarah Oval is Crown Land under City of Newcastle's care and control.
The Office of Sport and Newcastle Basketball approached City of Newcastle in 2022 to discuss possible sites for the facility in the local government area.
