Hornsby Council considers legal action over rescinded $36 million grant

The fund was ostensibly designed to support councils the Coalition had forcibly amalgamated, but Hornsby was never merged. However, Hornsby lost part of its land to the City of Parramatta in a 2016 boundary change, which Hornsby Shire Council now calls an “annexation” of its territory.

Westleigh Park comprises about 36 hectares of cleared open space and was to be turned into a new sporting and recreation precinct for football, athletics, rugby, AFL and cricket, including five fields.

The development application is yet to be approved, and Hoenig said Hornsby had been too slow to act. The government has rejected its request for an extension of time and demanded the funds are repaid. Hoenig also called the Stronger Communities Fund “one of the most egregious examples of pork-barrelling” he had seen.

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Other councillors at last week’s meeting argued the council should try to recoup the funds through another grant. “I have grave concerns over the legitimacy of this funding,” Greens councillor Tanya Salitra said. “It comes as no surprise the Labor state government must recall the funds.”

But Ruddock dismissed that view. “This is not a matter for us to be trying to identify whether it was compliant or non-compliant,” he said. “It was a grant provided by the government, and it’s a matter for the government to deal with.”

Hoenig’s office referred the Herald to his previous comments. “At a time when we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, every dollar counts,” he said last week. “Hornsby Council has had years to utilise this funding and the original deadline written into the grant guidelines has long passed.”

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