Reserve land transfer in western suburbs to go ahead for new $34m children’s hospice after bid was shut down

A bid to revisit a State Government decision to excise part of a western suburbs reserve for a children’s hospice has been defeated. Known as “Boodja Mia” or “Sandcastles”, the $34 million hospice is scheduled to open later this year and provide around-the-clock care, end-of-life support and respite accommodation for families with children facing life-limiting conditions. It will be based on part of Allen Park in Swanbourne. The project was previously stalled amid public debate over use of A-class reserve land before John Carey used his power as Lands Minister to take control of Allen Park in June and hand its management to the Child and Adolescent Health Service. A bid by Animal Justice Party MLC Amanda Dorn to disallow the land being excised was voted down in the Legislative Council on September 16. Only One Nation WA MLC Philip Scott supported her. Ms Dorn said her motion did not seek to prevent the hospice being built but wanted to ensure the park was protected through keeping its A-class classification. “It is not about the hospice; it is about the protection of Allen Park so it can remain intact,” she said. “Many examples of collaborative development of parkland and playgrounds exist, most notably in Kings Park with the Rio Tinto and the Synergy developments. “These collaborators, which include large private companies and donors, have not needed to remove the class-A reserve status to provide enhanced public parklands for the people in WA, so why is Allen Park?” Labor MLC Katrina Stratton — who was the former Nedlands MLA — said there were “robust protections” in place to ensure public parkland remained public. “The Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation and CAHS have confirmed in writing and in public statements that access across the new parkland will remain open to the public,” she said. “The foundation is now seeking to landscape and revegetate — not vegetate, revegetate — an adjacent patch of land. ‘Land’ is generous — it is a dust bowl. “It will be an enduring community asset not just for the families utilising the hospice but for locals and visitors alike. “The City of Nedlands has wilfully and actively neglected that piece of land for years. They had no budget to restore that land and they had no interest in restoring that land.” She said the Government moved to excise the land after 18 months of “unproductive” talks with the city. “It became clear that the majority — but not all — of the elected representatives, led by the now dismissed ex-mayor, would continue to act in bad faith regarding the project,” Ms Stratton said. “A small number of people . . . have opposed this project from the very beginning and in all likelihood will continue to oppose it in the future. “A small, organised and vocal group, often amplified, as I said, by the local media. “They are siding with people like the former City of Nedlands councillor who claimed that the site was not suitable for a children’s hospice because it could be bombed in the event of a war. That is the quality of debate that we are talking about.” Liberal MLC Neil Thomson said there was a “rock solid” guarantee the land would be used for public purposes and was comfortable with the Government’s decision. “We have at all stages been unwavering in our support for the project,” he said. Representatives of minor parties in the Legislative Council supported Ms Dorn’s motion when she gave notice of it last week but ultimately voted against it. Greens WA leader Brad Pettitt said the State Government had said part of the reserve would remain a public park “in perpetuity”, while Legalise Cannabis MLC Brian Walker said he had been given some “very clear answers” — but bemoaned how long it had taken to get them. “The information that we were seeking was available a year ago but released only a few weeks ago,” he said. “How are we possibly to make a decision on an excision of a class-A reserve when the information that we need has been withheld from us? “Does that not raise in your minds suspicions that something odd may be going on? Thankfully, there is not — as far as I know.”