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Friday August 28, 2026 
28 August 2026
The campaign to reclaim Bradfield Park South has received a boost, with North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker revealing that NSW roads minister Jenny Aitchison has pushed back against departmental advice supporting Transport for NSW’s continued occupation of the harbourfront park.
Speaking at a community forum in Kirribilli on Tuesday night, Baker said Aitchison’s office had advised her that the minister was committed to addressing the remediation and land tenure issues and returning as much of the park as possible to North Sydney Council’s control.
“She has pushed back on departmental advice in respect to the extent of occupation of that compound for the ongoing maintenance works for the Harbour Bridge,” Baker said.
The disclosure provided the clearest indication yet that the state government may be reconsidering Transport for NSW’s plans for the site, which the agency has said it may need for bridge maintenance until 2032.
Baker said she was now “more optimistic than ever” that the land would be remediated and returned to Council in the near future.
The meeting at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church brought together residents, Council representatives, lawyers and North Shore MP Felicity Wilson around a demand for the government to set a firm departure date, remediate the land at its own cost and return it for public recreation.
Wilson said Transport for NSW had provided no evidence explaining why its remaining works compound needed to be retained.
“All the conversations that we’ve had over time with Transport for NSW around their need to occupy a portion of the park for bridge maintenance were that it was time constrained,” she said.
“There has been no information or evidence provided to any of us at all about why the compound needs to be retained.”
Wilson said the community had accepted the temporary loss of the land for necessary bridge works on the understanding that it would be returned in at least as good a condition.
“That expectation hasn’t been met,” she said. “It is very simple in my mind that the park should have been remediated already.”
She rejected suggestions that North Sydney Council should pay for the restoration, arguing that Transport for NSW had caused the damage and was responsible for repairing it.
Wilson said she would raise the issue at a forthcoming ministerial meeting and promised to remain involved “for the long haul” if an early resolution could not be reached.
The campaign also unveiled a legal argument that Transport for NSW’s present use of part of Bradfield Park South may no longer be authorised.
Lawyer Stuart Fuller told the meeting that Bradfield Park was vested in North Sydney Council in 1935 to be held on trust for public parks and recreation. Part of Bradfield Park South was transferred to the state under special legislation in 1987 for construction of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
Fuller argued that the legislation tied the transfer to the tunnel works and associated contracts, which ended on June 30, 2023.
“The time for the use by Transport for NSW of Bradfield Park South under the law has come to an end,” he said.
“The use by Transport for NSW of Bradfield Park South as a maintenance depot is not authorised under the law.”
He said the legislation allowed the Governor to revest the affected land in North Sydney Council, which would again hold it on trust for the public.
Robert Stitt KC, chair of the Lavender Bay Precinct, meanwhile called for comprehensive testing of suspected contamination and publication of the results.
Stitt said authorities needed to establish whether contamination existed, its precise source and scientific basis, and what would be required to remove it.
“If contamination is found, we require the state government to honour its legal obligation to remediate that contamination,” he said.
“Return the land now, and then deal with this issue.”
Mayor Baker placed the dispute within a broader struggle over diminishing open space in one of the state’s most densely populated areas. She said almost 90% of North Sydney residents lived in medium or high-density housing, while the local population was expected to grow by at least 30% by 2036.
She also disputed repeated Transport for NSW claims that Council had agreed to or supported the agency’s continued occupation.
“Council has never been consulted nor agreed to that occupancy,” Baker said.
Kirribilli Precinct chair Michael Bracka accused Transport for NSW of using “bureaucratic double-speak” and attempting to portray Council as supportive of its plans.
He said the community’s immediate demands were a clear timetable for Transport for NSW to leave, the return of the entire park and a commitment to fund its decontamination, rehabilitation and beautification.
“Community will not be silenced,” Bracka said. “This is not going away and our voices will only become louder and more direct.”