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Contested territory

Little seems to evoke inner city community outrage as much as a battle over public open space, particularly where dogs are involved. At Elsternwick Park, emotions have become unleashed, as dog owners and sports fans vie for contested territory.

It’s a typical weekend morning and Elsternwick Park is filled with people. There are parents with children at the playground, people kicking the footy, walkers, joggers and fitness groups. There are also people wielding clipboards, seeking signatures to preserve one of the area's largest off leash dog parks.


Bayside Council’s proposal to rejuvenate open space into two ovals is causing residents to drop the ball, with reports of ‘aggro’ encounters between park users, and suggestions of a misinformation campaign. The 14.9 hectare park has provided space for passive recreation, off leash dog walking and sports, like hockey and Auskick, over its many years. But some residents are concerned that the proposal to fence and light ovals will cause noise and light pollution, put pressure on carparking, and diminish their property values. Most hotly contested is the temporary reduction in off-leash space in which residents can socialise and run their dogs.

One dog owner commented on a local Facebook forum “It’s all good. Let them play footy. We’ll just give our dogs laxettes and a run on the field before a game. They’ll soon fuck off.” 


Flyers have been left in the park by community group www.ElstyPark.com, stating that there will be a ‘large sports pavilion’, FENCE(D) OFF ovals, and eight floodlight towers and ‘AFL practice sessions EVERY WEEK NIGHT during winter under lights’. ‘Save Elsternwick Park for Everyone!’ say the flyers, stating that 50% of off leash space will be taken away.

Bayside Recreation Planner, Jason Sharp, responded to claims that the park off leash space would be reduced by 50%, and that the light towers would be AFL level, as claimed by ElstyPark: “No, that is not true.” He confirmed that Bayside ovals are at 100% capacity on weekends, and that the off leash spaces would still amount to 9.2 hectares when ovals were in use. 

When local resident Meg* was there recently, she was approached by petition wielding dog owners, keen to make sure the space remains as it is. When she instead expressed support for the oval plan, she claims she was met with an “incredibly pissed off” response. 

Meg* has been surprised by the venom generated by vocal dog owner groups. “The dog lobby seems to be made up of many self serving individuals–they seem to have no concern or regard for the community...My post grad studies are in student welfare. We need our girls to stay in sport for many, many reasons,” she said. Another resident, a parent of a young female football player, expressed exasperation at the attitudes of those who aren’t keen to share. With AFLW growing fast, he said, “We are looking for community shared facilities; not excluding anyone from community assets, be it dog walkers or Under 14 girls' footy.” 

Bayside City Council has arranged community information sessions, which a number of residents have described as 'scary'. The consultation period has been extended until August 17. Bayside Council will consider the matter on Wednesday 19 September, at a Special Council Meeting. Residents would do well to keep themselves under effective voice control.

*not her real name. Quotes used with permission.

An assignment in news writing for RMIT PWE, 2018





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