Ballina Shire Council met this week, reluctantly, for an Extraordinary Meeting to discuss the Ballina Croquet Club, which is about to lose access to its lawns at Cherry Street.
Crs Simon Chate and Phil Meehan were unable to attend, which might have changed a very close result.
The reason for the meeting was a motion brought by Cr Kiri Dicker, with the support of Cr Therese Crollick, which called for Ballina Council to write to Cherry Street Sports Club conveying their disappointment at the club’s recent decision to terminate access by the croquet club, urging them to reconsider and ensure long term access to the lawns by both clubs.
A large number of people in the public gallery saw a fiery exchange, opened by Cherry Street Sports Club CEO Tere Sheehan, who said, ‘Throughout this matter, Cherry Street Sports made no public statements. We deliberately chose not to engage in public debate because the board’s decision was final and we saw no value in inflaming the situation further.
‘Despite our silence, social media platforms were inundated with what can only be described as AI generated misinformation, false and misleading content about our club, our decision and our people,’ he said.
‘Protecting staff and calling out abusive behavior should always be encouraged, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it. We wish to be very clear from the outset, the board’s decision to terminate informal access arrangements with Ballina Croquet Club is final and will not be rescinded,’ said Mr Sheehan.
‘This was made clear to the mayor before this meeting was convened, when we were explicitly requested to reverse our decision. On that day, the board advised that the decision was final, having been made after extensive consideration, legal advice and years of unsuccessful attempts to reach a sustainable and inclusive arrangement.
‘It is therefore disappointing that this meeting has proceeded despite Council having been advised that there was no prospect of the decision being reversed.’
$100,000
Mr Sheehan went on to say the croquet lawns cost $100,000 per year to operate and maintain. ‘Last financial year, Ballina Croquet contributed $10,933.71 in total green fees, equating to roughly $70 per play day, or less than $1,000 per month. That contribution does not come close to covering the cost of the operation.
‘Our members are rightly asking why a single incorporated group should continue to enjoy decades of access to privately leased facilities at a significant subsidy, whilst the cost is borne by members who receive no priority access and no governance control,’ he said.
‘It is also deeply disappointed to see public statements rejecting clubs that rely on alcohol or gaming revenue whilst at the same time actively seeking to use land and facilities funded by these very revenue sources, without contributing fairly.
‘Finally, we wish to be very clear about the future. From this point forward, the croquet lawns will operate six days per week, open to the broader community. Access is simple, inclusive and transparent. Become a member and enjoy the facilities alongside everyone else. That model is fair, lawful, sustainable and consistent with our obligations,’ he said.
Croquet club responds
Carolyn Reay-Young from the Croquet Club asked councillors to ‘please make this a conscience vote, rather than voting with your factions? We are all well aware of the power of the clubs in NSW.’
She then discussed Cherry Street’s recent request via CEO Tere Sheehan to put a CCTV camera inside their clubhouse. ‘Next minute, he was telling us we were being evicted from the croquet lawns and clubhouse, and had 28 days to clear everything out, but if we wanted to join as individual members of Cherry Street croquet, we could.
‘We felt like we’d been ambushed at this meeting. There was no warning given, and were in a state of shock when I asked why they were doing this. Mr. Sheehan said it was purely a business decision. The instant they got the one lease over the whole area from Crown Lands, we got our marching orders.
‘Wouldn’t you have thought they could have at least had the decency to give us three months notice? This is what is hard to work out,’ said Ms Reay-Young.
‘Cherry Street have put out to everyone that the lawns will now be open six days a week and it will be open to the public. The lawns have always been open six days a week. Both clubs have always been open to the public… I don’t understand the business decision, because we pay the club to be there.
‘Does Cherry Street have some long term plans for these croquet lawns? One has to wonder. In the past eight years, our club has never felt secure where we were playing, but the council always assured us we would never be evicted. Because of this insecurity, we continued over the past eight years to ask Council for some land of our own so our 90 year old club could continue to play croquet and support our community.
‘We have never asked Council for anything, and even with this space, we were going to build the lawns and the clubhouse. Now our fears have come to fruition and we have nothing. How can it be that the second biggest club in the Northern Rivers croquet competition, with one of our players being invited last year to play in the world competition, now have nowhere to play, when originally we had our own lease, our own lawns and our own clubhouse. How did it come to this?’
Invisible
Ms Reay Young went on to say, ‘You may not be aware, but 95 per cent of croquet clubs in NSW are community-based clubs, usually given land by their council.
‘Why is it that elderly women who just want to play croquet are so invisible in this society? The older members of our club are absolutely devastated, as our club is more than just a croquet club. It is a community where, if one can no longer play, they know they are always welcome to come and have a cup of tea and a chat.
‘Life can become very isolating the older you get. Judith, who is 93 and still a good croquet player, said she will probably never play again. The effect on our members has been profound, so much so that we employed a psychologist to run a counselling session for everyone. Cherry Street said we can join as individuals, but after the way we’ve been cheated by Cherry Street over the years, very few players want to join Cherry Street.’
Ballina Council’s response began with Mayor Cadwallader confirming that all councillors were members of Cherry Street Sports Club, which no one seemed to regard as a problem.
Cr Kiri Dicker said, ‘I think I might be headed for a lifetime ban after this. I’ll just open by saying it was an absolute honour and a privilege to spend time with members of the Ballina Croquet Club on their final playing day on Saturday, with Councillor Chate, just weeks short of their 90th birthday.
‘There, I met a large group of confident, outspoken, tenacious women, mostly in their 60s and 70s, some in their 80s, and a few mild mannered and courteous gentlemen. It reminded me a little bit of family Christmas at my place, if it wasn’t so glum,’ she said.
‘They showed me photos and medals and news clippings of happier times soon to be packed away and placed into storage. Now, the most surreal thing was that these conversations occurred under the surveillance of a CCTV camera recently installed without consultation by the bowling club.
‘Members told me that they no longer felt comfortable getting changed for fear of being watched. It was a reminder of just how bad things have become, and I can guarantee you that they weren’t surveilling their own croquet club. Those who have been around the longest told me about the catalyst for the conflict that had ended up with them being given four weeks to vacate the building.
‘They put it down to a decision by the Ballina Bowling and Recreation Club some 16 years ago to establish a second club and reduce their playing days by half. This club wasn’t an independent legal entity like the Ballina Croquet Club, but a sub-club of the Ballina Bowling Club. For all intents and purposes, they are the same thing. It wasn’t just that their playing days were separated over time. So was the storage, the equipment and even the fridge. In fact, one of them told me they got a formal warning for using something out of the Cherry Street fridge.
‘Despite all this, both clubs continue to access the lawns with only the occasional grievance, and that was because Council was the Crown Land manager. That was until late last year, when the Bowling Club finally secured a direct lease with Crown Lands over the croquet lawns. And not long after, for seemingly no other reason, were called into a meeting and given four weeks notice to vacate the premises, removing all of their possessions, finally finishing what they had started 17 years ago.’
Hollow suggestion
Cr Dicker went on to say, ‘The suggestion that members of the Ballina Croquet Club can simply join the Bowling Club’s own club is a hollow one. It’s like asking someone to side with their oppressor.
‘They know full well that membership of Cherry Street Club is fully controlled by the Bowling Club, who is entitled to refuse anyone’s membership without reason. Many of them don’t want to be a member of a registered club on ethical grounds, and they shouldn’t have to, just to play the sport they love on public land.
‘There has been no consultation with their members on any aspect of what this so-called amalgamated club looks like, the name, the governance, the uniforms, the competition arrangements, no phasing in period, nothing, just an afterthought on a termination notice.
‘So here we are, a community club with a 90 year history on Ballina Island, eliminated by a corporation. This stands as one of the worst decisions I’ve witnessed in my time on this council. It is an abuse of power by a business that has all of the money, all of the resources and all of the control. It’s unjust, unethical. It directly contradicts the club’s own values, and it also the principles of the Crown Land Management Act, which are to ensure public access to public land.
‘So with that, I move that we write to the CEO and the board of the Ballina Bowling and Recreational Club and urge them to reconsider their decision. It’s never too late to change your mind.’
Cr Damian Loone spoke against the motion, and objected to the Extraordinary Meeting being called at all. ‘We are not lease police… we shouldn’t be here,’ he said. He was supported in this by the mayor, who said it was not Ballina Council’s place to tell the Cherry Street Club what to do.
Cr Erin Karsten said the situation was ‘heartbreaking’, and moved an amendment to urgently identify an appropriate parcel of land to maintain community-based croquet on Ballina Island. This was defeated, finding support only from Crs Crollick and Dicker.
Cr Michelle Bailey took exception to the idea that Ballina councillors voted in factions, and said the Extraordinary Meeting was inappropriate, as Cherry Street had already rejected an overture from the mayor.
Mayor Cadwallader agreed, saying, ‘What this does is risk raising false expectations in the community. It suggests that Council can intervene where it simply cannot. This is not fair to those affected, and it’s not honest leadership either. We all care deeply about our community groups. We all want to see fair and respectful outcomes, but we must also respect the boundaries of our authority and act with integrity in how we use this chamber.’
In her right of reply, Cr Dicker reminded her fellow councillors that, ‘this Extraordinary Meeting is lawfully called under the Local Government Act. We write letters to people all the time, to try and influence their decisions.’
Leadership
As for Cherry Street Sports Club, Cr Dicker said, ‘I fully respect that we can’t do anything to change their decision. We can only ask them to do the right thing. I don’t think leadership is about power, authority and control. I think it’s about fairness, integrity and respect.
‘So I wanted to say my final words to members of the Ballina Croquet Club. I wanted to say, I’m sorry that this has happened to you. I’m sorry I didn’t see what was happening and I would have tried harder to stop it if I knew what the motive was here. And I’m sorry that you’ve been shuffled around with the hope of a facility of your own where you can play in peace. And I’m sorry we haven’t been able to find you that place.’
Cr Dicker’s motion then narrowly failed, with Cr Ramsey joining her and Cr Crollick, only to be defeated by those opposite on the casting vote of Mayor Cadwallader.
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