Green Bans

Wikipedia indeed has an entry about the Green Bans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_ban

The Green Bans Park is described in

http://www.cfmeu-construction-nsw.com.au/pdf/GreenBansApril2005.pdf


An excerpt from this description is:

At Erskineville in inner Sydney one ban prevented the government selling land to developers to build units. This land has now been turned onto a park and is called Green Bans Park. In 1995 the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) decided to sell land at Erskineville to developers which would have resulted in the site being developed for housing units. The state government did not seem concerned that this working class suburb had one of the lowest ratios of public space to residents anywhere in Sydney. As the site was being used for open space by the local community there was huge opposition to the RTA plans to sell off the site. Council approached the RTA to hand over the site for use as open space but this was rejected unless Council paid full market rates for the site. Unfortunately the local council could not afford to pay full market rate for the site. The local community became organised and protested against the RTA sell off plans. The CFMEU supported the community move and placed a ‘Green Ban’ on the site. This meant that CFMEU members would be encouraged, not unions, to do any building work on the site if it was sold off to a developer. Because of this green ban and the radical protest of local residents the RTA received no offers at the auction it held as it would have been very difficult for any developer to build on the site. The State Election in 1996 saw the Australian Labor Party (ALP) Opposition promise to hand the site to the local Council for use as open space if it was elected to Government. This was done in 1997 with a handover celebration in the Park when the ALP was elected to government.