URBAN PARKS: "Let slip the dogs of community park war"

The Age
5 October 2008

Recreation and environmentalism go head to head in suburbia.

A MOVIE scriptwriter might call it The Battle for Alphington Tip. Greenies would say it is Pooches v The Environment and dog groups see it as another unnecessary assault on the rights of dogs and their owners.

So far there have been two confirmed casualties: one dead kangaroo and the dog that mauled it, which was put down. Mix in a divided community, fears of dog attacks, fearsome 'roos, toxic sludge, a council master plan, the safety of native animals and an election campaign and you have the stuff of a minor epic. Homer made the Iliad from such a local row.

At the heart of the battle is Darebin Parklands, about 40 hectares of park in the inner north just eight kilometres from the CBD...

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