On Wednesday, 25 February, Mr Marcin Kawalowski from the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Canberra, and delegates from Kosciuszko Heritage Inc (KHI) attended a meeting in Jindabyne with representatives of Snowy Monaro Regional Council.

The meeting was held after the Polish community raised concerns to local representatives and governing bodies of the Snowy Mountains Special Activation Precinct (SAP) over the proposed location of a pump track in the Banjo Paterson Park, Jindabyne.

After years of submissions and arguing against the recent Lake Jindabyne Foreshore Improvement Plans, about locating a proposed pump track a short distance from the heritage-listed monument of Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki, KHI learned with some amendments the plans have already been approved.

The meeting was hosted by staff from the Department of Regional Development, SAP director, Michael Keys, and project co-ordinator, Jayne Nowland, as well as Snowy Monaro Regional Council mayor, Chris Hanna, CEO Noreen Vu, and Councillor Nick Elliott.

The meeting was also attended by president of KHI, Andrzej Kozek, Vice President of KHI, Ursula Lang, and KHI member, Tony Lang.

Mrs Lang said KHI made submissions to SAP planners, expressing their interest in the process. They asked for updates when it came to any plans for development in or near the Banjo Paterson Park.

“This is because we have the monument of Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki in the park and that was a gift to Jindabyne and the Australian people in 1988 from the Polish government,” Mrs Lang said.

“We put in a submission to the SAP asking that we be considered a stakeholder and that we be involved and advised of any notice of development in Banjo Paterson Park.”

KHI representatives were advised during the meeting the approval for the pump track had been issued on 11 February 2026, making it too late for other locations to be considered, only amendments can be issued.

The heritage area in the northern part of Banjo Paterson Park, includes 11 heritage monuments/memorials including Strzelecki, KHI said they should be acknowledged as a grouping and protected from surrounding development.

Mrs Lang said she is a professional town planner and is very aware of the processes put forward with developments such as SAP and therefore very familiar with putting submissions together.

“I put together a submission on behalf of KHI, as a representative of the Polish community,” Mrs Lang said.

“I had mainly urban planning concerns about the pump track and its location, my submission was mostly surrounding the reasons why I thought it was an inappropriate development, asking again for involvement, engagement and consultation.

“After writing my submission I spoke with SAP representatives explaining my concerns and asked to see a heritage impact analysis, which, to the best of my knowledge, was not done prior to, as part of the planning.”

In the submission, KHI stated that the heritage impact analysis (HIA) undertaken by consultants in July 2025 did not investigate alternative locations.

“We are in no way against the proposal for a pump track in Jindabyne, we just ask that the track location be moved to a more appropriate area that does not impact the 11 monuments around the foreshore,” Mrs Lang said.

The KHI group, after the meeting, wrote to Minister Tara Moriarty MLC voicing their disappointment with the process and lack of transparency.

After KHI representatives felt no real resolution or consideration was granted from the meeting, the letter suggested steps as a possible way forward at this stage of the planning process, including different mitigation measures, acknowledging the monuments as a grouping and funding allocation to repair the Strzelecki monument.

Mrs Lang said there are many reasons why the Banjo Paterson Park location is not suitable for the pump track, for example, a lack of parking.

“People already find it a struggle to find parking in this area and you can’t park along the highway so this pump track will only add to the problem,” Mrs Lang said.

“They really haven’t looked at safety considerations at all. I do support all the additional infrastructure around the plan including picnic facilities, an extension to the playground and all those aspects, they are fantastic for the community.

“But I cannot support, a facility that is unattractive among many other concerns, in a main part of Jindabyne, Banjo Patterson Park, it is a very special high-quality setting and not appropriate for this track.”

Department of Regional Development and Snowy Mountains SAP representatives were contacted for comment, but did not provide comments before print deadline.