Morris says council must test supply, not just management, before expanding free CBD parking

30 March 2026

newy.com.au – Independent lord mayoral candidate Gavin Morris has called for a comprehensive review of parking supply, restrictions and enforcement across Newcastle’s CBD before any further changes are made. He is responding to Labor candidate Declan Clausen’s pledge to make the first 30 minutes of parking free, if elected.

While Clausen argued better management of existing spaces could support that change, Morris said council should first determine whether reduced supply, outdated rules and enforcement gaps meant the parking challenge was no longer just the management of the spaces.

Clausen said his 30-minute parking policy would ease cost of living pressure, help local businesses and make short trips into the city simpler and more affordable, allowing people to grab a coffee, run an errand or duck into a shop without worrying about parking costs. “Parking shouldn’t cost more than the coffee you’re grabbing, or the errand you’re running,” Cr Clausen said. He said residents had told him parking costs were making simple trips harder than they should be, and argued simpler, more affordable parking would bring more people into local businesses and local centres, which would be good for local jobs and good for Newcastle.

Clausen also said the city centre had about 10,000 on-street parking spaces and the way they were managed was as important as the total number available. Citing council’s 2021 plan, Clausen said more than 1,100 on-street spaces across the city centre were tied up in restricted or reserved uses, that some spaces were sitting empty because of outdated rules, and that the policy could be budget neutral over time through smarter management of existing parking. He also said the parking system needed to keep up with recent infrastructure and redevelopment in the CBD and work for local businesses, workers and residents.

Morris says free 30-minute parking should not be treated as a standalone answer to the broader parking problem in Newcastle’s CBD. “Free 30-minute parking may sound appealing, but it should not be treated as a standalone solution to a much broader parking problem in Newcastle’s CBD,” Mr Morris said. He said anyone who regularly parked in the city knew the landscape had changed significantly in recent years, with the demolition of the former King Street Parking Station, redevelopment of the former David Jones car park, the impact of light rail and ongoing residential and commercial projects all reducing parking supply.

While limited free 30-minute parking already exists along part of the old mall, Morris said the wider issue was whether current parking rules still reflected the reality of the CBD in 2026. “The assumptions that underpinned the 2021 Traffic Management Plan need to be tested against current conditions. That plan is five years old now,” Mr Morris said.

Gavin said the 2021 plan itself identified inconsistent time restrictions, driver confusion and the need for better parking management, particularly on weekends and in the evenings, and had highlighted the need for regular surveys of parking demand to guide future decisions on time limits and fees across the CBD and surrounding areas. Morris said those issues were even more relevant today because many retailers and hospitality venues now relied heavily on weekend and evening trade, and argued the CBD had changed but the parking regulations had not kept pace. He said council needed to take an area-wide, evidence-based approach to support local businesses and improve access to the city, rather than reaching for short-term fixes.

He said council should undertake a detailed and systematic analysis of current parking supply, restrictions and demand before considering additional 30-minute parking, and said any review also needed to consider enforcement. “That review also needs to consider enforcement. Council has obligations to manage parking laws, public safety and traffic flow, but infringements outside ranger working hours are often going unaddressed,” Mr Morris said.

Morris said it was no longer enough to assume the parking challenge was purely one of management and that, without a comprehensive, data-driven review, council could not ignore the possibility that lack of supply was now a major part of the problem. “What Newcastle needs is a practical parking strategy based on current evidence, not another perceived short-term fix to gain election votes,” Mr Morris said.

The Newcastle Lord Mayor by-election will be held on 18 April.