Clover Moore attacks NSW government and EPA over ‘regulatory failure’ before asbestos crisis

‘As well as burgeoning costs, our residents have been barred from accessing their parks and open spaces,’ Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore says. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Sydney’s lord mayor, Clover Moore, has accused the New South Wales government and the state’s environment watchdog of a “massive” and “costly” regulatory failure over the ongoing asbestos contamination crisis.

City of Sydney councillors gathered at an extraordinary general meeting on Monday to discuss how contaminated mulch came to be used across numerous city parks. Moore revealed testing alone had already cost the council more than $200,000.