It's November 4, just days after yet another reopening deadline missed by Big Splash's leaseholders. Canberrans are about to head into a third consecutive summer without the community pool we were promised.

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Despite widespread community expectations that the leaseholders would be required to restore the site's pool and slides, Access Canberra has determined that the site is 'more likely than not' compliant with its Crown lease.

Access Canberra's decision sets a troubling signal across Canberra: a community facility can cease operating for its intended purpose, remain dormant for years, and yet still satisfy the legal requirements of its Crown lease.

This fight is not just about Big Splash. It is a textbook example of what happens when governments privatise a community facility, and how difficult it is to restore it for public use.

It is also a warning about what happens when essential community infrastructure is allowed to be treated as profit-making opportunities for developers first, and a public good second.

For decades, Jamison Pool, later known as Big Splash, served the community as a public swimming pool. Like many municipal pools built across Australia in the postwar decades, it was established not because it would generate large financial returns. It existed because governments understood the public value of recreation, health, water safety and community connection.

Today, that logic has been turned on its head.

Across Australia, public pools are increasingly assessed through the narrow lens of profitability. If a facility is considered 'loss-making' or 'underperforming', pressure quickly builds for redevelopment, privatisation or........

© Canberra Times