Hundreds of electric vehicles, parked without proper authorization, are set to be relocated from a well-known theme park. This decision comes after local authorities stepped in to address the situation.
Recently, the Chinese automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) has been utilizing Jamberoo Action Park, located on the New South Wales South Coast, as a temporary staging area for over 1,600 imported electric vehicles. This arrangement was meant as a ‘pre-delivery’ site until the vehicles could be distributed to their final destinations.
During the park’s off-season, satellite images captured by Google Earth revealed that the overflow parking area was filled with rows upon rows of EVs, all shipped from China. This unusual sight led local residents to voice their concerns, describing the area as an unsightly ‘car graveyard.’
The residents’ grievances did not go unnoticed. In response, Kiama Council issued a compliance order, citing a breach in the use conditions of the car park. This prompted both Jamberoo Action Park and BYD to submit a development application attempting to legitimize the use of part of the car park for purposes unrelated to the theme park’s recreational activities.
The application clarified the intended use of the area, stating, “Vehicles will be stored for a limited period of time until they are couriered off the site or driven from the site.” Despite this, the vehicles will need to find a new storage location, as the current arrangement does not meet local regulatory standards.
‘Vehicles will be stored for a limited period of time until they are couriered off the site or driven from the site,’ the DA stated.
It added that just 1,800 of its 3,100 allocated car spaces were sufficient for normal park activities, which is open from late September until April.
The proposal was rejected by the council this week, citing rural zoning rules and traffic concerns, sparking a scathing response from Jamberoo.
A Google Earth image captured in August captured hundreds of EVs imported from China being stored at Jamberoo Action Park without approved
Pictured is a Google Earth image of the water park before it began being used as a ‘pre-delivery’ site for EVs
‘The proposed development has not adequately demonstrated that the proposal will not have adverse environmental impacts, particularly with regard to conflicts between existing additional permitted uses on the site and the surrounding natural and built environment,’ the council refusal notice stated.
BYD EVs were spotted being removed from the water park on Tuesday.
Jamberoo Action Park management will work with the council to ensure compliance after its ‘maximisation strategy’ proposal was rejected.
But not before taking a brutal swipe at the council in a lengthy statement sent to Daily Mail on Wednesday.
‘If you can’t store cars in a car park without impact to anyone, then something in the planning system clearly isn’t working,’ the statement read.
‘We should be looking for opportunities for businesses to invest and diversify, not taking them away unnecessarily.’
Jamberoo added that it sought and received legal advice confirming that the activity was permissible before lodging the DA and claimed that they hadn’t seen any actual complaints formally lodged during the process.
‘We also specifically requested the opportunity to respond to any concerns if they arose, but none were provided to us,’ management added.
Jamberoo added that the Chinese car manufacturer will be forced to scale back operations.
More than 1600 EVs will be removed from Jamberoo after a DA was rejected by Kiama Council
‘At a time when government policy is actively encouraging the adoption of EVs, society must be able to accommodate that shift in a practical way,’ management continued.
‘In addition to the impact on the car carrier business, there is a direct economic impact for all businesses involved and the local community.
‘We’ll continue to engage respectfully and transparently, but we stand by our belief that this was a practical, low-impact use of existing infrastructure that should never have been knocked back.
Daily Mail contacted BYD for comment.
The proposal sparked heated online debate among Aussies.
‘The car park is for day parking visitors to the main water park business. It is not a dumping ground or long-term warehouse,’ one fumed.
Jamberoo (pictured) has slammed the council’s decision in a lengthy statement
Others pointed out that the DA should have been submitted before they started storing cars at Jamberoo and called for the council to issue parking fines for each day the EVs were stored there.
‘Council should give them two weeks to be removed or run an auction and sell them off, then fine the owners of Jamberoo,’ another added.
But many Aussies had no problem with the proposal and branded concerned locals as ‘Karens’.
‘What exactly are the complaints about? If the space is not being used then why not utilise it in the meantime?’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘Why are local residents complaining about parked cars? Especially when they bought a house right near a water park that attracts 1000s of screaming children for half the year.’
Others saw the funny side to the EV dilemma.
‘Jamberoo, where you con… get a free BYD,’ one quipped, in a light-hearted reference to the venue’s slogan ‘where you control the action’.
EVs accounted for more than 12 per cent of new cars purchased in the first half of 2025, expanding Australia’s fleet to more than 410,000 vehicles.
More than three-quarters of EVs purchased in Australia this year were made in China.
