Noreen Hay, had to pay back money to Wollongong Council<\/a> after the council picked up the tab for Labor councillors attending one of her fundraising events.<\/p>\n![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/f9fbe5a15822f0ba6d3cb04c35760365\")
<\/p>\n
Noreen Hay was the state member for Wollongong from 2003 to 2016. (ABC Illawarra)<\/p>\n
“They hadn’t paid, so due to the events that have arisen since the dinner I decided to cover the costs of those councillors myself,” Ms Hay said at the time.<\/p>\n
Mr Harrison died in 2020 from cancer, with the restaurant under the management of his son Andrew Harrison.<\/p>\n
Recent woes<\/p>\n
The Lagoon also faced challenges in its later years.<\/p>\n
In August 2023 a group of Illawarra businessmen were fined $2 million for the illegal overfishing of eastern rock lobsters and selling them without the required tags to establishments including the Lagoon.<\/p>\n
As part of the case, head chef Emanuel Efstathiadis was fined $20,000 and handed a suspended jail sentence for acting as the conduit between the fishing company and the restaurant.<\/p>\n
In May the restaurant was slapped with two $880 fines for failing to store food safely and for failing to maintain the required standard of cleanliness, after earlier warnings.<\/p>\n
Despite these recent difficulties, Andrew Harrison told ABC Illawarra in August he was very sad to see it coming to an end after working there since his childhood.<\/p>\n
“Because I [started] at such a young age working throughout my childhood it became a part of me and it was in my blood,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Basically we have had two 20 year leases, so I have always known 2026 was going to be probably the last hurrah. So it’s nothing new to me.<\/p>\n
“It doesn’t make it easier though because it’s still 40 years of my life.”<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/a6fa048d5471808246d05499abd3c9d2\")
<\/p>\n
Andrew Harrison worked in Lagoon Restaurant from a very young age. (Supplied: Lagoon Restaurant)<\/p>\n
Questions about the lease<\/p>\n
Wollongong Council’s lease with the Lagoon was also scrutinised.<\/p>\n
The council register revealed the lease with Emibarb Pty Ltd for Stuart Park Kiosk Lagoon from July 11, 2006, to July 10, 2026, was for $1 million.<\/p>\n
Community group Neighbourhood Forum 5 raised concerns at the time when the 1,400 square metre area of the lease was expanded to include an additional 660 square metres.<\/p>\n
Andrew Harrison said to the best of his knowledge that figure was just a “starting point”.<\/p>\n
“Since then the rent has increased in line with the CPI and I can confirm that the current rent being paid today is approximately double the figure shown on the register,” he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/35c57ae3ad30b84698c0a220c48f7eab\")
<\/p>\n
Stuart Park in Wollongong with Lagoon Restaurant in the foreground. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)<\/p>\n
Mr Harrison said the deal took into account upwards of $3 million invested by the Harrison family to reconstruct the venue after the fire.<\/p>\n
The ABC sought to confirm the figures with Wollongong City Council but was told they were commercial-in-confidence.<\/p>\n
Mr Harrison also said “while the lease may look favourable on paper” it was extremely challenging to rebuild over the course of almost three years.<\/p>\n
“It took an enormous amount of work, investment, and personal sacrifice to rebuild and reopen,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I believe the Lagoon has added tremendous value to the site over the past four decades.<\/p>\n
“When the restaurant burnt down and the site sat empty, the area became derelict, attracted antisocial behaviour, and wasn’t a place families felt comfortable visiting.”<\/p>\n
What’s next?<\/p>\n
Neighbourhood Forum 5 is seeking assurances the community will be fairly compensated in the new lease and is asking for community oversight.<\/p>\n
“We think it’s time for the community to have a bit of input into what they are asking for in the lease,” co-convenor John Riggall said.<\/p>\n
“We’re asking if possible to have some input into the scope of the tender documentation.<\/p>\n
“We want to make sure the council gets fair value for money.”<\/p>\n
A Wollongong City Council spokesperson told the ABC long-term leases provided security of tenure for both tenant and customer, and it is required “to undertake a competitive tender process”.<\/p>\n
Two companies that have submitted bids are the the inner Sydney restaurant and bar Grounds of Alexandria, which reportedly changed hands in 2023 for $186 million, and Top Pub Mittagong, currently known as the Mittagong Hotel.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Wollongong Council said he was not aware of when the successful tenderer for the site would be announced.<\/p>\n
Regardless of who wins the new lease, the restaurant will occupy a key place in the city’s culinary and political history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Well known for its celebrated seafood platters and stunning views, Wollongong’s Lagoon Restaurant is equally remembered by some…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5731,185501,64,63,134,34935,31478,185496,185500,185497,185498,23687,185499],"class_list":["post-331696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-alp","tag-andrew-harrison","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-george-harrison","tag-labor-party","tag-lagoon-restaurant","tag-lord-mayor","tag-noreen-hay","tag-puckeys-estate","tag-seafood","tag-stuart-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}