by Shane Sody
Images have emerged of how your southern Park Lands would look if the State Government carried through its threats to establish a massive fenced police compound on a cherished biodiversity site.
Surveyors have already measured up your Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21 West) for establishment of a police compound that would be much larger than the existing Thebarton Police barracks.
Artist’s impression of new SAPOL barracks, fencing off your Open Green Public Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21W)
As previously reported, the Government’s chosen site is a haven of biodiversity - lovingly restored by Trees for Life volunteers over the past 15 years. Under the State Government plans, the biodiversity would be trashed. Your Park would be converted not just into horse paddocks, but would also include:
stables for 40 horses
offices for 30 staff
a reception /communications room
officers meeting room
kitchen
change-rooms
showers, toilets and lockers for staff
horse “tack” rooms
tack preparation cleaning rooms
veterinary suite
fodder stores
a secure gun room
outdoor landscaping equipment shedding, for tractors etc
horse manure heaps
horse training “lunge” ring
internal fencing
horse float garaging
water run off system for hosing horses, yard and cleaning vehicles; and
staff car parking.
Looking south, across Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21W) with Whitmore Square and South Terrace in the foreground and Greenhill Road and the Wayville Showgrounds in the background. This is an artist’s impression of how the proposed SA Police compound would dominate what is now part of your Open Green Public Adelaide Park Lands.
The eight hectares demanded by SA Police would be an area larger than the Adelaide Oval stadium; equivalent to 200 suburban house blocks. The fencing around the compound would be more than a kilometre long.
Here’s what would be lost:
What are the alternatives?
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has said that 15 different sites were considered before SAPOL announced on 12 March 2023 that their preferred site was this one on Golden Wattle Park / Minru Wirra (Park 21W). Mr Stevens has said that not all of the other 14 sites considered were on your Park Lands.
Since October 2022, former Senator (and former Lord Mayoral candidate) Rex Patrick has used Freedom of Information legislation to try to get access to SAPOL’s full list of possible sites.
SAPOL has refused to grant Mr Patrick access to the list, so Mr Patrick appealed to the Ombudsman for a review. The Ombudsman has reviewed all documents, and in a provisional decision dated 22 March, has suggested that most of the documents should be released.
SAPOL has been considering whether to accept the Ombudsman’s decision, and release the documents, or to appeal to a court.
What can you do?
Many conservation, nature and heritage groups have come together, each of them pleading with the State Government to save your Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21W).
You can join the chorus of support for your Park Lands. See our suggestions for action here: https://www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/blog/2023/4/5/premier-needs-more-encouragement/#what-can-you-do
Read more:
Six attacks in a year
These are the State Government projects approved, announced, or carried out, targeting your Park Lands, since the current Government was elected in March 2022:
