by Shane Sody

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws have finally revealed why there’s been little to no progress in the campaign to get UNESCO World Heritage listing of your Adelaide Park Lands.

*Where’s the blockage on the Adelaide Park Lands World Heritage bid?*

In October 2024 self-styled “transparency warrior” former Senator Rex Patrick fired off FOI applications to:

the Adelaide City Council;
the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water;
Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek; and
Deputy Premier, Minister for Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Susan Close.

Rex Patrick: “I seek access to any documentation/briefs/communications held by the official that bears primary responsibility for advancing a listing of the Adelaide Park Land on the UNESCO World Heritage List.”

Now the results of Rex Patrick’s FOI requests have been received, it’s easy to see why almost nothing has happened.

In short, the City Council this year rejected a recommendation for a $160,000 funding allocation in its 2024-25 budget. Meantime, the State Government has allocated NO resources to advancing the bid.

Background

Before the 2022 State election, we surveyed all political parties to ask: “If elected, how will you assist in advancing this World Heritage bid?”

Most parties (including SA Labor) responded positively (read what they all said) but three years later, there appears to have been little to no progress,

One complicating factor is that the Park Lands bid has been incorporated into a wider ambitious attempt to also get World Heritage recognition for the rural landscapes of the Adelaide Hills. This linkage is problematic, because of the thousands of private land owners in the Adelaide Hills.

Other problems - lack of $$$

One FOI document, in particular, sheets home responsibility for the lack of progress. An internal City Council email briefing, dated 22 July 2024, draws a sharp comparison to a Victorian bid to obtain World Heritage listing for the Victorian Goldfields, which has attracted $500,000 Victorian Government funding.

The email includes this summary:

There is little doubt that Adelaide and its Rural Settlement Landscapes are of World Heritage significance though the legibility/representativeness of some of the earmarked areas are reducing with each passing year.

The key barriers to progressing a World Heritage Bid are:

1. A World Heritage Bid is the most complex heritage listing project that can be undertaken by a country, requiring extraordinary political will and championing, with many taking up to 30yrs.

2. A World Heritage Bid must be supported by State Government, and preferably managed by them to be successful. This is the case with the majority of World Heritage bids in Australia.

3. Lack of budget to undertake sufficient research and heritage survey work to clearly identify what attributes are proposed to be included. Without a defined boundary we can’t be clear on who we need to consult with and who will be affected.

4. Political issues – it’s expected that the Bid will affect 1000s of public and private landowners with restrictions on development and urban growth, which may prove publicly/politically unpopular.

5. Need to develop an adequate management strategy that provides confidence to the World Heritage Committee that we can protect the listed attributes in perpetuity. This will also be required to clearly identify what the impact is to private owners.

6. Hard to define cost/benefits which may take a long time to realise/break even

**Not only World Heritage; State Heritage is still also blocked**

We’ve previously pointed out years of State Government inaction on State Heritage listing of your Park Lands. The State Heritage Council recommended this action more than six years ago, in December 2018, but since then, nothing has changed.

However other State Heritage applications are being processed and approved. Over the 2023-24 financial year, a century-old cinema, a beachside block of flats and a cave complex were among 12 places added to the South Australian Heritage Register. There has been no such luck for your Adelaide Park Lands.

The continual chipping away of your Park Lands was raised as an issue last year at a World Congress on the conservation of the world's monuments and sites.

What can you do? Take action.

The author of this article, Shane Sody, is the President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association and the editor of the semi-monthly newsletter, "Open Green Public".

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https://adelaideparklands.m-pages.com/YWRrGW/adelaide-park-lands-assn-mailing