by Sarah Russo
The Northern Parklands Act 2025 might sound like a simple plan to create more open space for communities in Adelaide’s northern suburbs — but the fine print tells a different story.
Behind the name lies a new legal framework that risks setting a dangerous precedent for the way all South Australians’ public Park Lands are governed, funded, and developed.
A New Trust With Old Powers
The Act establishes a Northern Parklands Trust, a new statutory body with sweeping powers to acquire, lease and develop land across the northern suburbs.
The State Government describes rhis area, marked in green near Gawler as a new ‘Northern Parklands’ near what ir calls a new “Kudla growth area” for new housing.
The soon-to-be established Northern Parklands Trust will have the power to build commercial facilities, including hotels, resorts, and entertainment venues, and fund them through levies on local councils — meaning ratepayers will foot the bill.
The Northern Park Lands Trust will not be subject to the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005, nor the overview of Kadaltilla/ the Park Lands Authority, which provides advice to both the State Government and the City Council about your Adelaide Park Lands.
Rather, it establishes an entirely different governance model. There are fears that this new governance model might be imposed, later, further south into your Adelaide Park Lands.
The Glover East Playspace in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina (Park 15 of your Adelaide Park Lands).
A Blank Cheque for Government
As Greens MLC Robert Simms warned in Parliament, the Northern Parklands Act 2025 effectively gives the government “a blank cheque to seize public space for development and pass the bill on to councils and their ratepayers.”
His statement captures the core concern: this is a shift in control and accountability. Under this new Act, the State Government can acquire council land without consent, impose levies, and commercialise green space — all with minimal public consultation or Parliamentary oversight.
Amendments proposed by the Greens sought to:
Ban hotels, resorts, and other high-risk commercial projects on public land;
Require council agreement before any land acquisition; and
Protect communities from being charged for State-driven developments.
Those proposed protections were rejected by the Government.
The ‘Bush Magic’ Playspace in Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2 of your Adelaide Park Lands)
What this means for your Adelaide Park Lands
Although the North Adelaide Golf Course within Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Park Lands) is not part of the Northern Parklands Act 2025, the State Government’s direction in both cases is clear.
The Northern Parklands model lays the groundwork for future “trust parklands”; i.e. individual precincts controlled by minister-appointed boards, with commercial mandates and funding streams independent of local communities.
If replicated, it could erode the unified identity of your Adelaide Park Lands and weaken their standing as a National heritage-listed, world-heritage-nominated landscape.
We’ve seen this pattern before: carve off a section, re-define its purpose, call it “activation.”
Over time, the very principle of open, freely accessible Park Lands, the one that makes Adelaide’s city design globally unique, becomes compromised.
A better way forward
South Australians deserve green space that stays green — without loopholes that allow public land to be sold, leased, or repurposed. An alternative approach would be to:
invest in existing local parks and reserves, improving amenities and safety without changing their legal status;
expand Green Adelaide's remit and partner with community groups like APA to coordinate ecological restoration and community stewardship across northern suburbs; and
create joint management models that include Kaurna representatives, councils, and community organisations — ensuring local knowledge and traditional values guide all Park Land decisions..
This approach builds genuine community ownership rather than creating new bureaucracies that fragment accountability
People in the northern suburbs, and across Adelaide, deserve green space they can enjoy without barriers, bookings, or entry fees.
Public land should stay in public hands.
Your Park Lands are not a blank canvas for commercial projects or ministerial ambition — they are a civic inheritance that belongs to everyone.
The Northern Parklands Act has passed Parliament and is about to be brought into operation.
Nevertheless, the conversation is far from over. South Australians must stay alert to how future variations or “trust” models could reshape the city’s green heart.
Our message is simple: once public land is lost, it doesn’t come back.
Call to action
If you care about open green space, now is the time to speak up.
Support organisations like the Adelaide Park Lands Association, which continue to fight for transparency, accountability, and the long-term protection of our city’s greatest public asset
The author of this article, Sarah Russo, is the President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association.
