by Shane Sody
Despite a promise of “extensive consultation” the State Government is still with-holding most of its plans for the North Adelaide golf course in the urban forested Possum Park /Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Adelaide Park Lands).
You can urge the Premier to identify every one of the 585 mature trees that he admits he wants to destroy.
A diagram of the proposed Greg Norman-designed golf course, that the Premier wants "developed" on this urban forest is remarkable for what it DOESN’T say.
In an attempt to control the narrative on his proposed tree massacre, on 18 December 2025 Premier Peter Malinauskas released a computer-generated video, and imagery including this diagram of a proposed "Championship Course", a "Short Course" and a "Driving Range."
But the diagram fails to identify any of the doomed 585 trees, nor areas to be set aside for car parking, maintenance sheds, a new clubhouse, nor storage sites for all of the temporary viewing stands that would be regularly unpacked and deployed within this urban forest that the Government intends to attack.
Even though the Government has refused to identify the 585 trees it's targeting, it's obvious that such massive tree destruction is totally at odds with the Government's own so-called "Greening Adelaide" strategy that the Premier himself launched in March 2025.
Nor did the Premier's glossy publicity on 18 December mention the extent of fencing that would be required, to keep you out of your Park Lands, prior to and during major events. Fences would be required often and not solely for an annual LIV Golf tournament. Government legislation allows the entire urban forested golf course to be entirely fenced off multiple times every year.
Nor does the Premier's news release admit that the proposed driving range on the John E Brown Park (Park 27A) would require huge fences or nets (5 stories high) to be operating as an impenetrable barrier to this Park all the time.
The Premier's publicity emphasises that for every tree he wants to hack down, three others (or seedlings) would be planted.
A century-old sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) off War Memorial Drive in Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1). Three seedlings to replace it? A fair swap?
But he has failed to acknowledge the advice of the Government's own Green Adelaide agency on the importance of retaining large mature trees for the cooling benefits they provide and the habitat they provide to the Park's blooming biodiversity.
The golf course within Possum Park /Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Adelaide Park Lands) has multiple benefits. Providing a place to play golf is merely one of its features - not the whole story.
Sadly, media reports of the Premier’s announcement on 18 December failed to notice the glaring omissions from the Government’s messaging.
It would seem that no journalist has received information from the Premier or his advisers, to identify any of the 585 trees that the Government says would be removed.
What can you do?
Simply send an email, to ask the Premier to identify all of the trees that he wants to chop down.
Click here for a pre-drafted email that you can send to the Premier, with a copy to the Member for Adelaide, the Environment Minister Lucy Hood; urging them to “Release the Hit List”.
If the email link doesn’t work for you, here is the suggested text, that you can copy and paste if you choose:
To: premier@sa.gov.au
cc: adelaide@parliament.sa.gov.au
Dear Premier
On 18 December 2025, you unveiled a draft design for a "re-developed" golf course in Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1 of the world-unique Adelaide Park Lands.)
You have previously promised that when a draft design for a redeveloped golf course was available there would be "extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders".
As a South Australian with an interest in the Adelaide Park Lands, I am one of the many "relevant stakeholders".
On 18 December you advised that the draft design would require the destruction of 585 trees.
When will the promised "extensive consultation" on this draft design commence?
Will the promised "extensive consultation" include accurate identification of all 585 trees nominated for destruction?
Yours sincerely,
Wasn’t it going to be “thousands” of trees?
International golf course designer, Peter Dalkeith Scott earlier predicted that to widen and lengthen all fairways, as would be required for a “championship” course, it would have been necessary to fell not just hundreds, but thousands of mature trees.
In response to the Premier’s media release of 18 December, Mr Scott responded on 20 December, to say:
“It’s great that the government paid attention to the potential 1,000s of tree loss from full redevelopment of the south course and reverted to lengthening and renovating the course.
“The plans don’t show where the new clubhouse, parking areas or maintenance facilities will be.
“The driving range in Park 27a will still need high fencing and will be exclusive to the club.
“Also, vigilance during construction will be required as the fairways are very narrow (23-27m, mostly) and tree lined to the fairways. New earthworks and utilities will damage the roots of these trees.
“The course is renovated to cater for scratch and professional golfers, not mid to high handicappers or beginners.
“Golf Safety zone guidelines also don’t seem to be applied.
“And.. there is no safe space for tournament spectators along the fairways in this layout.”
International golf course designer, Peter Dalkeith Scott
North Adelaide author, journalist and Adelaide Park Lands historian, John Bridgland describes the status quo as: “a Sargasso Sea of ambiguity. The project’s commencement schedule is becalmed. Deliberately.” (PDF, 8pp, 306Kb)
John Bridgland
The author of this article, Shane Sody, was the President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association from 2107 to 2025 and remains 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
