by Shane Sody

#ProtectParksPete

That’s a hashtag that will soon be trending on social media. If you Love Your Park Lands, help us spread this hashtag, to bring it to the notice of the Premier, Peter Malinauskas.

This social media campaign, launched today, is just the first step in community activism from our newly-established “Possum Park Protection Platoon”.

The PPPP was formed after a community meeting on Saturday 29 March, and in response to a letter, sent by the Premier, which revealed the Premier’s determination to pillage 70 hectares of your Park Lands to cater for elite, millionaire, fly-in, fly-out superstar golfers.

*The front image on a flier, that will be distributed throughout Adelaide over coming weeks*

We’ve written back to the Premier, pointing out that his letter of 28 March effectively confirmed our fears that his plans, being prepared for this Park, would lead to:

hundreds of trees being destroyed to make longer, wider fairways;
new buildings to generate multi-million dollar revenue streams; and
at least five months of fencing and grandstand construction disrupting North Adelaide each year.

A small section of the ***City of Adelaide’s Urban Tree Map***, showing just some of the trees on the south golf course on Possum Park /Pirltawardli (Park 1). How many of these trees are likely to be destroyed? The Premier’s letter makes it clear that some will live, and some will die; depending on the plans being drawn up by millionaire Greg Norman, and the wishes of ultra-rich FIFO golfers.
Zoom in on any part of this tree map here: **https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/d5a32539f144401f946629fdfa2894a7/page/Trees-by-Species**

What can you do?

Option 1) Social media photo bombing campaign

Simply take a photo of one of the many hundreds of trees in Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1) and share it on social media immediately. In your social media post:

try tagging @Peter Malinauskas,
include the hashtag: #ProtectParksPete, and
include a link to the web page for the Possum Park Protection campaign: www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/golf.

Do it repeatedly - there are hundreds of trees to photograph!

Option 2) Leaflet

Before long, you might receive one of our leaflets in your letterbox. The leaflet will urge you to do something similar: i.e.

Stick the leaflet on a tree;
Photograph it on the tree;
Share the photo on social media, tagging @Peter Malinauskas, and include the hashtag: #ProtectParksPete.
include a link to the web page for the Possum Park Protection campaign: www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/golf

Rather than wait for one of our leaflets to arrive in your letterbox, you can print your own leaflet, using this PDF file (A5-size, double sided, 1.5 Mb)

Option 3) Join the Possum Park Protection Platoon

If you’d like to help the PPPP distribute these leaflets (or help in other ways) then contact our Executive Officer, David Winderlich: executive@adelaide-parklands.asn.au

Option 4) Donate

With more funds we can print and distribute more leaflets, and campaign in other ways too. Donate HERE.

Why?

To recap: Premier Peter Malinauskas has plans for Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Adelaide Park Lands). He plans to spend up to $100 million to satisfy some of the world's elite FIFO golfers.

But this would come at a drastic cost to you, your environment, and your Open, Green, Public North Adelaide golf courses, in this part of your Park Lands.

His vision: turning your cherished golf course Park into a profit centre: a year-round multi-million dollar golf carnival.

His plans, being prepared for this Park, would lead to:

hundreds of trees being destroyed to make longer, wider fairways;
new buildings to generate multi-million dollar revenue streams; and
at least five months of fencing and grandstand construction disrupting North Adelaide each year.

Tell the Premier: your Park Lands must not be pillaged for FIFO millionaires. Keep them as Open, Green, Public.

The author of this article, Shane Sody, will be retiring on 27 April 2025 after eight years as President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association. He is also the editor of the semi-monthly newsletter, "Open Green Public".

Subscribe here.

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