by Shane Sody
The State Government’s hasty swoop to take over a large swathe of your Park Lands is designed to clear the way for a loss of biodiversity and large intrusive new buildings, infrastructure and more car parks on your Open Green Public spaces.
Without warning, without any consultation nor electoral mandate, the State Government has used its Parliamentary majority to introduce, then immediately pass in the House of Assembly, the North Adelaide Public Golf Course Bill 2025 that gives a single State Government Minister absolute control over as much of your Adelaide Park Lands as the Minister wants.
At the time of writing (19 June 2025) the Bill was before the Legislative Council where it also was expected to pass, because two independent Members had given their in-principle support even before the Bill was tabled in Parliament or became publicly available.
It might well have passed both Houses of Parliament and come into operation by the time you are reading this.
APA President Sarah Russo says the Bill must be rejected in its present form.
Ignoring all the checks and balances
The haste and extraordinary breadth of this Park Lands takeover flies in the face of many checks and balances of good government, including many of the State Government’s own policies, rules and laws.
The City of Adelaide - IGNORED
The State Government’s advisory body on your Park Lands (Kadaltilla) - IGNORED
The statutory Adelaide Park Lands Management Strategy “Towards 2036” - IGNORED
Treasury costings! No estimate has been released and the Bill actually says that the project can proceed without approval for expenditure of money - SECTION 12;
The biodiversity of the area. There is no provision in the Bill taking any account of the more than 100 species found in Possum Park;
The Premier’s promise of “making it easy for community and business to engage in and contribute to the development of government policy and decision making” - IGNORED
Protections in the Local Government Act 1999 for “community land” - SIDESTEPPED by taking the land away from local government control - SECTION 8.
State Government offers that you can “join the conversation to shape our future” with its “yoursay” website - IGNORED
Advice from the State Government’s own “Green Adelaide” agency on the value of protecting mature trees - IGNORED
The State Government’s own 2025 “Greening Adelaide” strategy - IGNORED
The State Government’s own rules on protecting Adelaide’s tree canopy - IGNORED
Planning regulations can be ignored because the entire project is “deemed to satisfy” planning law - SECTION 11
Our petition to “Protect Possum Park, Pete” - IGNORED (Sign HERE)
No “assessment, decision, consent, approval, authorisation, certificate, licence, permit or permission” is required for the project - SECTION 12;
No “consultation, inquiry, notification or other process or procedural step” is required for the project - SECTION 12;
The Roads (Opening and Closing) Act 1991 is bypassed - so the Minister can unilaterally create or close any roads - SECTION 15
Tearing up any rules that might limit the Minister’s absolute powers.
Upgraded course, downgraded Park
The three North Adelaide golf courses (North course, South course, and the smaller Par 3 course) are all contained within the large, 71-hectare Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Adelaide Park Lands).
The Bill allows the Minister to take over not just Possum Park but also the adjacent John E Brown Park (Park 27A) and any other land that the Minister wants for the purpose of the re-development project.
No-one would dispute that the Premier has a clear vision for your Park Lands: that they should be “developed” to maximise crowd attendance and revenue.
But is that really the purpose of Parks? Is that why you value Open, Green, Public spaces? Is that what makes Adelaide special; as the world’s only City in a Park? To attract crowds?
The re-development authorised by the sweeping powers of this legislation would have a profound effect on your Park Lands well into the future.
It is obvious that the balance in this part of your Park Lands would be tipped towards away from biodiversity, and the intrinsic values of open, forested, peaceful, calm places of reflection, and tipped heavily in favour of commercialisation; and elite, professional sport.
Losing trees and other biodiversity, large new buildings, new car parks, months each year erecting “temporary” stands and fences; all this, and more is on the table to turn Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Adelaide Park Lands) into a profit-generator.
This would be the case not just for three days of an annual LIV Golf event, but permanently.
Three new trees for every one removed?
The Bill provides at Section 13 that “for every tree that is removed in the course of undertaking the project not less than 3 new trees (or seedlings for not less than 3 new trees) are planted within the project site and support zones.”
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?
Conservation SA says:
“The evidence is clear: big trees improve our health and wellbeing, increase property values, and reduce the build-up and trapping of heat. They are arguably the single best infrastructure investment to prepare our streets and suburbs for a changing climate.”
Yet Adelaide’s mature tree canopy at 17%, is well below target. That’s why the State Government’s own Green Adelaide agency advises that mature trees should be protected.
What can you do?
We staged a “Protect Possum Park” rally on World Environment Day, 5 June 2025. Another rally is being planned, with the support of the “Save Festival Plaza Alliance.”
In the meantime, see our 6 suggestions for immediate action.
What others have said
Writing for InDaily, Channel Seven’s Mike Smithson asks: where will the required colossus clubrooms be constructed at North Adelaide?”
Greens MLC Robert Simms says “I don’t want to see this appalling process become a precedent for how this Government deals with the City Council or the Park Lands.”
Lord Mayor Jane Lomax Smith says the Bill would “take 15 to 20 per cent of your Park Lands out of Council’s care and control” and “it is impossible to describe this as anything other than a Park Lands takeover.”
City Councillor Keiran Snape calls it “the biggest” attack on the Park Lands so far and has vowed to join the community to fight it.
The author of this article, Shane Sody, is the immediate Past President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association, and the editor of the semi-monthly newsletter, "Open Green Public".
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