by Shane Sody

The State Government’s hasty swoop to take over a large swathe of your Park Lands has cleared the way for a loss of biodiversity and large intrusive new buildings, infrastructure and more car parks on an enormous 86 hectares of your Open Green Public spaces.

Without warning, without any consultation nor electoral mandate, the State Government has used its Parliamentary majority (with co-operation from three cross-benchers) to introduce, then pass (within just nine days) the North Adelaide Public Golf Course Bill 2025.

The legislation now gives a single State Government Minister absolute control over as much of your Adelaide Park Lands as the Minister wants. Here’s what the Minister gets, for starters:

*The new legislation assigns ownership of all of the marked land - about 86 hectares - to “the Minister”. It covers not only the 71 hectares of Possum Park / Pirltawardli (****Park 1****) - home to more than 100 species - but ALSO John E. Brown Park (****Park 27A****) approximately 15 hectares west of the railway line. What’s more, the legislation allows the Minister to take even more land, anywhere else, if wanted for ”the project”.*

The Bill was passed within hours in the House of Assembly, along party lines, on 18 June, and went through the Legislative Council a week later, on Thursday 26 June.

Some MLC’s spoke passionately against the Bill:

“Giving Labor more power over the Parklands is like giving Count Dracula the keys to the blood bank. They see the Parklands as a land bank, and they are going to continue to sink their teeth into them.” Robert Simms, Greens.

“This bill is a real doozy. … it gives unfettered powers to the minister of the day and without any recourse to anyone.” Michelle Lensink, Liberal

“I am not convinced that we need to be sacrificing our state's reputation and our precious Parklands for what is golf but bloodier.” - Tammy Franks, Independent

You can read the full debate in the Legislative Council here: (PDF, 623Kb, 73 pages)

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.

For a start, the Government’s decision to push through this Bill with such haste is in direct conflict with its own Ministerial Code of Conduct. The Code says:

“A Minister must use all reasonable endeavours to obtain all relevant information and facts before making a decision on a particular issue and should consult, as appropriate, in relation to the matter at issue.”

Did any Minister “consult on the matter”? Well, no:

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 is not just about the three-day LIV Golf event. It 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 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 now at the mercy of a single State Minister, who intends to turn Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1) and John E Brown Park (Park 27A) of your Adelaide Park Lands) into profit-generators.

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.