by Shane Sody
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has refused to intervene to protect the National Heritage values of your Adelaide Park Lands, even as construction of a skyscraper gets under way on the Festival Plaza in your Park 26.
A construction crane is on the former open Plaza forecourt, preparing to erect a 38-storey office tower on your public land that has been leased to Walker Corporation for $1 per year over 100 years.
Minister Murray Watt is expected to receive, shortly, advice from the Australian Heritage Council on whether the tower would damage the National Heritage values of Adelaide’s State Parliament House, or the values of your National Heritage-listed Park Lands.
But the Minister won’t take any action unless the Heritage Council gives him advice that differs from his own Department’s confusing, contradictory advice.
The stalemate was revealed under intense questioning this week, in a meeting of the Senate’s Environment and Communications Legislation Committee. South Australian Greens Senator, Barbara Pocock told the Committee it was “incredible” that construction had started, without either building approval, nor long-delayed advice from the Australian Heritage Council:
Excerpts from Committee proceedings on Tuesday 10 February.
For the full 17-minute Q&A session see this link.
The convenor of the Save Festival Plaza Alliance, Robert Farnan has congratulated Senator Pocock for challenging the Minister and says the fight is not over. Mr Farnan says in coming days, there is an opportunity to show the Premier, Peter Malinauskas:
“…that yes, Adelaide does have a spine, and that enough is enough, that he has no right to give away the heart of our city and to get considerably less than the price of a coffee back. A lease of one dollar per year for 100 years is absurd. Why won't the government let the public know the details of this deal? What are they hiding? Why is the government in such a hurry to have the Tower built? What are they covering up?”
The Save Festival Plaza Alliance is holding a “Mark the Moment” gathering, on the steps of Parliament House on Tuesday 17 February at 5pm, to mark the intrusion of a construction crane, well before development approval is granted.
Mr Farnan is also appealing for supporters to follow the Save Festival Plaza Alliance, on Facebook; and Instagram.
Confusing, contradictory advice
The Department’s advice to Minister Watt is confusing and contradictory because its guidelines on protecting National Heritage Places say relevant considerations include whether national heritage values would be notably “obscured or diminished.” Surely, there can be no doubt that a 38-storey skyscraper would “obscure” and “diminish” the heritage values of the adjacent State Parliament House and adjacent Park Lands.
At the same time, the Department has turned those guidelines upside down, by advising Minister Watt that views of the new Walker building FROM Parliament House or FROM the Park Lands are irrelevant considerations. That was made clear by the responses received during Senator Pocock’s questioning on 10 February.
It’s on the basis of that flawed reverse argument that Minister Watt is refusing to intervene, despite expecting some independent advice from the Australian Heritage Council.
