On Saturday morning, 25 July, Dr Doug McEvoy AM addressed a rally of concerned locals at Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi on behalf of the South East City Residents Association (SECRA). The gathering was a joint effort of SECRA, the Adelaide Park Lands Association and Butterfly Conservation South Australia.
Photo by Samra Teague
Dr McEvoy began by saying SECRA is deeply alarmed by the Malinauskas Government's decision to hold a MotoGP Grand Prix in the Adelaide Park Lands.
"We have joined the campaign to stop this race because it is the wrong project, in the wrong place, pushed through in the wrong way."
Photo by Samra Teague
He said the proposal to hold the MotoGP in the Park Lands did not come from community demand.
"It wasn't shaped by public consultation. It was dropped on South Australians just before an election, with barely any time for scrutiny. Yet the Premier now claims his election win was a 'mandate' for the MotoGP. Let's be honest — that's political theatre, not public consent. There has been no transparency about costs, no genuine debate, and no respect for the people who actually use and love these parklands."
His address focused on the social, environmental and ecological impacts on Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi.
The Social Cost
"Victoria Park is not an empty paddock waiting to be repurposed. It is one of the most heavily used public spaces in Adelaide. Every single day, and especially on weekends, thousands of people rely on this park for their physical, mental and social wellbeing."
He said the park is used by a wide range of people, including:
The East Adelaide Football Club — dozens of men and women players.
The Pashtun Cricket Club — 12 teams playing T20 cricket every weekend.
Dog walkers — one of the few places in the city where dogs can run off-leash, drawing people from across Adelaide.
Parkrun — hundreds of runners every Saturday morning.
Walkers, joggers, families and small social groups.
Countless people who visit the wetland for quiet reflection and connection with nature.
"These are not fringe activities. They are the lifeblood of a healthy community."
Pashtun Cricket
Government Plans
Dr McEvoy told the crowd that a brand-new 12-metre-wide racetrack will be carved through the southern end of the park, right down to the level of South Terrace.
“It will loop across playing fields, cut through the central garden, and remove trees before joining the V8 pit lane and exiting onto Wakefield Street, likely removing more trees in the process. This alone shrinks public space."
"But yesterday, the SA Motorsport Board confirmed something even worse: both the V8 Grand Final and the MotoGP will use this new track. That means for three to four months every year, large sections of the park, not previously fenced off, will be fenced off, occupied and made unusable — not for one event, but two, held only weeks apart, with months of construction and deconstruction."
He said the new track alignment would likely shift the long line of constructors' compounds from the eastern side of the park to the western side, "threatening to wipe out most community sports access for 4–5 months."
"None of the groups who rely on this park have been offered alternative spaces. Not one."
Photo by Liz Tidemann
The Ecological Cost
Dr McEvoy warned that trees will be lost and noise will disrupt wildlife in the park.
"We don't yet know how many trees, because the government said 45, the City of Adelaide said 200. But any loss in Pakapakanthi/Victoria Park damages the ecology, increases heat, and worsens Adelaide's urban heat-island effect."
"And then there is the noise."
He said MotoGP motorcycles produce around 130 decibels, right at the threshold of physical pain for humans, roughly twice as loud as V8 racing cars.
The races, he said, would be held back-to-back, blasting across the grasslands and into the wetland.
"This is not harmless."
"Birds will abandon nests. Foraging will drop. Temporary deafness will disrupt communication essential for survival. Breeding patterns will be affected. The butterfly conservation area will also be hit hard. This is not 'just a weekend of noise.' It is a direct assault on biodiversity."
Pram friendly sshade photo by @Sanujaa Photography
Conclusion
Dr McEvoy said SECRA's concerns are "not theoretical, not exaggerated, but real and immediate" for the recreational users of Pakapakanthi and for the ecology and biodiversity that make this parkland irreplaceable.
"A MotoGP track does not belong in the Adelaide Park Lands."
"A government cannot claim a mandate when it never asked the public the question."
"Adelaide should not sacrifice one of its most loved public spaces for a race that could be held elsewhere."
"An alternative site must be found."
About Dr McEvoy
Dr McEvoy is Emeritus Professor and the immediate past Director of the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Flinders University in South Australia. He has lived in the South East of the city for 20 years and believes that even in the face of climate change and a growing population SECRA can play a vital role in strengthening the amenity and liveability of the South East corner of the City for residents and visitors alike. He says this can be achieved by constructively scrutinising Council and Government plans, and by taking direct, hands-on action to protect and expand the greening of our Park Lands and streets.
