Privatising Golf in Park 1
In late 2018, the Adelaide City Council tried to hide this story until after the Council election in November of that year. However the cat got out of the bag, and APA made this an election issue for all Council candidates.
In 2018, the Council received a secret report that recommended building a multi-million dollar commercial function centre on Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1) and turning over most of the Park to commercial operators to make a profit from the North Adelaide Golf Courses.
The report was confidential, although members of the City Council were briefed on it and sworn to secrecy.
The Advertiser reported ($) that a "masterplan" for Park 1 had been completed by consultants GHD Woodheads. However, the so-called “Draft North Adelaide Golf Course Master Plan for Public Consultation” received in July 2018, was marked “confidential until 2025.”
In a City Council meeting in August 2018, Councillor Philip Martin urged that the report be made public before the November 2018 election. However, his effort did not succeed and the report remained under wraps, for another three years.
In 2018, the City Council "deferred" the matter pending "consultation with the Kaurna community" but it's understood no such consultation has been undertaken. Nor has any action been taken to implement the report's recommendations for golf course upgrades.
Nevertheless, the Council on 11 May 2021 refused to release the whole of the report and most of its detail is blacked out, redacted as still being commercial-in-confidence. You can see the redacted report here. (PDF, 13 pages, 7.8 Mb).
The plan showed proposals for changing the layout of the three golf courses, and a fenced driving range.
An image from the consultant’s report of July 2018 recommending changes to the golf course layouts, and new buildings.
More importantly, the report also canvassed (in a proposed "Stage 2") erecting a new multi-million dollar "Function Centre / Clubhouse, Maintenance Facility" on or near the site of an 1840's Kaurna school - the original "Pirltawardli school".
A plaque near the Par 3 golf course putting green, commemorating the 1840’s “Pirltawardli” Kaurna school, run by Lutheran missionaries in the first few years of European settlement.
For a full analysis of the issue, see this report from APA's former Secretary, Emeritus Professor Damien Mugavin.
This is the existing large clubhouse and function centre in Possum Park / Pirltawardli (Park 1) run by the Council. However apparently this Park Lands intrusion is considered (by Council's consultants) to be too small.
THE DEATH OF 1,000 CUTS
Repeated Park Lands losses were once characterised as like "mice nibbling away at cheese". However recent attacks seem more like a debaucherous feast with participants devouring whatever is available, while it lasts.
The rate of Park Lands loss seems set to ratchet up exponentially unless the public can be alerted to save what's really precious and priceless.
There are many other sites within Adelaide Park Lands that are under imminent threat, or current attack.
If you think Adelaide can do better than this, then TAKE ACTION!
