The Labor Party has U-turned on its previous support for State Heritage listing of your Adelaide Park Lands, while flagging yet another Park Lands attack, the fourth in just seven months.
Heritage U-turn
Your Open Green Public Park Lands were nominated for State Heritage listing back in 2009. The nomination was endorsed by the State Heritage Council in 2018, but two successive State Governments have failed to implement the recommendation.
In February 2022, with a State election looming, all parties in State Parliament backed a Bill moved by the Greens’ Robert Simms, that would have brought State Heritage listing into operation.
However on Thursday 20 October 2022, Labor members in the Upper House voted against the same Bill.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher told the Legislative Council: "This is not the preferred approach for creating state heritage areas. In the government’s view, it fails to recognise the roles of the South Australian Heritage Council and the planning minister."
These remarks are hard to understand, because the Heritage Council made its recommendation in 2018 and successive Planning Ministers have failed to deal with this matter over the past four years.
Robert Simms, MLC
Robert Simms says South Australians will be dismayed.
“This is a case of Labor doing one thing before the election and doing something entirely different once they’re on the Government benches.”
The Heritage Places (Adelaide Park Lands) Amendment Bill 2022 passed the Upper House on 20 October 2022 with the support of the Greens, Liberals, and SA Best, but is doomed to failure in the Lower House without support from Labor (Government) MPs.
Read the sad history of non-action on State Heritage listing.
Fourth attack in seven months
Since being elected in March, the current State Government has three times rejected opportunities to choose brownfield sites for promised new infrastructure. Within its first seven months in office, the State Government has chosen parts of your Park Lands as construction sites for each one of:
a $3 billion new hospital with associated eight-storey car park.
On 20 October 2022, the State Government indicated there would likely be another Park Lands site chosen, to house the stables and offices of the SA Police Mounted Operations Unit and their horses.
No site has yet been chosen, but draft legislation introduced to State Parliament, would give the Minister the power to seize any part of your Park Lands (at no cost) to hand over for new police buildings.
Lord Mayoral candidate Rex Patrick has told InDaily: “The Premier committed to protecting the Park Lands before the election. Less than a year later he’s ripped up that commitment and, along with it, much of his credibility.
“What adds insult to injury is the fact the legislation suggests that the Park Land that will be acquired for the new barracks has no value, when in fact it is priceless.”
Rex Patrick
READ MORE ABOUT EACH OF THESE FOUR ATTACKS; AND WHAT YOU CAN DO:
WOMEN’s and CHILDREN’s HOSPITAL and associated CAR PARK;
BOTANIC HIGH SCHOOL (including the role of the outgoing City Council (supposedly in caretaker mode) that endorsed the attack; and
