The State Government has offered no assurances about protecting your Park Lands trees when deciding where to build a new Adelaide Aquatic Centre.

An overwhelming proportion of 682 survey respondents have urged the Government not to chop down dozens of trees but instead, pursue a win-win by choosing a brownfield site in an inner-city suburb for its promised new $82 million Aquatic Centre.

However the State Government has so far refused to acknowledge this community preference and has not yet resiled from its threat to bulldoze dozens of trees at one of three targeted sites in Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2).

Last month, a so-called community reference group of just 12 people was not allowed to inspect the 682 responses to our community survey. They were instructed to focus only on these three sites, marked above, in your Open Green Public Park 2.

Letters from Park Lands supporters to the Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis are being referred to the CEO of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) John Whelan.

Mr Whelan, in a letter dated 5 August 2022, hinted that tree destruction was locked in to the State Government thinking, saying only that "the Department will intend to maintain as many mature trees as possible".

Read his letter here.

After receiving all 682 community responses from our survey, the office of Minister Koutantonis responded on 15 August 2022 that all "facility design comments [from the survey] will be fed into the design consultation process."

This response was disappointing because most of the 682 community responses were not about "facility design".

They were about facility location.

APA understands that DIT will recommend to the State Government that the new Aquatic Centre be constructed in the south-western quadrant of the Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2), where 61 mature trees including these pictured below would be at risk of destruction.

However the decision is not for Mr Whelan nor his Department to make. It is a political decision that will be made by the State Government, on advice from Minister Koutsantonis.

Choose a win-win

This is not merely a decision about building infrastructure. It is a decision about two community assets: an Aquatic Centre and a Park - part of your Open Green Public Park Lands.

It is possible to have the best outcome for both of these community assets. There is great potential for a win-win, for both a great new Aquatic Centre AND a fully-restored Denise Norton Park, part of your Open Green Public Adelaide Park Lands.

Earlier this year the State Government declared a climate emergency. During the State election campaign, Labor promised to protect Adelaide's tree canopy. Deputy Labor leader Susan Close (now Deputy Premier) promised that even the Department of Instructure and Transport would be subject to new tougher tree protection laws:

"Labor's commitment is to improve SA's tree regulations so they are the best in Australia. .... Under the current regulations, DIT [the Department of Infrastructure and Transport] is not required to submit planning approval for the removal of significant and regulated trees ... The community believes that the Government should lead by example. This exception is not in line with community expectations and allows for the unnecessary removal of many of our mature trees."

A 2021 comparison of Australia's tree laws by the Conservation Council found that SA had the worst tree protection legislation in the nation.

The chair of the State Government's own Green Adelaide Landscape Board, Professor Chris Daniels said in the Foreword to the Conservation Council report:

“This report identifies just how far behind the rest of Australia we are. … The report clearly identifies that we need more comprehensive legislation to protect our forest.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You can keep up the pressure and urge your local State MP (especially Government, i.e Labor Party MPs) to honour community wishes and support a win-win by choosing a brownfield site and not any part of your Open Green Public Park Lands for the promised new Aquatic Centre.

Here are the contact details for:

• Minister Tom Koutantonis: Minister.Koutsantonis@sa.gov.au

• and the member for Adelaide, Lucy Hood: adelaide@parliament.sa.gov.au

Here is list of all State MPs and their contact details: https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/en/Members/Members-Home

The message to each of them can be very simple:

Subject: Please make it a win-win for swimmers and Park Lands

“Please ensure that the new Aquatic Centre is located on a brownfield site so that the existing Adelaide Park Lands site is RESTORED and the rest of the Park PROTECTED.”

This is the win-win scenario: