by Shane Sody
Deputy Premier, Susan Close, has stopped short of offering any timeline for long-delayed action to list your Adelaide Park Lands as a State Heritage Area.
Despite a recommendation from the State Heritage Council back in December 2018, neither the former Liberal Government (during its time in office 2018-22) nor the current Labor Government (since their election in March 2022) have acted to implement State Heritage listing of your Open Green Public Park Lands.
More than 13 years after we made the nomination, and more than four years after the State Heritage Council agreed, there is still no light at the end of the State Heritage tunnel for your Park Lands.
In the most recent letter to APA (on 10 January 2023) Deputy Premier Susan Close repeated the tired cliche of the previous Government that a long-postponed "Heritage Standard" was still being "developed".
No such standard is required for interim State Heritage listing. The task of developing such a standard has been used for the past four years as an excuse for failure to act on State Heritage listing.
Four years of delay, with no end in sight. We’re keeping tabs on the lack of action.
In November 2022, Opposition leader David Speirs announced that a commitment to pursue World Heritage Listing for your Park Lands would form part of the Liberal party's agenda for the State election in 2026.
Labor has also committed to “working with the City Council” on the goal of World Heritage listing. But their actions suggest they are not serious. The State Government’s recent actions have been inconsistent with valuing your Adelaide Park Lands.
Read the latest correspondence with the Deputy Premier here: 2022-23 State Heritage letters - Deputy Premier Susan Close (PDF, 5 pages, 974 Kb)
