by Shane Sody

When the State Government wants to take away some of your Park Lands, decisions can be made, announced, and put into action very quickly, to pursue a hoped-for political advantage.

But when there’s an opportunity to protect your Park Lands instead, then decisions tend to get postponed, indefinitely. Here’s a recap of various attempts to protect your Park Lands in recent years, and what has happened to each of them.

1. State Heritage

Your Park Lands were nominated for State Heritage Listing in 2009. The State Heritage Council delayed for eight years before investigating this, but eventually (in December 2018) made a recommendation for State Heritage listing. Almost six years later, (fifteen years after the nomination was made) that listing still has not been put into effect.

2. Full protection for Helen Mayo Park

It was a 2022 election promise from SA Labor that it would “restore full protection” to Helen Mayo Park (Park 27) by reversing a re-zoning in January 2022 by the former Liberal Government, which made this Park an “entertainment zone”. More than two years later, this promise has not (yet) been fufilled. In November 2022, only part of Helen Mayo Park had its zoning reverted to Park Lands.

The section of Helen Mayo Park immediately west of the Morphett Street bridge is still liable to be taken over, in future, by a building of the same scale and size as the previous Government's proposed Riverbank Arena, or another extension of the Adelaide Convention Centre.

We raised this issue in a meeting with the Premier on 26 September 2023, and again in a meeting with the Minister for Planning, Nick Champion, on 17 April 2024, and reminded each of them about the March 2022 election promise. To date, there has been no reply.

*Planning Minister Nick Champion receiving a framed Adelaide Park Lands poster from APA President Shane Sody, and Deputy President Ben Ayris (right) on 17 April 2024.*

3. Police barracks threat remains

Although the State Government backed away from its threat in 2023, to build massive new Police barracks on Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21 West) there is still a law that allows the Government to reverse that decision. It’s Section 10 of the New Women’s and Children’s Hospital Act 2022.

A bill to repeal that single Section 10 passed the Legislative Council in August 2023, with the support of the Liberals, Greens, and SA Best, but for 12 months the State Government has refused to debate or vote on that Bill, in the House of Assembly.

*Despite a 2023 decision to locate the SAPOL mounted unit at Gepps Cross, the law still allows the Police Minister to confiscate any part of your Park Lands for this purpose, at any time.*

4. Re-zoning protection

Many times, successive State Governments have side-stepped the weak protection for your Park Lands in the planning system. They have done this, by using the simple expedient of a Ministerial re-zoning, to authorise what would otherwise be forbidden in a “Park Lands” zone.

Successive Ministers have simply re-zoned a targeted part of your Park Lands, whenever the Government wanted to build anything that was inconsistent with Open Green Public Park Lands.

A bill that would prevent re-zoning of your Park Lands without bipartisan political support passed the Legislative Council in August 2023, backed by the Liberals, Greens, and SA Best. However for 12 months the State Government has refused to debate or vote on that Bill in the House of Assembly.

The Bill was moved in the Legislative Council by the Greens Robert Simms (left); then picked up and moved in the House of Assembly by the Liberals’ Jack Batty (right). But Labor MPs have spent the past 12 months ignoring the Bill.

The author of this article, Shane Sody, is the President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association and the editor of the semi-monthly newsletter, "Open Green Public".

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