The Adelaide Park Lands are an irresistible temptation.  All sorts of schemers want a bit of the action.  After all, who wouldn't want "free" land for their pet project?

Between 2019 and 2023, community activism from APA and others successfully headed off:

• two attempts by the Adelaide Football Club to locate their administrative and commercial headquarters on Park Lands;

• a proposal by the former Liberal State Government to destroy Helen Mayo Park with a $662 million stadium; and

• a proposal for an eight-hectare security-fenced police compound.

However there are other, ongoing threats to the irreplaceable garland of Adelaide's Park Lands:

Other recent issues have dropped off the list. Our advocacy successfully headed off two attempts by the Adelaide Football Club to locate their administrative and commercial headquarters on Park Lands. We also played some part in protecting Helen Mayo Park from the previous State Liberal Government’s attempt to destroy the Park with a stadium.

The City Council seems to have gone cold on its 2020 idea of setting up a wildlife sanctuary in your Park Lands. However our advocacy in recent years was not sufficient to prevent the loss of portions of your Park Lands for:

• the new Botanic High School which is now built on Park 11; and set to expand further into the Park; nor

• the 2016-17 O-Bahn City Access Project through Rundle Park and Rymill Park; nor

• the Adelaide Oval hotel in Park 26; nor

• construction of an office tower and casino extension on Festival Plaza in Park 26.

Our advocacy did play a role in protecting your Helen Mayo Park in Park 27 (at least in 2018) from a City Council proposal for a commercial helipad.

Ongoing activities

Apart from these current issues, we have four ongoing activities designed to focus community attention on, and raise awareness of the rarity, beauty and world importance of the Adelaide Park Lands.  These regular activities are:

• EXPLORE: regular guided walks throughout the year in various parts of your Park Lands;

• INSPIRE: the biennial Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize;

• INSPIRE: the Park Lands 'photo of the day' and

• RESTORE: Twice yearly “Clean up” days in Parks, March and October.