State Heritage Assessment of Park Lands
Your Adelaide Park Lands received National Heritage Listing in 2008 so it was a no-brainer (back in 2009) that we would ask the State Heritage Council to consider whether SA should follow the Federal Government's lead and declare that your Park Lands are worthy of "heritage" recognition.
State (and World) Heritage listing of your Park Lands is among APA's key 'Objectives' in our Constitution.
We're not sure why it took so long, but a State "heritage assessment" of the Adelaide Park Lands and City Squares finally began in April 2017. A period of public consultation occurred from June to September 2017. Not surprisingly, the public was overwhelmingly in favour of heritage recognition:
A consultant’s report, dated May 2018, was not released publicly until after it had been considered by the State Heritage Council on 6 December 2018. The assessment is a comprehensive 91-page document that examines the history, features, and values of your Park Lands. Not surprisingly, the assessment found that your Park Lands do meet most of the legal criteria for State Heritage recognition. The full assessment can be downloaded as a PDF file from this location:
https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/her-gen-adelaide-park-lands-heritage-assessment-report.pdf
NB: (it is a large file: 48 Mb)
After considering the assessment, the State Heritage Council reported to the then-Minister for Environment and Water (David Speirs, MP) “recommending the Adelaide Park Lands, Squares and City Layout be recommended to the Minister for Planning, for State Heritage Area consideration.”
In December 2018, APA wrote to both Ministers to urge that this be done. Progress has been appallingly slow, with little if any resources allocated to progress development of a conservation management plan.
We have been writing to various Ministers and State bureaucrats about this since December 2018, and received replies which, in short, amount to a list of excuses and reasons for procrastination. Read the full correspondence here: 2018 to 2021 State Heritage correspondence with Liberal State Gov’t (PDF, 21pp, 2.6 Mb)
There was a breakthrough on 9 February 2022, when all parties voted in State Parliament’s Legislative Council to support State Heritage listing. However that vote was of no effect as Parliament was dissolved shortly afterwards, due to the looming State election on 19 March 2022.
Greens MLC Robert Simms re-introduced his Bill after the 2022 State election, but on 20 October 2022, the Labor Party reversed its previous support. Labor members actually voted AGAINST Heritage listing of your Park Lands. Although the Bill passed the Upper House, with the support of the Greens, Liberals, and SA Best, it is, nevertheless, doomed to failure without the support of Labor MPs in the Lower House of State Parliament.
In May 2023, the Heritage Places (Adelaide Park Lands) Amendment Bill 2022 was introduced to the House of Assembly by Liberal MP Jack Batty. However, since then, Labor MPs have blocked any debate on the Bill.
Since 29 November 2022 we have been corresponding with Susan Close MP, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water seeking urgent action on this long-delayed action. Minister Close has responded twice, but neither of her letters have offered any assurances that action would be taken.
Read the correspondence here: 2022-23 State Heritage letters - Deputy Premier Susan Close (PDF, 7 pages, 1.5 Mb)
