Heritage Places (Adelaide Park Lands) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Mr BATTY (Bragg) (10:59): I rise to speak in favour of the Heritage Places (Adelaide Park Lands) Amendment Bill, a bill that seeks to state—

The SPEAKER: That may be, member for Bragg, but I take in the advice that the bill does need to be moved a second time, which would need to be effected by the member for Black, Mr Clerk, as I understand. Member for Bragg, the Leader of the Opposition being absent, I am going to proceed on the basis that you can move that the bill be read a second time. That is on the understanding that the leader is absent. We are attempting to resolve this matter in a practical way. I am reminded that it being a second reading contribution all you need to do, member for Bragg, given the indulgence, is move it and make your contribution. Please do so.

Mr BATTY: I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am glad we could resolve that because this is a very important and timely issue. This bill is well overdue in this place because it seeks to state heritage list our Adelaide Parklands and our CBD. We know this is overdue because our Adelaide Parklands set our city apart. They support biodiversity, they support recreation and they support heritage, all right here in the heart of our city.

We also know that our Adelaide Parklands are unique, our city being the only one in the world to be built inside a park, our Parklands, of course, being the first planned public park in the world. We also know that our Parklands are under attack. Our Parklands are shrinking. For too long, governments and developers have treated our Adelaide Parklands as simply a land bank, as a source of free land for the pet project of the day.

This bill today is particularly timely because we see yet another attack on our Adelaide Parklands from the Malinauskas Labor government. This latest attack, at Park 21 West in the Adelaide Parklands, is particularly egregious. It is particularly egregious because we know the value of this site at Park 21 West. Some have described Park 21 West as the most significant site for remnant native vegetation remaining in the entire Adelaide Parklands. It supports biodiversity like no other site in the Adelaide Parklands.

It is particularly egregious because it is being done without any proper process and without any consultation. We know there has been no consultation with community groups like Bush For Life, whose volunteers have lovingly cared for that site for the last 15 years. We cannot see any evidence of consultation with First Nations people, and I note this particular site was the originally identified site for the first Kaurna cultural burning in a capital city. We have seen no consultation with groups like the Adelaide City Council and the Adelaide Park Lands Authority, which are there to provide this very advice.

But most of all it is particularly egregious because it is being done by a government that stood up before the election and made a promise. They made a promise to protect Adelaide's unique Parklands. They have broken that promise at every available opportunity. They have broken that promise with alarming speed and alarming severity but, thankfully, they have an opportunity to make good on that promise today. They have an opportunity to make good on that promise to protect the Adelaide Parklands by supporting this bill that will see them state heritage listed today.

It is not overly controversial because we know that our Adelaide Parklands are already nationally heritage listed, achieving that honour back in 2008. At that time, the statement of significance commented on the uniqueness of our Adelaide Parklands. It states:

The Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout is rare as the most complete example of nineteenth-century colonial planning where planning and survey were undertaken prior to settlement.

Importantly, the statement of significance at that time also made some remarks about the social value of our Adelaide Parklands, and I quote:

…has outstanding social value to South Australians who see it as fundamental to the character and ambience of [our] city. The Park Lands with their recreation areas, sports grounds, gardens and public facilities provide venues for individual and group activities and events, meetings and passive and active recreation. The Park Lands also have significant social value due to the range of important civic, public, and cultural assets and institutions within it.

On this side of the house, we recognise those values. We see the social value of our Parklands every day, which is why we are standing up here strongly supporting this bill. It is also why we are taking other initiatives, such as announcing that we are pushing for the recognition of our Adelaide Parklands as a UNESCO world heritage site, giving them the international recognition that they, of course, deserve. So we have world recognition on the way, we have national recognition, and what we need to do today in this parliament is state heritage list our Parklands to give them the recognition that they deserve.

The South Australian Heritage Council has previously given consideration to listing the Adelaide Parklands and CBD as a State Heritage Area. At that time, the council supported it. I want to read a couple of observations that they made at that time. They said that the Adelaide Parklands were an outstanding representation of a 19^th century planned colonial settlement.

The principal components of Light's 1837 plan are the original layout, width and grid pattern of the city streets; surrounding outer ring of parklands; six internal squares; and the topographical response to terrain. These components remain clearly legible today and served both the economic and wellbeing needs of the early settlements.

We have already had the South Australian Heritage Council consider this proposal and we know that they strongly support it and we know the reasons why. So this parliament should act today to give effect to that recommendation from the state Heritage Council. We already have 17 State Heritage Areas in South Australia and the Adelaide Parklands and the CBD would make a very worthy addition to that list.

Those opposite used to agree with me on that point. When a similar bill was introduced into the last parliament, it was supported by those opposite and it was supported with glowing speeches praising our Adelaide Parklands, glowing speeches talking about the green gold that is our Adelaide Parklands. I do not know what has changed, but I say they have a chance to protect that green gold today. They have a chance to give our Adelaide Parklands not only the recognition but the protection that they deserve, or will they once again show their true colours on heritage and on Parklands?

Now that the election is out of the way, can the ruse be up and can they revert to their true colours on our Parklands and get on with just another Parklands land grab? I have already told you what they promised before the last election, that they would protect Adelaide's unique Parklands. They have broken that with alarming speed and severity. They have been hoodwinked by the member for Adelaide on Parklands.

Ms Hood interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Adelaide!

Mr BATTY: It is not just Parklands where they have broken their promise, it is heritage at every opportunity.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Adelaide!

Mr BATTY: It was only one month before the last election that the now Minister for Heritage stood up at a public forum and said that she had no intention to demolish any state heritage-listed place in South Australia. How long did it take? I was only in the parliament for about five minutes before we saw another broken promise from the Malinauskas Labor government. They have made a total mockery of the commitments that they made to heritage and to Parklands before the election.

They put the bulldozer through the Thebarton Barracks, they are putting the bulldozer through the south-western Parklands and they are putting the bulldozer through their own election commitments to protect heritage and Parklands in South Australia. They have an opportunity to make amends today. We now have an opportunity to state heritage list our Parklands.

They can make good on their promise to protect Labor's unique Parklands. They can make good on their heritage policy commitment as well, to legislate that proposed demolition of state heritage sites be subject to full consultation and full reports from the South Australian Heritage Council. Or will they once again show their true colours? This is a government that do not care about our Parklands and they do not care about protecting our heritage. If they really did, they would support this bill today, and I commend it to the house.

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (11:10): I move:

That debate be adjourned.

The house divided on the motion.

Ayes 22

Noes 11

Majority 11

AYES

NOES

PAIRS

Motion thus carried; debate adjourned.