Planning, Development and Infrastructure (Adelaide Park Lands) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 13 September 2023.)

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (11:15): I take this opportunity to speak on the bill, reflecting on the debate that has been going on about the Parklands for, I suspect, as long as the Parklands. In the very early period, we know that there were elements of the Parklands that were divided into lots. Lot Fourteen, the former site of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, was chosen to be the site for the premier hospital site in the City of Adelaide. We have the University of Adelaide campuses and other cultural institutions directly north of North Terrace, which is technically the boundary for the CBD and the start of the Parklands. Of course, they are public assets, assets that are used by the public.

In 2018, it was such a good outcome when the Marshall government was elected and decided to turn that former Royal Adelaide Hospital site into a science, technology and innovation site—Lot Fourteen—which is the largest in the country. We know that the plan from those opposite was to turn that into a building site, a development site for developers. It would still be a housing estate to this day if there were not that change of government in 2018 and that vision driven by former Premier Steven Marshall to deliver that.

Reflecting on my time in this place and my interest in politics over many years, there has always been a debate about what type of use there should be for the Parklands. When I joined the Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association as a then resident of Prospect in I think 1988, quite some time ago, there was an ongoing debate about what the Parklands should look like. There were those who believed the Parklands were there for leisure, whether that leisure be organised leisure through sporting clubs having access through the manicured gardens and fields or whether it be natural bushland. There were always these two factions within that group—certainly when I joined there were those two factions—but they had one thing in common and that was that it is not a place for concrete and fences.

What this bill does is put an extra safeguard in place. We know that there are still elements of the Parklands—there is a section of land directly adjacent to the railway line that is a car park and a rubbish dump. Any of us leaving the Parliament House car park heading west and then north to North Adelaide after entering from under the car park will see the car park west of the Morphett Street Bridge. It is an eyesore and has been like that for many decades, certainly as long as I can remember. It has been there for a very long time.

I have always had concern, which is growing now because of changes to land use on Greenhill Road, about what really does look to be neglect of the Parklands south of an imaginary line, if you like, halfway between South Terrace and Greenhill Road. There are beautiful, manicured gardens and Park 21, which is a community project. It is a re-creation of what was originally there before settlement. That has been a very successful project, although not publicised enough.

I believe it would be in the interests of Adelaide for it to be much better known. I could see it even being a tourist attraction, particularly for ecotourists who are very interested in its history and nature and the different plants there are in different parts of the world. One of the things we learn when we visit social media is that there are a lot of people out there collectively in the world who are very interested in very small areas of interest, such as natural flora and fauna and who will travel the world to see something that is unique—and there is something very unique about Park 21.

Of course, then we have a couple of kilometres of Parklands immediately east of that that just look neglected. Fortunately, the SCAP last week rejected the Australian Education Union's proposal for a monstrosity of 224-odd apartments with not enough car parks, bike parks or recreational area. That was 30 per cent higher than the approval process or the guidelines that were recommended over the six-year planning review by the former Weatherill government by the then planning minister Mr Rau. It just broke so many boxes. There were 10 grounds for refusal for that particular project.

I do congratulate SCAP on the time and interest they took in this particular project. It is a new type of development that has never been done before in South Australia. Even the interstate examples that members were asked to look at in their consideration of the project had not been completed, and some of them had not even been started. The point I am making, though, is that people in Parkside, north Unley and Wayville are not opposed to change and development; they just want development happening within the approved plan, and that was not the case with the AEU building.

Of course, as more of these developments are approved within the plan, we will need more accessible open public space and the Parklands are right across the road. They need to be inviting. They need to be Parklands that people can take their children to and use for recreation and not be concerned about overgrown grass or hazards from fallen branches or weeds that are popping up through the unmanicured Parklands.

I think it is time the state government and the City of Adelaide look beyond that imaginary line halfway between South Terrace and Greenhill Road and pay some attention to the southern part of the southern Parklands or, if you like, those Parklands that abut Greenhill Road. They will become a valuable asset for the government's desire to see more higher density housing on Greenhill Road.

Of course, if people do not have private open space, they need quality public open space. That is why it is important that we not only protect the Parklands that are so unique to South Australia—the city in a park, rather than the park in a city—but ensure that those Parklands are inviting to use.

What a great selling point it is for people who are moving into apartments to know that there are manicured Parklands just across the road. We see it right across the Parklands. We see the Parklands alongside Port Road, the Parklands that run through North Adelaide all beautifully manicured. The Parklands along South Terrace are beautifully manicured, including the Japanese gardens. I would like to see more of that in the South Parklands, those that abut Greenhill Road, so we can continue to enjoy the beauty of the Adelaide Parklands.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Odenwalder.

Mr ODENWALDER: I draw your attention to the state of the house, sir.

The SPEAKER: Attention has been drawn to the state of the house. Before I order that the bells be rung, I will ask the Clerk to make a careful count and I will also perform a count myself. Quorum present.