A redevelopment project of the public golf course in North Adelaide will continue despite significant public opposition and a petition that has triggered a parliamentary inquiry.

The Adelaide Park Lands Association (APLA) announced the "Stop the Chop" petition, formed in response to the removal of 585 trees from the protected Parklands zone, has collected 13,500 physical signatures on paper. The petition aims to reach 18,000 signatures before closing in two weeks.

South Australian Acting Premier Kyam Maher confirmed that if the petition is presented to parliament, it will automatically trigger a referral to a parliamentary committee and a subsequent inquiry, as stipulated by Section 16B of the Parliamentary Committee Act. "Of course, we will look at recommendations of the committee," Maher told 891 ABC Adelaide.

Maher emphasized the government's commitment to the redevelopment, stating, "We made it very clear before the [March] election that we plan to take a good public golf course in North Adelaide and redevelop it to an exceptional, international-standard public golf course." The project is funded by the state government at a cost of $45 million.

The petitioners argue the project bypasses planning, heritage, Kaurna heritage, and environmental safeguards, and have demonstrated strong public opposition with over 3,000 protesters at parliament steps and 50,000 online petition signatures.

Regarding the MotoGP event associated with the redevelopment, Maher said the government does not have a final plan yet but is working on it "in detail." He also noted that about 45 significant trees have been removed, referencing comments from the premier.

Sources