Your views: on Adelaide’s squeaky wheels
Today, readers comment on Big Whingers versus little whingers, and why the state government no longer backs park lands heritage listing it supported pre-election.
Commenting on the story: The squeaky wheels that really get oiled in South Australia
I’m not usually a fan of Matthew Abraham, but he is spot on about how whinging is portrayed as being a minority sport.
Lately, any opposition to any change is portrayed this way by the big end of town – and sadly, our Labor Government. The latest binary line about the hospital proposal is that if you care about park lands, you don’t care about women and sick children.
The State Government should grow up and listen respectfully to alternate views, not slip into slagging and abuse. – Janet Giles
As someone that opposed the current 88 O’Connell St North Adelaide development, I was labelled a whinger. I didn’t object to the development of the site, I objected to the Council breaking the compact it entered into with residents that any building would not exceed 10 storeys and would include public green space.
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I objected to the secrecy of the Council hiding behind ‘commercial in confidence’ and refusing to inform its ratepayers the extent of our financial exposure in this development and just as importantly who and how they made the decision to disregard their own building guidelines. I objected to the contempt I and hundreds of others were shown with responses that didn’t answer our concerns or often did not receive a response.
The bottom line was I objected to the lack of accountability and scrutiny of the Council. That does not make me a whinger, that makes me a concerned citizen.
We see it repeated at all levels of government: developers know what’s best for us and if we dare raise any legitimate concerns we are whingers. Well, when the lifestyle and heritage of Adelaide, North Adelaide, Unley, Prospect, Norwood, etc has gone, it’s gone. The very thing that sets us apart from other cities should be treasured, not trashed.
We need sensitive and complimentary developments that don’t diminish the living experience of the majority of residents and visitors. Being shadowed by 17 storey apartments that do not have sufficient residential and visitor parking will result in our streets’ limited parking and egress being choked, just two of the issues raised by concerned whingers of this development.
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I’m sure Alexander Downer and these self-appointed experts who know what’s best for Adelaide would not want these developments in their residential backyard, lest they be labelled a whinger. Win-win outcomes are possible, there have been 10 storey developments on Brougham Place at North Adelaide that barely raised a murmur. That’s because they preserved the surrounding heritage, aren’t too high, have adequate parking and the Council observed it’s own building regulations.
We’ve just had residents beat the development of a massive interchange in Hahndorf; had they remained silent, pristine farmland would have been lost and a South Australian iconic business compromised, thank goodness for those whingers. Labels are all too convenient to apply to people when you’re receiving questions you don’t want to answer. – Greg Hart
Why do people flock to the Cotswolds in England? To see the skyscrapers? To watch the greens being filled with developers’ profits? – Roger Monk
Commenting on the story: Malinauskas Govt reverses park land heritage support
The international National Park City Foundation awarded Adelaide National Park City status in 2021. This made Adelaide the first city in Australia and second in the world (after London) to receive the honour.
It is unspeakably disappointing that the Government would back down on a pre-election commitment and withdraw its support for this Bill to list the Adelaide park lands as a state heritage area. Our park lands are one of our greatest treasures and an extraordinary asset, and I would have expected our Government to celebrate this unique feature of Adelaide.
Does this also mean that the Government will not support the Adelaide City Council’s effort to obtain World Heritage listing? I simply don’t understand what’s going on here. – Barbara Fergusson
The green belt around the central city of Adelaide is what makes Adelaide unique. It is also the lungs of the city. It must be treasured and protected against the constant calls from vested interests and careless governments seeking cheap land for development. Once it’s gone, it’s lost. – Robert Warn
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