New report shows park lands tree felling toll for MotoGP far higher
The number of Adelaide Park Lands trees to be felled for next year’s MotoGP street circuit is almost four times higher than the government’s estimate of 45, a new report reveals.
A new report from Adelaide City Council has flagged up to 200 trees could be removed for the 2027 MotoGP track after initial estimates of 45 trees from the state government.
The council report states 83 trees would need to be removed to facilitate the MotoGP street circuit, of those 14 are street trees and 69 are Adelaide Park Lands trees.
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the global governing and sanctioning body for motorcycle racing, requires a 12-metre-wide track, a hardstand, and a pit straight area in its approved racing tracks.
A further 100 trees could also be removed to accommodate the governing body’s requirements, the council report said.
“A conservative estimate when factoring in potential gravel pit safety areas for MotoGP riders could result in at least a further 100 trees to be removed,” the council report said.
“This increases the estimated tree removals required to host the Adelaide MotoGP for the next six years, towards 200 trees removed.”
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The report said that the tree loss was dependent on the final circuit layout, currently being designed by the South Australian Motor Sports Board, which is set to be unveiled by July.
It follows the recent felling of 585 trees to make way for the North Adelaide Golf Course redevelopment that has sparked a series of protest and a petition currently with 50,127 signatures.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the initial advice he received in February when the MotoGP was first announced was 45 significant trees would be removed for the circuit.
“The Lord Mayor and the council have made clear that they’re opposed to MotoGP in the city anyway. In fact, they don’t want MotoGP in South Australia at all,” Malinauskas said on ABC Radio.
“Whether it’s one tree or 20 or 45 the council’s opposed to this, so they’re running around doing all this, you know, this latest number, and they’ll inflate the numbers as best as they can.
“They’re doing all this work, but they’re not doing it with the purposes of getting answers for people, they’re doing it with the purposes of undermining the event for the state, which I think is a pretty extraordinary position.”
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Malinauskas said the “only reason” MotoGP moved from Phillip Island in Victoria to Adelaide was because it would take place on a city circuit.
“If MotoGP wanted to have it outside of a metropolitan environment, they would have been keeping it at Phillip Island,” he said.
“The reason why it’s come from Victoria to South Australia is exclusively because we have the capability of hosting it in the city.”
Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said the tree removal and infrastructure works would create “significant pain for the CBD”.
“My comment has always been, is the pain worth the gain, and I’ve always contended that it doesn’t actually matter whether it’s at Tailem Bend or Grange, the city always benefits,” she said.
“It’s a number of trees, maybe anything up to 200 that’s done through geospatial analysis of the map being overlayed on the trees we have.
“There is pain for everyone here, not just the residents on East Terrace, not just the 42 million people who go around our park lands every year on the individual visits, this is the pain that will be affected by road closures.”
Councillor Keiran Snape told InDaily the loss of 200 trees was “a conservative estimate”.
“There are fears that especially due to the corner around Wakefield Road and East Terrace, due to the angle of the track, that the number of trees loss could be much higher sweeping through the historic olive grove there,” he said.
“That is a deep concern. I am calling on the Motor Sports Board and the state government to release as much information as they can as soon as they can, so we can allay our fears.”
Kaurna native title holders have also expressed disappointment they were not involved in a consultation process prior to 141 drill holes taking place in the Adelaide Park Lands as part of preliminary groundwork for next year’s MotoGP event.
Hundreds of people were in Victoria Park on the weekend to protest further tree loss in the Adelaide Park Lands for the MotoGP, tying yellow ribbons around trees to draw attention to possible removals.
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