Stop the Chop petition hits huge target, triggering parliament inquiry
A petition to halt major sporting developments in the Adelaide Park Lands has hit a 13,000 signature goal to trigger a parliamentary inquiry.
The ‘Stop the Chop – Save the Adelaide Park Lands’ petition has now amassed more than 13,500 physical signatures two weeks ahead of its July 31 completion date, with a parliamentary inquiry now expected in the coming months.
Lead petitioners and Adelaide City councillors Keiran Snape and Patrick Maher launched the physical petition in May to immediately halt works on the MotoGP redevelopment and return Possum Park and John E Brown Park to the control of the City of Adelaide Council.
An online petition launched earlier this year amassed 50,643 signatures calling on the state government to halt the North Adelaide Golf Course redevelopment and felling of 585 trees.
Dozens of vocal supporters joined the petitioners outside Adelaide Town Hall on Tuesday morning, with some singing lyrics from Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit-song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’.
It also seeks to establish a Legislative Council Committee review of the North Adelaide Public Golf Course Act 2025, the South Australian Motor Sport Act 1984 and related acts.
Snape told InDaily he believed the petition could exceed 18,000 signatures by the end of July as the “vast majority” of location-based petitions were yet to be returned.
“They’re still collecting signatures, and so our new stretch target of 18,000, we believe, will be easily achievable,” Snape said.
“We’ve seen an overwhelming level of support from concerned citizens all across the state, from Coober Pedy to Kangaroo Island, from Edithburgh to the Riverland.
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“The fight for our Park Lands and public green spaces isn’t a local, city-centric issue, it’s a South Australian-wide issue.”
Under SA Parliament rules, a single petition with more than 10,000 physical signatures will be referred to the Legislative Review Committee.
The committee is then required to investigate the petition and report back to both the lower and upper houses with a response outlining if any action needs to be taken.
There have been ongoing concerns for the tree felling toll for 2027’s MotoGP city street circuit in the eastern parklands and Victoria Park, with the state government making initial estimates of 45 trees.
An Adelaide City Council report from June flagged up to 200 trees could be removed to meet track requirements set by the global governing and sanctioning body for motorcycle racing. InDaily understands the refinement of the final MotoGP circuit is still ongoing.
Premier Peter Malinauskas has previously said the “only reason” South Australia successfully poached MotoGP from Phillip Island in Victoria was the promise of a city street circuit.
Acting Premier Kyam Maher said today that the petition showed that “free and fair democratic processes” in SA was “well and truly alive”.
“People are absolutely entitled to put forward their views, to put forward what they believe in, in a peaceful and respectful way,” Maher said.
“We haven’t seen that the whole time at North Adelaide Golf Course. We did see destruction of property, and I just ask people to put your views forward, put them passionately, put them strongly, but put them respectfully.
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“We went [to the election] with a commitment to take a good public golf course and turn it into a world-class public golf course, and that’s what we’re doing. The people elected us again, and we’re getting on with doing that.”
Maher said experts were still working on a final track layout and precautions to “safely conduct the world’s first city circuit for a MotoGP”.
Snape said major events could be held in SA “without the destruction of our world-renowned Adelaide Park Lands”.
“Places like Kooyonga and Tailem Bend are perfects places to host golf tournaments and motorsports events and the city as the central point would still see the benefits,” he said.
Adelaide Park Lands Association president Mat Monti said it was a “monumental achievement” for the Stop the Chop movement.
“Cracking 10,000 signatures with time to spare demonstrates just how many South Australians care about their Park Lands,” Monti said.
“At every turn we are proving this isn’t a minor issue. From the over 3,000 protestors on the steps of parliament, to the 50,000 online petition signatures to now 10,000 plus physical signatures, the state government cannot ignore us anymore.
“It’s time for the Malinauskas Government to listen to the people and stop the destruction of the Park Lands.”
Liberal spokesperson Jack Batty said today it was a “good thing” to see the petition reach enough signatures to be referred to parliament.
“We of course support major events, but I can’t support continually chopping down hundreds more trees, some of which are 100 years old,” Batty said.
“These trees in the eastern park lands, some of them have stood for over 100 years and they’ve been untouchable and then Peter Malinauskas arrives.
“We really need to see all of the course designs, all of the circuit designs, and we can’t be chopping down any more trees in the Adelaide Park Lands.”
Further parklands protests have taken place throughout the city during the past few months, with the latest seeing hundreds of people marching in Rundle Mall last Friday night.
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