Round one underway in park lands golf course court trial
Proceedings have teed off in the Federal Court as a public servant and Kaurna traditional owner take on the state government over its Adelaide park lands plans.
Federal Court Judge Natalie Charlesworth has begun hearing the trial between public servant Edwin Kemp Attrill and Kaurna traditional owner Janette Milera against the state government over a $45 million taxpayer-funded golf course redevelopment.
Supporters of the move to probe the golf course plans lined the entrance to Adelaide’s Federal Court building on Angus Street on Monday morning, dressed in yellow, holding placards to “stop the chop”.
Kemp Attrill and Milera commenced proceedings in June to test the North Adelaide Golf Course Act passed by the state government last year against federal environment and heritage legislation.
Since then, Kemp Attrill said the court case had already prevented the removal and replanting of a notable Moreton Bay Fig Tree at the site, which he claimed was an “early win”.
Internationally renowned Australian golfer Greg Norman has designed the 18-hole course at the centre of the $45 million North Adelaide redevelopment that has come under fire from activists calling for a halt to work that led to hundreds of trees being removed. Norman is also a former CEO of LIV Golf.
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Starting today, the high-profile court case would test the SA government’s development against the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
When the North Adelaide Golf Course Act passed parliament last year, it gave the redevelopment a green light to bypass planning laws, but the state government was still required to consult with the Aboriginal community under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
The government said it completed a self-assessment that did not need to be referred to the Federal Environment Minister for further planning checks.
Milera, Kemp Attrill and ecologist Ruth Norris are expected to give evidence on Monday afternoon, after opening statements are heard this morning.
Barrister Arturo Dal Cin of Murray Chambers, representing Kemp Attrill and Milera, opened the trial by arguing large-scale tree removal and the demolition and rebuild of the existing golf course clubhouse “contravened” the heritage values of the park lands and caused a “public affront”.
The Adelaide Park Lands were nationally heritage-listed in 2008.
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“The park lands are fundamental to the character and ambience of the city,” Dal Cin said.
He also argued the tree removal would impact threatened species the grey-headed flying fox and possums, which are of significance to the Kaurna people.
Dal Cin foreshadowed that Milera would provide evidence of the site’s Aboriginal significance, including the history of the “native location” that was used to supervise Kaurna families in the 1800s.
Alison Doecke KC is representing the state government and has not yet delivered opening remarks at the time of publication.
Judge Charlesworth foreshadowed that Doecke would argue that the use of the park lands has evolved, and that the redevelopment would feature public amenity suited to the time.
Asked about the trial starting today, Premier Peter Malinauskas said he would “respect the process”.
“I, for one, have been around long enough to know that you shouldn’t predetermine or prejudge what the outcome of a court might be, that is for the court to determine,” Malinauskas said.
‘We welcome the process, we welcome the scrutiny, it’s not a bad thing.”
Last month, Judge Charlesworth told a pre-trial hearing that this was “a singular test” and that she was “resisting” the trial expanding into “whether or not there’s been compliance by the state”.
She warned those appearing in the Federal Court to “keep activism out” of the case.
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