MotoGP plan to move historic olive grove
More than a hundred “Stop the Chop” protesters rallied outside Parliament House as the Infrastructure and Transport Department was grilled on the MotoGP track plan for the park lands.
Park lands protesters interrupted today’s hearing by the Public Works Committee on the Adelaide Circuit Redevelopment Project after more than a hundred people rallied outside against the controversial development.
“Stop the Chop” protesters briefly heckled Infrastructure and Transport Department (DIT) CEO Jon Whelan after he said the contingency for the MotoGP redevelopment was within the $96 million allocated for the project but was commercial in confidence.
“Shame” and “not good enough” could be heard from protesters, as committee members also heard that the DIT was working with the City of Adelaide for the potential relocation of the historic olive groves currently flagged to be destroyed for the new motorcycle track.
“We are working with the council on the possibility of relocation of some or all of those olive groves, and we need to work out the proposal, numbers, and where they could be relocated, and then with that something that we will propose to take back to government for discussion and decision around that,” Whelan said.
According to DIT, the MotoGP redevelopment project will require the removal of 377 trees, of which 42 are significant. An additional 22 trees require further “detailed” below-ground investigation to confirm if they can be retained.
It was revealed today that an investigation into whether these trees can be retained would be completed after the bp Adelaide Grand Final and would involve investigations around the roots of the trees with a large vacuum truck.
Whelan fronted today’s hearing – which is chaired by Labor Waite MP Catherine Hutchesson – alongside Department of Premier and Cabinet chief operating officer Wayne Hunter, DIT MotoGP project director Megan Timson, DIT environment manager Lexi Schwarz, DIT deputy chief executive and executive director Andrew Excell and South Australian Motor Sport Board chief executive Mark Warren.
Before the hearing began, more than 100 “Stop the Chop” protesters gathered on the steps of Parliament to protest the controversial project, including former Adelaide MP Rachel Sanderson.
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During the hearing, Whelan said that works would take between December 2026 and mid-2027, with an exclusion period “to minimise any impact to the [Adelaide] Fringe event” being held from February 19 until March 21 next year.
Asked about what information about costs was provided to the South Australian Cabinet in February, Whelan said that “it was not completely known at that time” as detailed designs still needed to be completed, but that an estimate was given.
When grilled on how the government came up with the figure of $217 million as the economic benefit for the event, Whelan said it was based on advice provided by MotoGP based on averages across the championship of new revenue coming in.
“We took that number, we looked at it and said, ‘Well, we’re going to go a bit more conservative than that’,” he said.
The state government has since announced that the new track would cost $96 million and it was enlisting a contractor to provide an economic benefit report on Adelaide Grand Final and the MotoGP.
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