Letters to the Editor on park lands takeover speculation
This week, InDaily readers have their say on a long-neglected heritage eyesore and a shutdown of the River Torrens.
Responding to ‘What if I die?’: SA mum opens up on traumatic birth
My daughters are 22 and 20 years old, and both births were traumatic for different reasons.
My first birthing experience was so traumatic that I certainly had to think really hard to consider another pregnancy.
Following a 27-hour ordeal resulting in the arrival of a healthy baby, but a slaughtered body and fragile mental health, just reading this article brings it all back.
To read that I was not an abnormality, but one out of three, makes me wonder why we do not know more about it.
I am pleased to read there is a website now available and sincerely hope more women know about it and are informed about the possible complications as part of their pregnancy. – Anja Dickel
Responding to Speculation rises over ‘secret govt plan’ to seize control of park
Corruption is not confined to bad unions – secrecy, land deals, removing councils, draconian protest legislation and public disregard are all alive and well in South Australia’s ruling chaos.
The real “sport” is now a race to chop down as many trees; Adelaide paddles boats on a toxic river surrounded by wood chips, golf balls, footballs and wrecking balls.– Richard Webb
A nice, balanced piece. Personally, I believe all his decisions are forward-looking for both park lands, and they should be better used and maintained.
If you ever want to get murdered one night, the park lands are the spot, as they look really dodgy in places.
As for a permanent structure for the bike and car race, that was a no-brainer 20 years ago.
How much taxpayer dollars have been wasted building that every year just to pull it down again?
Just put a swanky restaurant on top of the pit straight building to keep the whingers happy. Or just ignore them; whingers and NIMBYs are why Adelaide never grew up to begin with.
Not a Labor man, but Mali is going to move SA forward. Lead, follow or get out of the road. – Andrew Dixon
Responding to Hope for long-neglected heritage ‘eyesore’ in eastern suburbs
You might like
Whilst it is good in many cases to preserve our built history, it is the owner who is expected to provide most of the funding, for our benefit, to improve and maintain our heritage.
Bell’s Plumbers Shop is a case where the state should have been much more active and cooperative in working with the owners, as it should with Edmund Wright House [in King William Street].
Europe is full of wonderful buildings like the latter, which are successfully repurposed and modernised sympathetically so they can be used and give an adequate return to the owner.
You cannot issue preservation orders without adequate funds provided to comply with them. – Colin Gaetjens
Same council who let the first schoolhouse in Kensington be demolished this year. The ongoing misalignment of state and council, developers’ greed and restoration, infill and heritage are costing us irreplaceable streetscapes. – Sue Carter
Responding to ‘Great for business’: East End property chief wades into motorsports debate
Steve Maras may well be right that MotoGP will boost trade for some East End businesses, but a windfall for selected hospitality venues and nearby property owners does not establish that MotoGP will be “great for the city at large”.
East End venues may capture increased spending during race week, while South Australian taxpayers fund the still-secret rights fee, circuit construction and park lands remediation.
Other businesses may endure months of construction, restricted access, congestion and customer avoidance.
Nor is turnover the same as profit. Extra revenue must be set against additional wages, stock, security, cleaning and other operating expenses.
The government’s economic claims require similar scrutiny. Its headline figure for MotoGP combines visitor spending with estimated international media exposure.
A proper cost-benefit analysis must deduct government subsidies, overseas payments, displaced local spending, business disruption, environmental damage and the opportunity cost of alternative uses of both public money and the park lands.
It must also compare the proposed street circuit with The Bend, which could retain much of the interstate visitation and statewide exposure while avoiding extensive tree loss, O-Bahn disruption and months of occupation of the city’s public land.
Maras says, “the devil’s in the detail”. Precisely. Yet the Malinauskas government committed South Australia to a six-year deal before releasing the track, the full costs, the business case or any comparison with alternatives.
“Great for business” is not an economic finding. It is a slogan that conceals the essential questions: great for which businesses, over what period and who pays the bill? – Stewart Sweeney
Duh – of course it is good for some businesses in the East End, but it is also not good for some businesses elsewhere and will remain undisclosed for yet others.
But is it “great” for the park lands? Fancy not addressing the gravamen of the issues: the proposed chop, chop, chopping of long-standing significant and regulated trees in the park lands, and the adverse environmental impact on the rapidly diminishing cultural and environmental values of the shrinking iconic nationally heritage-listed Adelaide Park Lands, all at the hands of a state government.
No trees were chopped for Formula 1 – smart design back then. Perhaps this generation of track designers is less smart or creative; too much zoom and too little thoughtfulness.
As for hiding behind the veil of “commercial in confidence” and “event economics”, the economics of unsubstantiated business benefit is not the sole measure for every event, and not every aspect of government contracts is necessarily secret or objectively confidential. If information is confidential, that is what redaction is for. After all, transparency and disclosure are good for publicly accountable governance; everything else is just “lip service” and yet another crafted narrative at public and intergenerational expense. – Elbert Brooks
Well said, Stephen. While being careful not to offend those who genuinely believe that the MotoGP should not be in the park lands, his point about the commercial advantages certainly are valid.
As a former chair of Rundle Mall and a Rundle Street trader myself (going back to the early 70s), it is clear to me that events such as these have had a major positive impact on the city of Adelaide. We have always had concerned citizens who object to progress in various ways, particularly where the park lands are involved.
Note the Adelaide Oval redevelopment and hotel, the Grand Prix, Festival Theatre and plaza, the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Lot 14, the Frome Street high school, as examples of development in the park lands.
In all cases, their genuine concern was heard, and we progressed with good governance. We must generate income and investment into our city if we are to meet the demands of modern society, and the progress of these and other development concepts is a vital component of that process. – Eric Granger
Locating the MotoGP at The Bend will not impact on CBD restaurants, accommodation or entertainment opportunities. A free daily bus service to The Bend, with hotel pickup options, would cost far less than the infrastructure needed for a street circuit and still support all CBD services and venues. – Helen Davis
That olive grove is probably the root of the olive infestation ruining our natural bushland. If they’re so concerned about trees, campaign against olive groves!
Birds eating olives and pooping the pips over natural bush in the Hills is a major problem.
Stay informed, daily
Olive trees need to be removed … I have questioned if those trees being grown commercially could have been bred with sterile pips to control the problem we have, particularly in the Hills. I am not a scientist, so I don’t know if this is possible, but I’m sure the CSIRO could come up with something (if they have not already).
For heritage’s sake, maybe keep a few 1800s trees, but removing most of them will allow for planting of more appropriate species which wildlife can thrive in. – Peter Jeffrey
Responding to River Torrens shut down over bacterial outbreaks
I have lived near the River Torrens in St Peters for 30 years. The St Peters weir has gone through multiple changes over the last 10 years to try and trap rubbish that floats down the Torrens and comes through Third Creek – all of which then goes into Lake Torrens.
I believe much of the rubbish in the lake is due to the expensive and ineffective redesigned rubbish trap at the St Peters weir.
The multimillion-dollar rebuild of the walkway and rubbish trap of a few years ago has resulted in basically zero rubbish being trapped, even after many of us brought this to the attention of the two local councils responsible.
The boom across the Torrens meant to stop material from above the weir was redesigned, and now when floods and high water come after rains in excess of about 25 millimetres, water goes over the boom, taking all the accumulated rubbish downstream to the lake. The boom used to float and therefore maintain rubbish-holding ability until it was emptied.
And that is the next issue. Rubbish accumulates in the poorly redesigned rubbish trap and is rarely emptied. Much of it is carried into the trap alongside the river, and then when high water comes, it just gets pushed over the boom. The old rubbish trap used large nets which caught the rubbish and held it safely until emptied. – Lawrence Lockshin
Responding to Millions of views as SA Netflix drama hits global top four
I enjoyed My Brilliant Career very much. Well done to all involved. – Rexley Penny
Responding to Assurances over MotoGP impacting Gluttony and new café
The Adelaide Park Lands Association does not talk down events. It opposes events that require trees to be chopped in the Park Lands. It’s not hard; just Stop the Chop. – Dr Christel Mex
Responding to Prayers dashed: Neighbours crush street renaming for Grammy-nominated nun
The Adelaide City Council seem to be non-benevolent, considering the homelessness issue is right on their doorstep; the city of churches has become a tarnished memory of the late sister Janet’s legacy. – Sonja Grdosic
Responding to Why bringing the platypus back to the Torrens is what Adelaide needs
This is not a good idea 😕 Pity the poor platypus living in that muck, trying to avoid dogs as well as the stupid people who would chase and hurt them.
Too much misery for a doomed result. – Cheryl Hill
Responding to Tribute to creator of SA’s hair-raising Monash playground
Loved the Monash Playground; what a great attraction it was! My kids loved it in the 70s/80s, and even my mum, who was in her fifties, had a go at some of the attractions. Very clever and innovative man! – Pamela French
Responding to A ripe honour: McLaren Vale winemaker knighted
What an amazing achievement; I have very fond memories working with you. Well done. – Graham Guthridge
Responding to Anti-AUKUS march sets off from Port Augusta… and it’s a long one
Apart from tiredness, what will they achieve? Nothing. – Paul Travers
Responding to Video of Tigers’ Mad Monday sparks new AFL headache
A scandal? Come on everyone For goodness’ sake, we are becoming so precious. Footballers letting off steam after a hard and maybe disappointing season. Who is really offended? And if they are, why?
Loosen up, people and get upset about things that really matter; get out and help. There are plenty of important things to think about and do. – Anne Smith
Responding to ‘Legal threats’ launched over viral One Nation SA protest video
It seems that some people think that they can protest, call those they are protesting against anything they like and take photos of themselves protesting, but when lawful photos are taken by the targets, and they are exposed for the bad behaviour, they are ready to threaten legal action in order to frighten and bully their targets. They show their hypocrisy to the general public and demonstrate their attitude towards anyone who disagrees with them. – Malcolm Eglinton
It is hard to occupy the moral high ground regarding acceptable public discourse when you represent a political party known for offensive rhetoric and punching down on minorities, and that appears unable to engage in respectful debate about sensitive topics. – Russell Withers
University socialists organised the anti-One Nation street protests. You should mention that to provide professional and accurate reporting. Just as Mao Zedong organised teenagers to form the Red Guard shock troops to attack teachers and parents during the
Cultural Revolution. Lefties always mobilise kids. – Evonne Moore
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
