Golf Course Plans Cause Conflict in Adelaide

By Daniel Keane

Topic: Environmental Policy

A protester with a possum puppet at the North Adelaide Golf Course.

A golf war has broken out in Adelaide's park lands.

The main players are environmentalists, the city council, and the SA government.

The battleground is Possum Park, part of the Adelaide Park Lands and the North Adelaide Golf Course.

The conflict is between the park's roles as habitat and sporting facility.

Here's a look at how we got here.

What's caused the conflict?

LIV Golf and hundreds of trees are involved.

The Australian leg of LIV Golf has been held in Adelaide for four years.

The event will move to a new golf course in North Adelaide.

Fans celebrated the announcement at the Grange Golf Club in 2025.

Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith described the plans as a win-win.

The North Adelaide course needs a major upgrade.

But now Ms Lomax-Smith is among the plan's greatest critics.

About 600 trees will be cut down for the $45 million redevelopment.

The golf course redevelopment has divided public opinion.

Protester Hayley Wilson opposes the redevelopment.

The trees are a flashpoint for the lack of transparency.

What are the park lands?

The park lands are a protected area of greenery around Adelaide.

The park lands have a colourful history, including a snake park and cattle yards.

The idea of a green belt around the city dates back to 1837.

The park lands were included in Colonel William Light's original plans for Adelaide.

The parks include walking paths, playing fields, and waterways.

The golf course at North Adelaide opened in 1905.

The park lands are meant to be a space protected from development.

The Adelaide Park Lands Act acknowledges the area's special status and character.

The act asserts the need for the park lands to be preserved as an urban park.

The park lands are managed by an authority subsidiary to the Adelaide City Council.

The SA Labor government passed the North Adelaide Public Golf Course Act 2025.

The act overrides any other act or law of the state.

What do opponents say?

The Lord Mayor's initial optimism has turned to opposition.

Ms Lomax-Smith expressed reservations about the plan.

She thinks the government has got it fundamentally wrong in the park lands.

The legislation took away all legislative controls and checks and balances.

The North Adelaide Public Golf Course Act sets a troubling precedent.

The act affects more than 10 per cent of the Adelaide park lands.

Protesters hold placards at the site.

Greens MP Robert Simms described the redevelopment as a vanity project.

The community must step up and take action.

The $45 million could be spent on other priorities.

How has the government responded?

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas insists the plans will benefit the community.

The renovation of the golf course stacks up from a community perspective.

Environment Minister Emily Bourke rejected criticisms of the project.

The removal of trees was conducted to minimise impact on local wildlife.

The government wants to protect the environment and sporting opportunities.

Only a fraction of the site's 9,000 trees are being removed.

The new laws require the government to compensate for what would be lost.

Six per cent of the trees are being removed.

Three trees will be replaced for every one removed.

The canopy coverage of the site will actually increase.

Workers are removing possums from trees at the site.

The government intends to put mature trees back into the site.

The golf course was something the local council would have invested in anyway.

The state government can provide the necessary support.

The government wants to protect everything, including the environment and sporting opportunities.

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