Number of trees to be removed from North Adelaide Golf Course 'not certain', court hears

Number of trees to be removed from North Adelaide Golf Course 'not certain', court hears In short: In its third day of trial, government lawyers have contradicted SA's Premier, telling the Federal Court the exact number of trees to be removed is not known. The Premier says they had released the number publicly before the state election, referring to 585 trees to be removed. What's next? The trial is expected to continue until Friday. Government lawyers have contradicted SA Premier Peter Malinauskas over how many trees will be cut down in the North Adelaide Golf Course redevelopment. While the Premier said the number of trees to be cut down had been public since before the state election, Crown lawyers have told the Federal Court the exact number still is not known, with plans an "evolving process". Lawyers for the South Australian government have given their opening address in the third day of a trial, sparked by two private citizens who claim the development breaches laws protecting the national heritage-listed parklands. Both parties agree 400 trees have already been cut down at the site, but while the appellants argue the government plans to ultimately cut down 585 trees, Crown lawyer Alison Doecke KC said plans were not finalised. "As a consequence of the design, which is continuing to be undertaken, that number is not certain,"she said. "… it is not possible to put before your honour the species of the trees that are going to be removed." The statement in court comes on the same day Mr Malinauskas repeated the 585 number, in defence of the project. "We announced all our plans before the election, including the number of trees," he said. "We released the number publicly, it was 585 from memory." Questions over LIV Golf's future The golf course redevelopment was first announced as part of a plan to bring LIV Golf into the city. But the LIV Golf season will end early this year, as the rebel tournament struggles with its finances. The Premier has conceded the there was a chance it may not return to Adelaide next year. "All the feedback that I've received is they intend to be in Adelaide next year but they may well not be. We are alive to that risk. It would be naive to suggest otherwise," Mr Malinauskas said. But he said even without LIV, North Adelaide would benefit from hosting both the Australian Men's and Women's Open. "All being well we'd love to see, we've got the option hopefully of having the Australian Women's Open in early 2028 at the North Adelaide Golf Course," he said. "I think that would be a spectacular opening to that facility if we can get the timing right." Court hears questions over LIV Golf's involvement in redevelopment The role of LIV Golf in the redevelopment has also featured in the trial, with Justice Natalie Charlesworth asking government lawyers whether it was an example of public parklands being used for commercial purposes. "Perhaps a poor analogy but if one takes a beach ball and puts a small hole in it, is it still a beach ball?" Justice Charlesworth said. "I have LIV, the golf tournament entities involved in the process of the design. It's being designed with that tournament in mind as I understand some of the project design evidence to be?" Ms Doecke replied the area would remain in public hands. "As I understand the design would allow the hosting of that tournament there but that otherwise the golf course will remain a publicly accessible golf course for which membership will not be required," she said. Arguments over national-heritage value The appellant's case largely hinges on whether the national heritage value of the parklands has been significantly impacted by the redevelopment and the removal of trees. Ms Doecke told the court the heritage of the parklands looks at the area as a whole, rather than an individual park or activities in the park. She said thousands of trees remained, despite the removal of more than 400 along the golf course. "Natural places exist, evolve and contain living organisms. Trees grow," she said. "It's a trite point but in this case where we're talking about the removal of trees it's important to remember the evolution of this part of the parklands." Ms Doecke pointed to aerial photographs taken at various times from the 1940s to the 2000s that show the area going from being "practically barren" to a golf course with tree-lined fairways. 'Stop the chop' petition presented to parliament While the trial continues, protesters have marched to South Australia's parliament to present a petition against the development. They said more than 43,000 signatures were accepted by parliamentary clerks. "We're calling on Malinauskas to listen to the community, listen to the people and stop the chop," Adelaide City Councillor Kieran Snape said. "We can have these big events and activate the state without destroying our green spaces and our parklands."