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South Australian Premier Defends Plan to Remove Nearly 400 Trees for MotoGP Track
🇦🇺 Australia /Environment & Climate

South Australian Premier Defends Plan to Remove Nearly 400 Trees for MotoGP Track

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A proposed 4.13-kilometre MotoGP circuit in Adelaide’s Victoria Park would require the removal of about 400 trees, including 42 classified as significant.
  • Premier Peter Malinauskas said his earlier estimate of about 45 trees referred to significant trees, while opponents questioned the government’s transparency.
  • The government says it will relocate 88 trees and plant 10 new trees for every tree removed.

The number of trees slated for removal to build Adelaide’s new MotoGP circuit has risen from an earlier public estimate of about 45 to almost 400, prompting accusations that the South Australian government was not transparent before the state election.

somewhat true

— Ashton HurnThe opposition leader described the premier’s electoral mandate for the project while questioning whether voters knew the number of trees involved.

Premier Peter Malinauskas rejected the claim. He said the original figure referred to significant trees and that the final plan identifies 42 significant trees among the total to be removed. The 4.13-kilometre circuit would run through Victoria Park, between Wakefield Road and Rundle Road.

Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn said the Liberal Party supported bringing MotoGP to Adelaide but questioned whether voters understood the scale of the clearing. She called it “somewhat true” that the premier had won a mandate, while asking whether people would have voted differently if they had known 400 trees were involved.

I simply recited what I was being told, and then we made clear that 45 number was significant trees, and of course now it's 42 significant trees on the plan

— Peter MalinauskasThe premier defended himself against claims that he misled the public about the number of trees to be removed.

Malinauskas said, “I simply recited what I was being told,” adding that the government had clarified the figure referred to significant trees. The plan also includes relocating 88 other trees, which commissioned arborists judged could be moved safely. The government has promised to plant 10 trees for every removal, including some mature trees.

We shouldn't be cutting down any significant trees in the middle of a climate crisis

— Melanie SelwoodThe Greens MLC criticized the environmental impact of the MotoGP track and golf course projects.

Greens MLC Melanie Selwood said the track and the North Adelaide Golf Course redevelopment together would remove almost 900 trees. The Adelaide Parklands Association said it would continue opposing the project and criticized the three-week compulsory public consultation. The group has moved yellow ribbons tied to trees along Dequetteville Terrace to trees now listed for removal.

The trees are precious to so many people here in South Australia and the premier just has total disregard for what those trees mean to people

— Melanie SelwoodSelwood condemned the government’s approach to the Adelaide parklands.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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