Michael McGuire: Surely we can have a sensible discussion about the Parklands?
A Crows HQ and swimming pool. A new stadium. There are big plans for the Parklands, and while questions remain, it’s time to can the hysteria have a proper debate, writes Michael McGuire.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Council accepts advice Crows plan could go against the law
- New images of Crows’ parklands complex plans
- How to get the most from your Advertiser digital subscription
THE problem when you brook no compromise, ever, is that the one time you may have a half-decent argument, no one is listening. Well, no one beyond the usual group of fellow travellers who exist in your little echo chamber.
A refusal to compromise is a trait of extremists everywhere, whether on the Left or the Right. But when the purity of whatever view you hold is more important than contributing to a final outcome, then you have a problem.
Which brings us to the Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association – an outfit which spends most of its life teetering on the edge of hysteria whenever someone threatens a blade of grass somewhere in the parklands.
The list of things the association has objected to over the years is lengthy. Formula One, the V8s, hospitals, sporting facilities, parking for the Adelaide Show, the Adelaide Oval, lights at the Adelaide Oval, tennis, horse racing, the Fringe, Womad.
In summary, anything that is fun. Ignore the facts that these events and these facilities bring hundreds of thousands of people to the parklands every year. That, of course, means the parklands are being used in the way intended. As a place of recreation for the people of Adelaide.
There is no doubt the parklands are a treasure and need to be looked after.
However, this does not mean, preserving them in aspic or turning them into a museum piece. Much of the parklands look dusty and brown from the outside, not inviting at all.
None of which means the Crows should be necessarily be allowed to move into the aquatic centre in North Adelaide. There are plenty of reasons to be wary.
Professional sporting clubs, such as the Crows, at their heart are selfish organisations. They have a narrow world view, everything focused on themselves.
Which makes it legitimate to ask what happens when their needs conflict with the wider requirements of the general public in a facility such as an aquatic centre. But, it’s also true there is a need to markedly improve the current decrepit centre.
The bigger issue is the Federal Government chipping in $15 million to help the Crows move from West Lakes.
The Crows are the wealthiest sporting organisation in the state, owned by the AFL, the wealthiest sporting organisation in the country. Both have already done very well out of the public funds spent on Adelaide Oval. They should pay for this one themselves. It’s the price for taking over what is public land.
Next there will be a stoush over the proposal to build a second multipurpose sporting stadium in the parklands. It would be a venue that could host Adelaide United A-League games, basketball, tennis, concerts and more. It is something that would improve the city, as the redevelopment of the Oval did.
Again, there are important questions that will need to be worked through before it happens, such as how much will it cost and what benefits will it ultimately bring.
The State Government may ask itself, for example, can it commit so much money to a project that will benefit Adelaide United, if it doesn’t know who owns the club?
There will be time and room for many views to be canvassed. But it will be a waste of time asking for any input from the members of the Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association. It won’t even matter what the question is, the answer will be no.