Paul Starick: Why is Labor siding with the anti-progress brigade to ‘protect’ this rundown part of the parklands?

It’s hardly the jewel of our parklands – the Riverbank Arena site is decrepit, unused and unsafe after dark. So why have upper house MPs joined the anti-development NIMBYs?

The wildly successful redevelopment of Adelaide Oval was supposed to have smashed forever the city’s reflexively anti-development mentality and indecisiveness in the face of progress. Yet the $662m Liberal Riverbank Arena proposal has become a convenient lightning rod for an unlikely coalition trying to subvert an overhaul of a decrepit carpark, rail yards and pathway through a grove of trees where it would be unwise to walk after dark.

It is no great surprise that the upper house on Wednesday night backed a Greens motion opposing the development of Helen Mayo Park – the proposed location for the arena – “on the basis that this represents a further erosion of the Parklands that is inconsistent with its status as a nationally heritage-listed site”.

But it is a further example of political opportunism triumphing over rational debate about city development.

EXCLUSIVE - Adelaide Arena

The proposed arena on the banks of the River Torrens. Picture: Supplied

Labor in June vowed to scrap the Riverbank Arena and divert at least $100m into country health.

Treasurer Rob Lucas then pointed out Labor would free up only $10m over the next two years by scrapping the arena – construction would not start until 2025.

Labor’s conversion to parklands campaigners on this issue aligns Peter Malinauskas – a pro-jobs and state development leader – with fervent anti-development, green and not-in-my-backyard ideology.

This is a potentially dangerous place, given Mr Malinauskas has vowed to remake Labor to focus first on creating jobs and pointedly snub “culture warriors”.

Remember the ALP, in government, wanted to put a permanent grandstand at Victoria Park for the Adelaide 500. It also rightly trumpeted the $397m Adelaide Convention Centre upgrade and expansion, completed in 2017 – just on the other side of the Morphett St bridge from the proposed arena.

In government, Labor stonewalled Adelaide City Council obstruction of Adelaide Oval’s $535m upgrade by imposing a special planning zone around the complex.

Parliamentary numbers might just frustrate any Liberal attempt to rezone the area for the arena, if Labor and crossbenchers combine to back a Greens private members’ bill to block the changes.