Kaurna elder Jeffrey Newchurch warns proposed Riverbank Precinct zoning changes threaten burial sites

A Kaurna elder has confronted the state’s planning boss over fears the Marshall Government’s City Arena and rezoning schemes will put a series of sacred sites in peril.

Aboriginal burial grounds within the Adelaide parklands are at risk of development under proposed zoning changes, a meeting has heard.

Kaurna elder Jeffrey Newchurch has told the Adelaide City Council reconciliation committee there were numerous culturally significant sites within areas the state government wants to make available for commercial development.

Mr Newchurch confronted PlanSA director Anita Allen during a presentation about changes to the Riverbank Precinct which have been released for community consultation until October 27.

He told Ms Allen the Kaurna community had been inadequately consulted about possible new planning rules alongside the River Torrens, near the old Adelaide Gaol and on Frome Rd, between Lot Fourteen and Botanic High School.

Kaurna elder Jeffrey Newchurch outside the Adelaide Town Hall. Picture: Colin James

“There are burial grounds spread everywhere from the Botanical Gardens to Hackney, right up to Stepney,” he said.

“All along the river there are burial grounds. It is recorded, it is known.”

Mr Newchurch said the proposed site for a new $662m entertainment arena announced by Premier Steven Marshall was among those with cultural significance.

“The Premier has talked about the area around the entertainment centre as a paddock of weeds. That paddock of weeds is important to us, it is a heritage site to us,” he said.

“The language and terminology has to be confronted.”

Mr Newchurch said all of the River Torrens was important to the Kaurna because it was a “living entity”.

“But we are the last people to be consulted,” he said.

“We’re not recognised, we’re not properly engaged, we don’t benefit.

“It is just tick a box approach. We are sick and tired of it. It is a disgrace.”

The proposed new zone for the health precinct near the Thebarton Police Barracks and old Adelaide Gaol. Picture: PlanSA

The proposed new innovation subzone for the Riverbank Precinct on Frome Rd. Picture: PlanSA

Mr Newchurch addressed the meeting after a briefing by Ms Allen and PlanSA planning operations manager Brett Steiner about the proposed Riverbank Precinct code amendment.

Under the changes, buildings up to 20 levels high would be permitted in some parts of the parklands near North Tce while a multi-storey carpark would be built next to a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital near a historic olive grove.

Small-scale development such as cafes and kiosks would be allowed on Pinky Flat, which was culturally significant to the Kaurna.

Mr Newchurch told Ms Allen that while the Kaurna had been consulted about the new WCH, PlanSA “has jumped the fence” by “suddenly” including the area near the Adelaide Gaol and Thebarton Police Barracks.

The proposed new riverbank activation subzone in the Riverbank Precinct which includes Pinky Flat. Picture: PlanSA

The department had not given the Kaurna enough time to consider the proposed zoning changes.

“I come back from a break and I get an urgent call from the Adelaide City Council saying I need to start talking to our people,” he said.

“To be left in this space, not being properly recognised or properly engaged, is totally useless to us.
“It is a disgrace. We need to take this to our community. We have to take it our children and our grandchildren, because it is their future.”

Mr Newchurch said he was “totally disappointed” with how the consultation process had been handled by PlanSA, especially with a two-month period for public feedback.

Artist's impressions of Riverbank West, a planned stadium on the banks of the River Torrens.

“The time frame is an insult to us,” he said.

“It makes it difficult for us to get a submission in from our community.

“Time and time again you do this.

“It is our mental wellbeing you do not take into account.

“It is just tick a box, tick a box. I have done what I have to do, engage with Aborigines but our community is stretched far and wide.”

Mr Newchurch was supported by fellow Kaurna committee member, Deanne Harchant-Nichols, who said it was “insulting” there had not been more consultation.

“As Uncle Jeffrey has said, there are burial sites all along the river,” she said.

“There has been no consultation with the community.
“There has been numerous opportunities for this to happen.

“It is really insulting that this (until October 27) is the specific amount of time we have got to make comments.”

Pinky Flat is a site of important cultural significance to the Kaurna. Picture: Emma Brasier

Ms Allen, who announced her resignation on Wesdnesday, undertook to organise urgent high-level talks between her department and Kaurna representatives as a matter of priority.

A state government spokeswoman said the government held the Kaurna people and their views “in the highest regard, and appreciates the importance of their connection to this land”.

“Every effort has been made to ensure places of particular importance are protected, reflecting the cultural significance of the land,” she said.

“The views of the Kaurna people are an essential part of this process and soon after consultation commenced, a concerted effort was made to contact key representatives from both the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation and South Australian Native Title Services.

“However, numerous attempts to get hold of representatives were unsuccessful.”

The spokeswoman confirmed PlanSA since had “been in touch with the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation to discuss the best way of ensuring their voices are heard through this consultation process”.