Leaked documents show Liberals walked-back support on motion to save imperilled Crown & Anchor

The political fate of a Greens motion to “save the Cranker” has been decided – so what does it mean for the venue’s dedicated supporters?

Live music institution the Crown & Anchor’s future remains under a cloud after a parliamentary vote, with the upper house recognising its history and importance – but falling short of backing changes to the state’s planning laws.

On Wednesday evening, two sections of a Greens motion to save the venue – calling on the Malinauskas government to oppose plans to redevelop the Cranker and pushing to amend state heritage laws – were struck out after the Liberal Party backed amendments from Labor.

Instead, the upper house agreed to “acknowledge an online petition signed by over 15,000 people opposing any attempts at demolition” and recognise the venue as a “cornerstone of Adelaide’s live music scene”.

The move came after leaked party room documents revealed the Liberals’ plans to water down the Greens motion just 24 hours after telling a rally they were “working to support it”.

Opposition planning spokesperson Michelle Lensink has denied the move was a backflip, saying the Liberals raised concerns over the original motion from the start – but Labor frontbencher Tom Koutsantonis said the move was a “betrayal” to the venue’s passionate supporters.

On Sunday, 3000 demonstrators took to the steps of Parliament House in a rally cry to change laws to prevent Singaporean developer Wee Hur Holdings Ltd from gutting the 171-year-old pub and replacing it with a cafe and yoga studio under a 19-storey student accommodation tower.

At the rally, opposition planning spokesperson Michelle Lensink received raucous applause after declaring the Liberal Party was “here to support (the Greens’) motion on Wednesday to put pressure on the government to save the Cranker”.

Ms Lensink informed rally-goers that opposition leader David Speirs had written a letter of support for the venue to receive state heritage listing.

The pub – affectionately known as the Cranker – is listed on the local heritage register, but those protections only safeguard the building’s historic facade.

SA Heritage Council chair and former Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor bought the venue time when she had the pub provisionally listed on the state’s heritage register – but without official entry, the future of the Cranker remains uncertain.

The Greens had been campaigning for a motion that would seek a review of planning and heritage legislation to give consideration to the cultural and social value of a venue instead of just the physical structure.

The final clause of Greens MLC Robert Simms’ motion called on the Malinauskas government to oppose any partial demolition or adaptive reuse of the venue; make a submission to the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) indicating that position; and move to amend state heritage laws.

Up to 3000 people rallied on Sunday to save the beloved live music venue. Picture: Matt Loxton

But leaked documents show that in a Liberal partyroom meeting on Monday, just 24 hours after the rally, Ms Lensink described the clause as “problematic” and sought to replace it with a clause calling on the Malinauskas government to “explore avenues for the Crown and Anchor to receive state heritage listing”.

In another turn, the party is now expected to back the Labor government’s proposed amendments to the motion.

Ms Lensink brushed off suggestions the Liberal Party had appeared to support the motion in full in an act of political point-scoring, saying she “always had reservations” about its final clause.

She said her party’s position was for coexistence of the student housing development and historic live music venue, while supporting the site being awarded state heritage listing.

When asked if the Liberal Party failed to make clear that it would not be supporting the motion in full, she said that people had “misunderstood” what it could achieve.

“When I first met with the Save the Cranker supporter group about two weeks ago, I said to them: ‘There are some elements in (the motion) that don’t make sense’,” Ms Lensink told The Advertiser.

“A lot of people don’t understand that these motions in parliament are used as devices all the time, but they’re not binding – they have no legal effect.

“People had these false expectations of what would happen, but if the motion got passed as it was today, nothing would change.

“If there’s been any failing in this, it’s been that the motion itself has created some confusion.”

When debating the motion in parliament, Ms Lensink said she was confident SCAP would take into account public support for the venue and its historical value.

Opposition spokesperson Michelle Lensink denied the party had walked back its support for the Crown & Anchor. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Roy VanDerVegt

But Mr Koutsantonis lashed the opposition, saying the Liberals had “walked back their commitment behind closed doors”.

“If a patron at the Cranker bought a beer that was as watered-down as this Liberal compromise motion, they’d send it back,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“Either the Speirs-led Liberals’ internal brawling is now having a profound effect on their stated policy positions or they were only ever after a headline, rather than an outcome.”

Earlier this week, Property Council executive director Bruce Djite said any political interference over the independent State Commission Assessment Panel’s process would set a “dangerous precedent” and deter future investors.

Mr Simms said he was disappointed by the Liberals’ turnaround in support, urging the Malinauskas government to continue to “do everything within its power to save the Cranker”.

“Many South Australians will be disappointed to hear the Liberals saying one thing outside parliament when addressing protesters and doing quite another in parliament itself,” he said.

“They say a week is a long time in politics, but three days is even longer for the Liberals who appear to have shifted ground since Sunday’s rally after facing pressure from vested interest groups like the Property Council.”

Mr Simms said the motion was not the end of the campaign, but “just the beginning” of a groundswell of support to protect SA’s cultural vibrancy.

The Crown & Anchor’s future now lies with the independent SCAP body – over which Planning Minister Nick Champion has no say – with the public consultation period for the development open until May 10.

Last week, the Crown & Anchor’s proprietor Tom Skipper urged its supporters to continue their advocacy and write letters of support to SCAP.