News

Debates around heritage can often be polarising, with arguments for and against resulting in more heat than light. The former State Labor Government took an adversarial approach to heritage, with the former Planning Minister proposing a number of measures to dilute or remove heritage protections, pursuing a simplistic ‘pro-development, anti-heritage’ agenda. For the past 10 years, South Australia has lagged the rest of the country in investing in heritage conservation […]  Read More

In February, the State Government’s secret plan to repeal Martindale Hall’s conservation park status and extinguish the charitable trust protecting the historic mansion and grounds was made public. Such a move opens the door to privatising this priceless public asset, gifted in trust for the people of South Australia by the University of Adelaide in 1986, continuing the spirit of the Mortlock family’s original bequest. If successful, the Government plan […]  Read More

There has been a rash of bad architecture getting approval of late. This includes a recent proposal for a 34 story student accommodation tower on North Terrace which may be approved even though the state government’s own architect says this type of building does not belong there. Our beautiful heritage places and streetscapes are significantly compromised by these monstrosities which are knocked up for a quick buck to cash in on international […]  Read More

More than 300 people attended the Valuing our Heritage forum at UniSA on 15 February. A panel of seven candidates and elected officials responded to a series of questions submitted by the public. Represented were the Liberals, Labor, Greens SA, SA Best, Australian Conservatives, Adelaide City Council  and Advance SA. The questions covered a number of key areas including why heritage is important, the Minister’s powers to delist provisionally listed State heritage places, how […]  Read More

The Trust has previously reported on various policy and regulatory matters which will impact on local heritage protection and conservation. These include the roll out of South Australia’s new planning system. The Trust is concerned that under this system the fate of contributory items and historic conservation zones is unclear. In addition,  the community has fewer rights to participate in and challenge planning decisions. The new Community Engagement Charter is […]  Read More

The National Trust is seeking national recognition for historic Fort Largs at Taperoo, one of the state’s most important military history sites. The Trust has nominated the Fort and the associated World War II buildings for national heritage listing, adding it to the list of more than 100 of the most important heritage places in Australia. The future of the Fort remains in limbo after plans for the redevelopment of […]  Read More

More than 300 people attended the Valuing our Heritage forum at UniSA on 15 February. A panel of seven candidates and elected officials responded to a series of questions submitted by the public. The full video of the forum is here:    Read More

Heritage is an election issue of interest to many people. The National Trust is convening a public forum to debate the risks and opportunities for our heritage with MPs and candidates from major parties invited to respond to your questions about heritage in a Q&A style format on Thursday 15 February at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia from 6pm-7.30pm. Admission is free, but pre-registration is […]  Read More

The Minister for Planning, John Rau, has declared that his controversial proposals to dismantle the state’s local heritage protection system will be put on hold until after the State election.  He is reported as saying he would not pursue changes to local heritage listing laws because of “limited parliamentary time” before the state election in March. The announcement coincided with yesterday’s official launch of the National Trust’s report on the […]  Read More

In August last year the state Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure released an eight-page discussion paper that threatened to upset the entire system of local heritage protection. Many people objected not only to the provocative content, but to the ridiculously brief 4-week period allowed for public consultation. Under pressure, the department extended the deadline by four weeks. By 7 October nearly 200 submissions had been received from councils, residents’ […]  Read More

  A reprieve?  DAC asks developer for a better rationale for tree removal:  Advertiser story ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Update: Thanks to all who made today’s rally such a success: Advertiser story  ABC news ——————————————————————————————————————- As part of the redevelopment of the former Glenside Hospital site, developer Cedar Woods has lodged a development application to remove 83 significant and registered trees from the site.  This proposal flies in the face of assurances made […]  Read More

There has been little news about plans for the former Glenside hospital site since the announcement of the preferred developer in July.   But the latest is not good, especially for those who had trusted in the Government’s commitments for the site. Cedar Woods, the chosen developer, has lodged an application with the Development Assessment Commission for approval to remove 83 significant and regulated trees from the grounds.  This application […]  Read More

The State Government is calling for public feedback on its recently announced plan for the future of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site. On Sunday 27 November there is a community open day at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens on the Palm House Lawns from 11am- 3pm. The latest plans for the old Royal Adelaide are described by the Government as featuring: More than 2ha transferred to the Adelaide Botanic Garden […]  Read More

More than 300 people turned up for a public forum on the State Government’s controversial proposals to diminish local heritage protections and remove councils and communities from future decision making.  A number of speakers addressed the meeting, questioning the Government’s rushed approach, it’s refusal to engage in open public debate and the many flaws, inconsistencies and omissions in its recent local heritage discussion paper.   See also the National Trust’s initial […]  Read More

The State Government continues to refuse to run any open public consultation on its controversial proposals to dismantle our local heritage protection system. However, the Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide, Martin Haese, has called an open public forum on local heritage at the Adelaide Town Hall on Monday 26th September from 6pm-7.30pm. This is your chance to let the government know how you feel about its proposals to […]  Read More

The National Trust is calling on the State Government to reconsider its proposals for radical changes to local heritage protections and to undertake a full public consultation on its plans. You may already be aware that far-reaching changes to legislation detrimental to the protection of Local Heritage places are being proposed by John Rau, Minister for Planning. We urge you urgently to read the Government’s Discussion Paper (here) and the […]  Read More

  The State Government has released a discussion paper on local heritage protection without so much as a news release to explain its intention or the process for public consultation on the radical and damaging ‘reforms’ to our State’s heritage protection system it proposes.  As reported in the media, the Government’s paper and rushed approach to public consultation, has already raised great concern.  The National Trust is calling for an open […]  Read More

After years of uncertainty about the future of Fort Largs at Taperoo, the National Trust has joined a partnership with the State Government and developer A V Jennings to restore the historic fort and open it to the public as part of an overall redevelopment of the site. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan announced the partnership at the fort on 17 June. The Trust has been campaigning with other […]  Read More

The National Trust of South Australia has made a formal bid to take over the running of historic Martindale Hall and create a world class tourism destination. A proposal just lodged with the State Government seeks to transform the Martindale Hall Conservation Park into an integrated heritage based tourist attraction inspired by similar National Trust estates in the UK and, an Australian example, Sovereign Hill in Victoria. The Hall itself, […]  Read More

A year ago, a community meeting in Clare strongly endorsed keeping the iconic heritage property Martindale Hall in public ownership.   The meeting was addressed by Shadow Minister for the Environment and Conservation, The Honourable Michelle Lensink MLC, who called on the Government to guarantee continued public ownership of Martindale Hall and suggested exploring more innovative approaches to fundraising to support ongoing maintenance costs for the Hall.   Local State […]  Read More