Rann demands more
open space at Cheltenham
18th October 2006, Govt of
South Australia
7:30 Report
transcript extract:
"Really that's just the same as borrowing money and spending
it on current expenditure. It's a very bad financial
practice." - JOHN QUIGGAN, ECONOMIST, ANU.
Should the State Government choose to recover taxpayer monies, instead of ploughing it back into the SAJC, it could purchase Cheltenham Park and lease it back to the SAJC, with the intention of adhering to the Subdivision Prohibition by keeping it as the best wet-weather racing track that it is.
There is no requirement to overturn this prohibition since it has been gazetted in 1961. The only reason to do so would be to profit housing, retail and industrial developers. To quote Anthony Toop of Toop & Toop “It would be the single most significant sale in South Australia in the past 10 years” (The Advertiser, 4/8/04).
The foremost runners, Stockland, are interstate developers who already own the Actil site, which is yet to be developed. Are they waiting in drooling anticipation of the acreage they see before them? Sorry, it's too hot an issue to touch!
Let's hope Labor not only can keep it's promise (see "Open Space or Open Slather?"), but can resolve this issue, regardless of which government happens to be in power in the future. What say the shadow government to its position on the future of Cheltenham Park?
Rumour has it that Labor has already made the backflip and will sell the land for shopping and housing development if they get re-elected.
To date, no written response has been received by State Government to the questions raised at a meeting held in April 2005 regarding their position on Cheltenham Park Racecourse. This will be sent to Residents as soon as a response is received, prior to the next election due in March. This is despite their majority in the Upper House. Obviously, "pack 'em in" is their mentality.
To date, no official response has been received by the Liberals either.
This is not an election issue! This is the fight for Open Space and re-creation of what once was the Adelaide plains, if need be. Consult us but don't ignore us.
21st June 2006, The Portside Messenger
See what could happen if a sale to developers occurs:
Spot the last remaining piece of open space in the west:
Image courtesy of Google Earth.
Save Cheltenham Park, and save the Murray River! Both are viable. See the Wetlands proposal.
8th February 2006, The Portside Messenger
Fact Sheet from 21st August 2005 Public Meeting
