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Stealing our public parks for private gain

First it was our public open spaces. Now it is our national parks. When will the State Government stop its theft of the places we hold dear?

Not only is the South Australian Government set to privatise the valuable native plant nursery sited within its bounds, but it plans to hand over part of the park to private developers, says Australian Democrats leader Mike Elliott.

Mr Elliott has condemned the government move to allow a three-fold expansion of the national park’s private caravan park for 100 cabins and a 300-seat conference centre.

"The government is stealing a priceless public asset, not just from present South Australians, but from future generations," he says.

"This is a blatant theft of our public park for private benefit. To attack a national park is immoral.

"Belair, declared a National Park in 1891, is not only the second oldest national park in Australia but the tenth oldest in the world.

"This move shows the government is continuing its attack on publicly owned land, whether it be national parks, Adelaide’s parklands or our coastline."

Mr Elliott says the area earmarked for development contains important plant associations and animal species not found in the rest of the park because of the different geography and geology.

"While some areas of the park are degraded, the area still has significant conservation value and is capable of being regenerated," he says.

"Little remnant vegetation now exists in the Mount Lofty Ranges as a whole.

"What remains should not be threatened by inappropriate development."

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Mike Elliott: a regular user of the Belair native plant nursery which is now set for privatisation in the middle of a national park.

Photo courtesy of Messenger Newspapers.

From guns to paintball . . .
a plea for peace

Ian’s bill seeks to make SA the first State to introduce the proposed national firearms restrictions. Under the Democrats proposed amendments:

• anyone convicted of any intentional act of violence (with or without a weapon) in the last five years would be ineligible to acquire a firearms licence;
• anyone so convicted will automatically lose their licence, and
• police will be empowered to search for and confiscate the firearm(s) of one so convicted.

But the Bill goes further and outlaws paintball. Why?

Ian Gilfillan has explained to Parliament that paintball is more than just a sport…

"The culture of a society cannot be measured by statistics.

Our society, our culture, is shaped by our thoughts, and the words and actions that flow from our thoughts.

If we want to be a society of peace, we should promote peaceful thoughts, words, and actions.

Paintball is not about peace. It is a paramilitary game... As author James Gibson has pointed out: ‘the fundamental sequence of play involves hunting other men, aiming a gun at them, pulling the trigger and making the kill.’

What sort of society are we advocating if we promote regular adrenaline-charges through mock combat training, and swaggering aggression, with a firearm in hand?

...There are very important reasons for saying: "enough is enough." We need to train soldiers in combat tactics, but we do not need to train the general populace, nor encourage that sort of thinking, posturing, and acting.

...Paintball conflicts with the "culture" that I want to see here in SA– it conflicts with the values that I believe a majority of South Australians hold dear." 

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