WHAT SORT OF GOVERNMENT BETRAYS ITS CITY LIKE THIS - FOR ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR!  

Hello all. Under a deal sealed in private without any competitive tender or public scrutiny this State Government has bulldozed through unthinkable changes to the City’s Riverbank Precinct and Entertainment SubZone in order to make way for another unwarranted and destructive office tower on public land. Its behaviour is as audacious as it is offensive.
 
It has challenged the public to call it out which we must do. It shows what our Premier really cares about – and what he is prepared to do to achieve his goals.  It's our opportunity to show him that yes, Adelaide does have a spine, and that enough is enough, that he has no right to give away the  heart of our city and to get considerably less than the price of a coffee back. A lease of one dollar per year for 100 years is absurd. 
Why won't the government let the public know the details of this deal? What are they hiding?
Why is the government in such a hurry to have the Tower built? What are they covering up?
Why isn't any media outlet covering and investigating what could be the most controversial deal ever between the state government and a property developer?
Not since the State Bank has our state government entered into such an ill-advised financial deal.
And as our research has pointed out, integral to the government’s approach throughout is to make this look like a 'done deal' particularly around changes made to the Planning and Design Code to allow 38 storeys. It continues to employ this strategy.  We are being played.

The building does NOT have the full suite of approvals required to commence work. THIS MUST BE STRESSED. It has a conditional planning consent only. There is no  building consent, nor the final development approval as this cannot be given whilst there remains an unresolved pre-condition, or reserved matter, involving State Heritage.
Moreover, the tower has not been cleared under Commonwealth heritage and conservation legislation – specifically on its impact on our nationally-significant State parliament house – the global birthplace of full democratic rights for women, and therefore of full democratic rights for the whole population.
Only yesterday the magnificent Senator Barbara Pocock challenged the Commonwealth Heritage Minister, the Hon Murray Watt, in parliament over his government’s handling of this project. See it here.
The minister clearly has not read his own guidelines which state: • "involve the construction of buildings or other structures within, adjacent to, or within important sight lines of, a National Heritage place which are inconsistent with relevant values."
To insert a crane on the Festival Plaza now, given the steps still needing to be taken before the tower is development ready, is premature at best… a matter which we are attempting to clarify.
WHAT DO WE HAVE PLANNED? A LOT! But we really need your help. 

1.      WE HAVE A 'MARK THE MOMENT' GATHERING AND MEDIA 
          EVENT SCHEDULED FOR NEXT TUESDAY 17TH AT 5PM ON THE 
          PLAZA  - to mark the intrusion into our parliamentary and
         celebratory plaza of a crane - well before development approval.
         Please come for this short ceremony.

        Senator Barbara Pocock, Ex-premier Rev Hon Dr Lynn Arnold
        AO, Legislative Councillor Robert Simms and Deputy Lord
        Mayor Keiran Snape will give short speeches

         It will be a relaxed gathering to show our parliamentarians
        what real people look like, the people who are losing their 
        promised celebratory Plaza to a Sydney company for a 100 years
        for no rational reason.

2. We intend to have a very visible presence at the Festival and
       the Fringe BUT WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS.
We have ordered banners, and will do Vox Pop interviews for social media, and have fliers on hand.
If you could help it would be much appreciated. Hold a banner, hand out fliers, interview participants. Bring your dog. It could be fun!
It would be for outside of the Festival Theatre and the Fringe, or Womad, an hour or so each, with a roster, at least two people at a time. Please email us if you would like to help, and we will organise some sort of scheduling.

AND IF YOU LOVE ORGANISING and can help out, PLEASE LET US KNOW!
Adelaide will show its spine. Something is seriously wrong and we will get to the bottom of it. Our plaza is being taken from us, and our city badly damaged for not the slightest reason. THIS IS A PROFOUND ABSURDITY.

We find there are two groups in the community- those who hate the idea of the tower- in that place, and those who don't even know about it. And the politicians of course, who are, well, different!

3. NB: Please follow us and share us on  Social Media- THIS CAN REALLY HELP
      WE ARE GENERATING A SOCIAL MEDIA SURGE!

Instagram.com/SaveFestivalPlaza
and
Facebook.com/SaveFestivalPlaza

And we are beginning to amass costs again, if you could help out in some way it would be hugely appreciated, however small.
And there will be a large rally in the Parklands on Feb 28th. Please stay tuned.

Thank you again,

Rob

Robert Farnan
Convenor | Save Festival Plaza Alliance
O435007799
Savefestivalplaza@gmail.com
savefestivalplaza.net

BSB 805-007
ACC 00322531 (details are correct) Save Festival Plaza Alliance account