STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator BARBARA POCOCK (South Australia) (13:47): In South Australia, over the past four years, we have seen unprecedented attacks on our precious Adelaide Park Lands, a South Australian icon that makes our city so unique and so special. Globally and locally, 2027 is set to be one of the hottest years on record, and we know that green spaces, like our precious parklands, combat the urban heat that so many other cities are suffering from through the climate crisis and provide an essential haven for wildlife as well as people.

So many people in our city enjoy our parklands every week. Our parklands are for everybody. They're not corporate boxes and they're not fenced off for big business, for wealthy property developers or for the power-hungry premiers.

They are a resource for all South Australians. Last month, I joined thousands of people in our city at a rally calling on Premier Malinauskas to stop the chop. We've already lost hundreds of trees, and we're set to lose hundreds more as our premier chases down corporate events that are trashing our precious parklands.

The MotoGP is just another in a long line of the premier's destructive pet projects, ripping 400 mature trees out of our parklands, costing $96 million in a cost-of-living crisis and industrialising our parklands. It's all wrong—more concrete, more noise and a lot of public money going to something we don't need when thousands of South Australians are looking for a roof over their head.

A past public official has told us the South Australian government has overestimated the income and underestimated the cost. South Australians are going to pay more than they expect for this event. Minister Watt needs to have a very close look as he reviews this project on our national heritage parklands.

We need to protect them for the future of all South Australians in our precious city, where the parklands are at the centre of public amenity. (Time expired)