What Is Happening To Our Heritage?

Over the last 8 years, multiple state governments have scrapped heritage protections and community rights.

State governments have repeatedly ignored their own recommendations about the need for strengthened, simplified heritage protections.

Instead, governments have forced upon the community a system that is more complex, less accessible, less transparent. A system that allows the places we love to be destroyed or privatised.

A key moment in this process was the passing of the Planning, Development, and Infrastructure Act (2016), which was implemented in the Planning and Design Code (2021).

The consequences of these changes are clear:

  • The prioritising of inappropriate development over heritage, history, and community amenity. 
  • A weakening of heritage protections, historic conservation zones, and demolition control, with open space and thousands of character properties replaced by crowded, ugly infill.
  • The loss of individual rights to be informed about and challenge new developments.
  • The weakening of local council powers.
  • The absence of effective tree controls in South Australia, thanks to a series of loopholes that allow developers to destroy trees without needing approval.
  • The proposal by the previous state government to convert over 10% of our National Heritage-listed Parklands to commercial and retail development.
  • The risks of both destruction and privatisation to iconic State Heritage items: 

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