Commenting on the story: Urban sprawl not a dirty word as planning review kicks off

Does Peter Malinauskus knows more than the scientists about the impacts of urban sprawl?

Australia’s 2021 ‘State of the Environment Report’ says ‘Our cities and towns are growing, and there is increasing demand for land to be used for built infrastructure to support population growth. As a result, the built environment is outcompeting other land uses, and leading to removal of land from agricultural production or clearing of natural areas’.

Mt Barker is an example of how we stopped growing crops and grew houses instead.

Land clearing – necessary for such urban expansion – is described in the report as being ‘the main cause of biodiversity loss in Australia (which) also exacerbates erosion and salinity, reduced water quality, increases the impact of drought and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions’.

We ignore the advice of scientists at our peril. – Sandra Kanck

Good grief. “Malinauskas said people should be able to choose to live in “well-regulated” higher density homes close to the city or larger homes with bigger backyards”.

Methinks the Premier needs to visit the urban sprawl north and south. Larger homes. No. Bigger backyards. No. Just isolated little boxes on the hillside. – Steve Harrison

In response to a 14,000 signature petition and submissions on the 2016 Act and the Planning and Design Code, the parliamentary Legislative Review Committee (LRC) prepared a comprehensive and extensively researched 300 page Report which was tabled in November 2021 and released to the public last month.

The new ‘Expert Panel’ should not waste its and the community’s time by initiating another prolonged public consultation. Instead it should sit down, read the existing parliamentary Report, and set about promoting its 14 strong recommendations with Government.

These recommendations address every aspect of the Code: its distorted genesis, its flawed administration and governance, its disastrous policies, its chaotic implementation, its damaging environmental impacts and its neglect of individual and community rights.

We don’t need more consultations, discussions and reports. The blueprint for change, repair and reform is all there in the LRC Report. Now we need and deserve action. – Warren Jones

Commenting on the story: Crows choose Thebarton for new ‘world class’ HQ 

Please make sure there is a facility for the general public to watch games on big screens. This ensures that all fans have access to a special day out for their families and is essential in building a community focused club.

Club revenue could be raised from cheap entry and food concessions.  Families that don’t have access to membership are a vital club lifeline, including for merchandise sales. When we play finals, we need options for the non-member fanbase. The Crows are a club for all South Australians. – Deb Wheare

Commenting on the story: Is Adelaide’s arts infrastructure keeping up with our ambitions?

Adelaide has good general music facilities for a city of its size – the Festival centre, Adelaide Town Hall, Elder Hall, Her Majesty’s, but needs a specially constructed concert hall like the City Concert Hall in Sydney.

We are lucky to have a ‘country’ concert hall of the quality of Ukaria. We need a venue of similar quality which has easy tram, train and road access in the centre of the city. – Claire Luckett