New Women’s and Children’s Hospital Project

Consultation has concluded. Thanks for your contributions.

Are you a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in the city of Adelaide?

What's being decided?

This is a part of a wider consultation that began on Thursday 8 July 2021. This YourSAy engagement is another opportunity for you to give feedback.

We want to hear from you about a proposal to develop the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital (the Project).

The Project encompasses land bounded by the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the River Torrens to the east, the Adelaide Gaol and River Torrens to the North, Bonython Park and the Thebarton Police Barracks to the west, and Karen Rolton Oval and Park 25 (No.1) to the south (together, Application Area).

The proposed activities involve:

• ground-disturbing activities including large-scale excavation works
• trenching and boring activities
• creation of a stormwater basin
• re-levelling of the land surface
• construction of footings for buildings
• construction of new roads, footpaths and car parks
• realignment of existing roads
• construction of pier footings and associated infrastructure
• construction of multiple bridges
• modification and installation of a range of services including water, wastewater, stormwater drainage, and electrical and medical gas lines
• use of temporary laydown areas, site compounds, storage zones and lifting pads
• landscaping
• the potential export of waste soil and import of new fill material onto the land

Your views will help the Premier decide whether or not to authorise potential excavation of, and damage, disturbance or interference with, Aboriginal heritage that may occur as a result of these activities.

Background

The Premier of South Australia, who is responsible for the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA) (Act), has received an application for authorisations under sections 21 and 23 of the Act from the Applicant.

Section 21 of the Act makes it an offence to excavate land to uncover any Aboriginal site, objects or remains (Aboriginal heritage) without authorisation, while section 23 of the Act makes it an offence to damage, disturb or interfere with Aboriginal heritage without authorisation.

The Applicant has sought the authorisations to undertake the proposed construction of the Project adjacent to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Adelaide, within the Application Area.

Before considering whether to grant the authorisations, section 13 of the Act requires the Premier to consult with Traditional Owners, the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee (Committee), and other Aboriginal parties that he thinks may have an interest in the matter.

Get involved

If you are a Traditional Owner or an Aboriginal party with an interest in the Application Area, please read the Consultation Information Pack and consider the following questions:

1. Should the authorisations be granted to the Applicant? Why or why not?
2. If the authorisations are granted, what conditions, if any, should be placed on them?
3. Are there any other matters that the Premier should be aware of when considering the application?

Have your say by:

• calling us on (08) 8226 8900
• emailing your feedback to DPC-AAR.CIR@sa.gov.au
• posting your feedback to:
  Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation
  GPO Box 2343
  ADELAIDE SA 5001

Please note, no consultation meeting will be held as part of this consultation process. Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) will endeavour to contact Aboriginal parties with a known interest in the Application Area before the consultation period closes. If you are not contacted and wish to learn more and/or lodge a verbal or written submission, please contact AAR.

Submissions must be received by AAR by Thursday 12 August 2021.

What are the next steps?

Your feedback will be treated confidentially. However, unless specified otherwise, submissions will be provided to the Applicant, the Committee and the Premier for consideration.

Once the public consultation period has closed, submissions and the Applicant’s comments will be forwarded to the Committee for its review. The Committee’s own views about the Project will also be sought. AAR will collate consultee submissions, the Applicant’s responses to them, the Committee’s advice, and its own recommendations to the Premier within a single brief to assist him to make a final decision about the application.