South Australia now hosts major events like the popular AFL Gather Round thanks to its sports-loving premier, but his decision to establish LIV Golf in Adelaide’s heritage-listed parks is drawing widespread criticism of Peter Malinauskas.
It’s the manner in which he took control of the council-run North Adelaide Golf Course that has raised eyebrows about how he uses his power.
Mr Malinauskas and his state Labor government hold a large majority and awarded the contract for the course redesign to Greg Norman Golf Course Design, without issuing a tender.
Australian golfing great Norman is also a board member of LIV Golf and became a pariah in the sport when he helped launch the Saudi-backed tour.
The government says the contract was awarded through direct engagement and that Mr Norman’s company has specialist skills and a reputation to uphold.
The North Adelaide Golf Course is set to be redeveloped. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
However, critics like Assemblyman Frank Pangallo told 7:30 p.m. that the city council had been “rigged.”
“I support LIV Golf, but the way The Prime Minister’s behavior is quite arrogant and I think it speaks to the hubris of this government,” he said.
“Here we have a Prime Minister of ‘good times’… and in reality he only talks about football, meat pies, golf balls and supercars, and that makes the plebs happy.“
Mr Pangallo said Malinauskas’ government enjoyed enormous public popularity, allowing it to do whatever it wanted. The next elections will take place in March 2026.
Frank Pangallo has criticized the way the South African prime minister acted. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
“This government needs to be held accountable. They really are doing it and unfortunately that’s not the case. They’re going to go into an election campaign full of themselves,” Mr Pangallo said at 7:30 p.m.
“They seem to be flying right now. It doesn’t last.
“Ultimately there are bigger issues that are going to start to hurt and bite, you know, cost of living pressures, housing affordability.
“They didn’t solve any of this. They haven’t fixed the ramp… There are people who can’t access our hospital system.“
South African Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas has found himself embroiled in controversy. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
The South African government has, however, committed $1.7 billion over five years from 2024-25 to meet increasing levels of demand in the public health system.
State Urban Development Minister Nick Champion said the government had legislated to take control of the city council because it could not afford any delays in redeveloping the route for LIV.
Urban Development Minister Nick Champion believes the redevelopment is for the good of South Africa. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
“We take a golf course and it gets even better,” Mr. Champion told 7:30.
“They’re the ones who make it controversial and then they say, ‘oh, well, you guys should get back to basics.’ We want to get back to basics.
“Let’s have a debate about ramping up. Let’s have a debate about housing and we’re confident we’ve taken the necessary steps.”
The mayor is left “blinded”
The government announced the purchase of the golf course while the city council’s mayor, Jane Lomax-Smith, a former Labor state minister, was on an overseas business trip.
Upon her return, she said the council had worked with the government to bring LIV Golf closer to the Adelaide CBD. The council has managed and invested in the North Adelaide Golf Course for over 100 years.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Jane Lomax Smith said she felt “blindsided” by Mr Malinauskas’ decision. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
“Our investment is being removed and…it’s not a particularly collaborative way of doing business,” she said on 7:30 p.m.
“We didn’t do any obstruction, we didn’t create bureaucracy. We didn’t find any barriers.
“We were really blindsided by this.“
LIV Golf is funded by the Saudi government’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, which has been criticized for many years for “sportswashing” as a way to distract from the country’s record of human rights abuses.
LIV Golf is a product of the Saudi government’s Sovereign Fund. (AP/LIV Golf: Charles Laberge)
Mr Champion called critics “knockers” who focused on the process, while the government focused on the results of the “big event”.
“These people who are making these criticisms want to snow Adelaide and want to keep it for the very, very privileged few,” he said.
“They want to keep it nice and quiet and we will all be bored if we follow their agenda.
“They’re always trying to find process issues and, you know, human rights issues and all these other things.“
The City of Adelaide organized the Parklands course. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
Golf members indifferent
The city’s golf course will be redeveloped to accommodate LIV Golf at a cost of at least $45 million and, outside of the event, will remain a public golf course.
During the tour of the course at 7:30 p.m., golfers were full of praise for Mr. Malinauskas.
“He is a very good prime minister and he does very good things in all aspects of decision-making,” one of them told 7:30.
Another golfer said having a “world-class golf course” close to the city’s accommodations and restaurants would be exciting.
But concerns about redevelopment remain.
The government won’t say how much Greg Norman’s golf course design company will be paid.
Australian golfing great Greg Norman became a pariah in the sport when he helped launch LIV Golf. (Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)
Mr Pangallo said the charges should be made public.
“The government needs to be upfront about this, it’s taxpayers’ money,”
he said.
“Don’t hide behind the cabinet in confidentiality and commercial confidentiality and all that.”
Mr. Champion said he did not know when fees from Mr. Norman’s firm would be announced.
“Ultimately, all these figures tend to be released as part of the projects. But as to when they will be released, I’m not sure,” he said at 7:30 p.m.
A bigger and better Adelaide?
It is not yet clear how many new buildings will be constructed along the park route and how many trees will be cut down.
Mr. Champion said that “for every tree we remove, we will plant three more.”
While the city course is expected to host LIV Golf events from 2028, the event is only guaranteed in Adelaide until 2031.
Fans celebrate at Grange Golf Club following the announcement LIV Golf is set to stay in Adelaide. (ABC News)
Mr Pangallo feared golf club members would pay the price in the long term.
“It’s about $40 on the weekend (to play right now). On a standard PGA golf course… it could be $150 to $200,” he said.
“This will cost the state a lot of money. Who will maintain it? Where will the money come from…how much will the contributions be?“
The government believes that the redevelopment will bear fruit. This year’s LIV Golf event, held at the suburban course, brought the state an $81 million windfall.
“It will be even bigger and even better in the city and it will help us attract other events, like women’s golf,” Mr Champion told 7:30.
“This will bring life, activity and investment to our parks.”
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