The Opposition will today give notice in the Upper House its intention to establish a select committee inquiry into the “management and preservation” of the Adelaide park lands and whether the principles of the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005 are being met.

According to the committee’s draft terms of reference, the inquiry will consider whether ministerial responsibility for the park lands “is sufficiently clear during decision making processes” and explore ways in which the city’s green belt can be expanded.

The committee will also examine whether the park lands would benefit from state or world heritage listing and likely hear evidence from the Adelaide City Council, the Adelaide Park Lands Authority and community interest groups.

The Malinauskas Government’s management of the Adelaide park lands has come under scrutiny following its decision last September to raze the state heritage-listed Thebarton police barracks for a new $3.2bn Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Legislation which passed parliament in November allowed SA Police to select another patch of park lands for its new barracks at no land acquisition cost to the government.

In February, SA Police chose Mirnu Wirra (Park 21 West or Golden Wattle Park) – an eight hectare plot of city park land on the corner of Greenhill Road and Sir Lewis Cohen Avenue – as its new barracks location.

The site could contain up to 40 police horses, dogs, and include buildings and perimeter fencing.

The decision prompted anger and protests from community and environmental groups and opposition from both Adelaide and Unley Council.

The select committee inquiry would use the Thebarton police barracks relocation as a “case study” decision, according to the draft terms of reference.

Shadow assistant minister for environment and heritage Jack Batty said: “The Adelaide park lands are an integral part of our city’s character and this Select Committee will inquire whether any legislative changes are needed to make sure they are properly protected.

“The decision to essentially bulldoze Park 21 is of huge concern to the local community, as it has the highest biodiversity value of any site within the Adelaide park lands and has been carefully revegetated by volunteers for decades.

“We believe a Select Committee into the operation of the Adelaide Park Lands Act will help clarify if the right decisions about the future of our park lands are being made.”

The Opposition will need the support of the Upper House crossbench to establish the inquiry.

InDaily asked the government whether it supported establishing the select committee inquiry.

In response, Planning Minister Nick Champion did not answer that question but pointed to the government’s track record of park lands protection, including its reversal of the former Marshall Liberal Government’s rezoning of Helen Mayo Park.

The rezoning would have allowed construction of the $662m Riverbank Arena along the River Torrens, which Labor scrapped upon coming into office.

“Our decision to locate important infrastructure like the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital and new Adelaide Aquatic Centre is always balanced with the aim to ensure there is zero-net loss of accessible Park Lands while considering ways to improve access and amenity to surrounding areas,” Champion said in a statement.

“The Malinauskas Labor Government has delivered on its election commitment to fully restore Park Lands protection to Helen Mayo Park (Park 27) by abolishing zoning changes made by the former Liberal Government to build a $662 million basketball stadium on the site.

“This includes investing $1.5 million to revitalise degraded areas of Helen Mayo Park.”

Champion also noted that the Malinauskas Government is supporting the Adelaide City Council’s bid to add the Adelaide park lands to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

However, it also last year withdrew its support for a parliamentary bill to add the park lands to the state heritage register – despite backing the legislation before the 2022 state election.

The legislation, introduced by Greens MLC Robert Simms, was passed by the Upper House in October and now awaits debate in the Lower House.

It was due to be discussed in the Lower House on Wednesday but Labor voted to adjourn debate until a later sitting.