Board presiding member Judy Potter sent a strongly worded letter to Speirs specifically referring to Bragg MP Jack Batty, who has been actively campaigning over the “incorrect claim” that proposed changes to the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Act 1978 would lead to new entry charges.

Potter said Batty was personally briefed about the board having no “intention to levy a general entry charge to the botanic gardens”.

The letter, seen by InDaily, called on Speirs to “correct the record on the suggestion that general charges are being introduced, or even contemplated”, and it also refuted Liberal Party claims that the proposals would also lead to new parking charges.

“A central tenet of this campaign is the incorrect claim that these changes to the act will result in the introduction of general entry charges to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden and the Wittunga Botanic Garden,” the letter said.

“No proposed changes to the act reference general entry charging, with the exception of special sites and projects that have been subject to entry charges for many years, and across multiple governments.

“Given that we were very clear with your team on this, statements that there is a plan to introduce general entry charges across our sites, and the stress that this claim is causing our loyal visitors and our staff, are particularly disappointing.”

Batty is the Opposition’s Shadow Assistant Minister for Environment and Heritage, and has a video on his Facebook page saying Labor was expected to progress “picnic tax legislation” through parliament that would see “entry fees to enter the botanic gardens and also new paid parking on weekends”.

He has a petition online that asks people to choose a yes or no box in answer to the question “do you think an entry fee to public spaces is fair?”, and has been actively lobbying South Australians walking past the Adelaide Botanic Gardens gates in the city.

“Help us keep our state’s Botanic Gardens free to the public, and take a stand against SA Labor’s attempt at more quick cash grabs,” Batty urged South Australians reading posts on his site, adding that he had been “out at the Botanic Gardens speaking to families and campaigning against new entry fees and paid parking”.

Jack Batty campaigning at the Adelaide Botanic Garden with a “Picnic Tax for Botanic Gardens” pamphlet. Photo: Facebook

The Opposition also has claimed the proposed changes will lead to new car parking fees at Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium (BGSH) sites.

Potter wrote that parking fees had “long been part of our operation, and funds raised from these go directly to support the important horticultural, conservation and public engagement work of the BGSH”.

She said the proposed changes to the act were instigated by Speirs himself under his direction as Minister on September 17, 2021, when the board was asked to pursue commercial opportunities. Speirs is now Opposition leader and environment spokesman.

The proposed changes to the act were, Potter claimed, designed to provide the board with more flexibility.

“The modification of the 1978 Act’s blanket ban on parking charges on Sunday were proposed to better enable the board to manage parking demand at a time when parking charges apply across the city on Sundays,” Potter said in her letter to Speirs.

“Again, I was clear with your office that there is no immediate plan to implement this, rather it was to give the board the flexibility to respond to parking demand over the future life of the act.”

Special events and programs, according to Potter, have helped gardens’ staff boost visitation in the gardens and herbarium to a six-year high of 1.3 million in the past financial year.

“On behalf of the board, I ask you to correct the record on the suggestion that general charges are being introduced, or even contemplated, by the board,” Potter said.

Speirs was unrepentant, saying: “Peter Malinauskas’ plan to charge entry fees and implement paid parking at the Botanic Gardens was outrageous and we moved quickly to shut down Labor’s policy, in line with the views of the Botanic Gardens Board.”

“After opposition from the Liberal Party and widespread community backlash, Peter Malinauskas was also forced to oversee amendments to Susan Close’s legislation to ensure Labor can’t revive this ridiculous cash grab plan in the future.”

A spokesman said the campaign referred to Environment Minister Close saying in parliament that the act amendments aimed to enable the board to address the “issue of entering into a broader range of commercial arrangements… and the option to introduce paid parking on Sundays and public holidays as a future possibility in line with similar changes occurring across the City of Adelaide”.

Close said the Botanic Gardens, like other cultural institutions, “need to raise additional funds to deliver an evolving array of services and events, and for a range of research and conservation projects”.

“This Bill simply enables them to do that through special events and products, just like the Art Gallery and the SA Museum,” she said.

Batty was unavailable for comment.