Billabong Fence Deputation to Council

THE BILLABONG is part of the St Peters River Park and its purpose, as stated in the NPSP Community Land Management Plan (2021) is to, inter alia

1. Provide public open space for the use enjoyment and benefit of the community;
2. Protect and enhance the lifestyle, amenity and sense of place in the city;
3. Protect and enhance the natural environment, including areas of remnant vegetation.

The River Park was officially opened on 9 March 1980.

The “Friends of the Billabong” was formed in October 1988, and were responsible for continuing the programme of replanting and caring for the Billabong and making sure that the park retained its aim of passive recreation. The Friends continue to work within the Billabong to this day and have written to the mayor expressing their concern and disappointment at the installation of the locked gate preventing access to part of the St Peters Billabong environs previously maintained by the Friends.

The Register of National Estate was established under Part IV of the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 and in September 1982, the River Torrens was registered as part of the National Estate.

Every Plan or piece of legislation adopted since the River Park was opened has focused on the protection of the Billabong; be that Development Plans, the Community Land Management Plan, Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act and the Planning and Design Code,

In 2006, the Linear Parks Act, covering the River Torrens River Park, was enacted. The objects and purposes of this Act are (a) to establish, maintain and preserve linear parks as world-class assets to be used and enjoyed as public parks for the benefit of present and future generations; (b) to promote the use and enjoyment of linear parks by members of the local community and others; and (c) to promote healthy active lifestyles by facilitating the use of linear parks by members of the local community and others for exercise and other outdoor activities.

This is the background. The Billabong in its entirety is an important historical, environmental and public asset and is protected by the Linear Parks Act.

The WSP report dated 3 November 2025 which commissioned by Council into the stability of the Billabong did not recommend closure of the track. It recommended an exclusion zone of at least 3m for residents and the public from the crest of the slope, and that it should include installation of signage to warn of the possibility of slope instability. It also stated that current vegetation should be maintained.

The only area where there cannot be a 3m exclusion zone includes the illegal fencing by No 5 River Street.

The erosion factor in almost every engineering report since 2000 predicts 1m every 50 years, hardly urgent.

Council’s closure the track at the top of the Billabong prevents not only the wider community from accessing a beautiful part of the Billabong, but also the Friends’ volunteers from accessing the area to continue their important work. They have spent hundreds of hours over the years planting locally native plants and weeding the area bordering on the Billabong behind the River Street carpark and the rear of the first three neighbouring houses as far as the rear of number 17.

In its current financial position, Council can scarce afford to treat a long-standing and valuable body of volunteers with the contempt it has by not even notifying them of the erection of the fence.

The closure of the affected area coincides with increasing pressure from SPRA for Council to act on the illegal encroachments (and in particular the blatant encroachment by No 5) onto this area by owners of River Street properties overlooking the Billabong.

In the words of Phil McBride,

“The two matters:

1. The illegal encroachment and
2. the placement of the safety fence

could be seen as separate but appear unlikely to be. There seems to be no question that the most recent encroachment should be removed and returned to the actual surveyed boundary. The second action by Council could have been a safety fence along a safe distance from the edge of the cliff face if safety was their concern, rather than blocking public access to the area. It also risks creating a precedent for others to follow ie. the apparent illegal acquiring of Council land. These two actions should be addressed and acted upon at the earliest opportunity. Currently there is considerable erosion of public trust in the local government council due to this investigation and the recent exorbitant spending on council works.”

The history of the encroachments is a long saga, and seems intrinsically intertwined with Council’s recent decision to close the track.

The St Peters Residents Group (SPRA) has been extremely frustrated by the inaction of Council to address this issue of encroachment by residents in River Street, first brought to the attention of Council in January 2018 by Ralph Bleechmore.

In 2022, Ralph Bleechmore emailed Council members about the worsening situation of landscaping and fencing intruding into the Billabong, in particular No 5 had fenced to the edge of the billabong and built to within 7m of the edge.

In October 2022, Mayor Bria wrote to SPRA that he had spoken to Council staff who had confirmed there was no encroachment. The Mayor said that he had been advised that the distance between the rear of the dwelling and the rear boundary of the property backing onto Linear Park ranges from 1.8m to 2.55m.

In response to initial denials by Council of any encroachment in 2022, SPRA subsequently advised Council that there had been a significant disregard of planning approval and encroachment beyond the approved rear boundary by No 5 River Street. This was accompanied by clear photographic evidence presented to Council to this effect. SPRA also stated that they were also aware “that the friends of the Billabong group have an interest in this matter as, until recently, a pathway existed which allowed one to walk around the entire Billabong. As is now evident, this is no longer possible which is a great pity, given the historical significance of the Billabong.”

Frustrated by further delays and lack of Council action, SPRA wrote to the Mayor in January 2023 Follow up correspondence received from Council eventually indicated that they accepted that No 5 had illegally extended their boundary and would be launching legal proceedings to enforce compliance.

In June 2023, ICAC investigated allegations of corruption.

On September 2023, ICAC published its report on its website. Presumably Council was advised of its investigations prior to publication.

Commission investigators were told that after investigating a complaint of encroachment, an officer concluded erroneously that there was no encroachment. No justification for this conclusion was documented. At the same time, other council staff were aware there was an encroachment; but this information was not provided to the investigating officer.

In the words of the Commissioner, “Mistakes of this nature raise suspicion.”

The Commission noted that council officers have responsibility for enforcing compliance with various legislation.

It also emphasised that accessibility to public land was important. “Complaints that residents are unlawfully appropriating public land ought to be promptly investigated and addressed.”

In May 2024, after ICAC had clearly stated that complaints of unlawful encroachment should be promptly investigated and addressed, the Council advised SPRA that whilst it agreed that the encroachment by No 5 River Street was unacceptable, Council would not pursue legal action to enforce compliance by No 5. SPRA was not at that time aware of the ICAC report.

Additional information provided at this time by Council included the following statements:

1. Following protracted negotiations with the owner of No 5 River Street and their legal representatives, Council would not deal with this property in isolation but would address the problem with all landholders in River Street, who are also deemed to have encroached onto public land.
2. This will require a period of two years to develop and implement a strategy and solution to address the encroachment issue.
3. In the interim, the owner of number 5 will be permitted to retain their rear fence in the current location, under a corresponding two-year temporary lease of the encroached land.
4. All affected River Street landholders will shortly be advised of the intention by Council to restrict access to the land between their properties and the Billabong which will be fenced off.

This approach also reflects Council concerns that premature enforcement actions may be met by claims from landholders for retention of land through “adverse possession”

SPRA responded by saying that not one of the properties along River Street has a sound case to claim any of the encroached land by virtue of “adverse possession”. An opinion by a former lawyer to this effect was attached. In addition, it was only No 5 River Street that significantly encroached.

On 15 May 2024 Lisa Mara responded to a letter from Jack Batty about the encroachments. The letter outlined council's plans to realign boundaries and/or license/lease the land.

This is public land covered by the Linear Parks Act. Any lease of public land to private individuals is clearly in breach of the objectives of the legislation. And why was a 2-year lease suggested? We are now at the end of those two years. Members of the public are no longer permitted access anywhere near the offending encroachment. Why is this so? Why has Council delayed action so that No 5 now has uninterrupted views of the Billabong, untroubled by visitors on the track because suddenly members of the public are blocked from using it? Actions of this nature raise suspicions. This encroachment represents a substantial financial benefit to the owners of No 5.

SPRA’s voices its ongoing disquiet and frustration at the delay by Council in taking effective enforcement action to address the encroachment issue, raising issues of lack of partiality and favouritism. The delay has been eight years. And yet, Council was very quick to take action on receipt of engineering reports. Decisions were made within a very short space of time to close the top of the track.

SPRA remains opposed to any proposed lease arrangement with No 5 and the unacceptably lengthy delay to work out a solution to address this problem. In any event, SPRA notes that the Billabong is covered by the Linear Parks Act, and that legislation does not permit council to lease land covered by the Act. It is contrary to the objects and purposes of the Act.

SPRA emphasises again the ICAC Commissioner’s observations that accessibility to public land is important and that complaints that residents are unlawfully appropriating public land ought to be promptly investigated and addressed. This has not been done over the past eight years, and still has not been done.

Such continued inaction by NPSP Council regarding an obvious and ongoing illegal activity raises serious concerns. The public should not have to speculate about why the Council is unwilling to enforce its own regulations in the face of clear evidence. Just because someone is wealthy and can afford high-priced lawyers does not mean that they can flagrantly disregard laws and effectively acquire hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of additional land; land which has been set aside by Parliament for public use and enjoyment.

SPRA considers approaches by Council to deal with encroachment are unacceptable and urge Council to rethink their poorly reasoned strategy and delays in any effective action to deal with this matter.

We ask that Council formally advise SPRA of actions that will be taken to redress the encroachment of public land, specifically by the owner of Number 5 River Street.

We also support the motion by Cr Moorehouse for the reasons outlined above.