The 15.4-billion-dollar River Torrens to Darlington project is well underway and tunnelling is expected to start in 2026. A plan to process the excavation spoil in Adelaide's north-west has been given the green light, but locals have raised serious concerns about its impact on surrounding wetlands and the controversial history of the spoil site.
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00:00These waterways in suburban Adelaide are part of the largest constructed wetlands in the
00:07country.
00:08It lies just south of the Port River and despite sitting in an industrial zone, it's a crucial
00:12filter for storm water and a breeding spot for water birds.
00:16We have very few fresh water ecosystems in this state, so being able to provide fresh
00:22water for shorebirds and coastal birds is really, really important.
00:27Catherine McMahon believes the wetlands are at risk.
00:30The state government has earmarked land adjacent to the wetlands for the deposit of 7.5 million
00:35tonnes of spoil dug up from the upcoming Torrens to Darlington tunnel project.
00:40If it goes ahead, trucks will dump spoil there every four minutes.
00:44The land at Gilman needs three metres of fill before it can be developed, so the government
00:48sees the proposal as a win-win.
00:50This is state-owned land and it's a benefit to every South Australian to receive this
00:54fill, to receive the benefit of this fill coming from an iconic project.
00:59We don't know to what extent the various contaminants on this land at Gilman, which
01:05is very, very low-lying, we don't know whether anything is currently leaching out into the
01:10wetlands.
01:11While the Environmental Protection Agency has provided a draft submission to the State
01:15Commission Assessment Panel, it's yet to conduct serious testing on the site.
01:20The local council is advocating for measures to be put in place to protect the wetlands.
01:24You started this in 2021, how do you manage to be so poorly informed and still be going
01:31ahead with this development?
01:32This will not take any spoil till we've done all the mandatory requirements.
01:36This land at Gilman was the subject of an ICAC probe back in 2015, which found two Renewal
01:41SA CEOs engaged in maladministration by selling an option to the land.
01:45That option has now expired, but some are questioning who stands to benefit from having
01:50the land filled free of charge.
01:52The government insists it's the taxpayer.
01:54Under the remit of Renewal SA and the state government, they'll make decisions on what
01:58happens with that land in the future.
02:00The Planning Minister refused to comment until he receives a report from the Assessment Panel.