MotoGP Tree Felling Began as First Four Trees Came Down in Adelaide
NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 14, 2026
Tree felling
Tree felling began Friday for the new Adelaide MotoGP circuit, and the first four trees came down in Victoria Park and Rymill Park as the project moved from planning into visible work. Arborists started the removals as the street circuit pushed into the Adelaide parklands, a shift that drew opposition as work began. The initial cutting set the tone for what is expected to be a much larger operation, with the South Australian Government planning to remove 377 trees from the parklands. Officials say 42 of those trees are classified as significant, while 88 are slated for transplantation. The government says most of the trees targeted for removal are invasive, dead or in poor health. It has also promised to replace the removed trees at a 10-to-1 ratio, a plan that would mean more than 3,000 new plantings, according to the government. That promise sits at the center of the public debate over the planned removals and replacement plantings.
Protest pressure
Dozens of protesters gathered in the Adelaide parklands Friday as the arborists worked, turning the tree removal into an immediate flashpoint. Police attended the protest site as the crowd grew around the work zone. Some protesters breached fences and climbed trees, trying to slow the operation and draw attention to the removals. Others chanted “stop the chop” at the site. The scene captured how quickly the tree work escalated into a broader public dispute over the MotoGP street circuit and the way it will use the parklands. The confrontation on the ground showed that the issue is about more than landscaping. It is about access, environmental value and the future of a public space that many residents see as part of Adelaide’s identity.
Campaign response
The Lungs of the City campaign launched an open letter urging the government to halt the tree removals, and the document had drawn 6,500 signatures at the time of writing. The list of signatories includes Paul Kelly, Sia and Dev Patel. The letter adds another layer of pressure on Premier Peter Malinauskas, who dismissed it Thursday. That response leaves the government firmly committed to the circuit work and to its tree replacement plan, even as the public challenge grows louder. The debate now centers on whether the removals can be justified by the promise of replacements and the broader race project, or whether the first cuts in Victoria Park and Rymill Park mark too steep a price for the new event. The facts on the ground are clear. The trees have started coming down, the protests have started, and the argument over the parklands is moving with them.
