Celebrity chef says tree chop in Adelaide parklands 'inexcusable' - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The first trees are being felled to make way for the MotoGP circuit on Friday. (891 ABC Adelaide: Troy Sincock)

Dozens of protesters have gathered in the Adelaide parklands as the first trees are removed to make way for the MotoGP circuit.

Meanwhile a group of Australian celebrities, including Masterchef judge Poh Ling Yeow, have called for a halt to tree removals in the parklands.

The SA government said four trees would be removed on Friday as part of preliminary water works, with construction planned to start next month. 

The first trees slated for removal to make way for the MotoGP track have been felled, as a group of Australian celebrities say losing mature trees in the Adelaide parklands would be one of the greatest environmental tragedies in the state.

891 ABC Adelaide reporter Troy Sincock was on the corner of East Terrace and Bartels Road and said dozens of protesters gathered early this morning behind temporary fencing.

"In the background, the sound of chainsaws in Rymill Park, I then saw workers in high-vis loading large tree boughs into a mulcher," he said. 

Police were present as protesters gathered in the parklands on Friday. (891 ABC Adelaide: Troy Sincock)

He said he saw two protesters sitting in a tree, who were speaking to police.

"The sound of chainsaw and further mulching was then later heard on Rundle Road but police have been speaking to the protesters in the trees, they remain there seemingly undeterred," he said.

"People have been yelling 'stop the chop', and cars are beeping their horns as they pass in support." 

The SA government says the tree removals are part of preliminary water works. (891 ABC Adelaide: Troy Sincock)

He said police had to hold back protesters at one point to allow two trucks to enter the site.

"The protesters were crying 'shame, shame, shame,' they targeted the workers too," Sincock said.

The 4.13-kilometre circuit for the 2027 event was proposed to be laid in Victoria Park and cut through the parklands between Wakefield Road and Rundle Road.

The $96 million project was set to remove nearly 400 trees, including 42 significant trees, with the SA government previously pledging to replace them with mature stock on a 10 to one basis.

The government said the felling of four trees for preliminary water works today was completed around 8am.

A tree stump left behind after preliminary works began this morning in the parklands.  (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)

Dozens of Australian celebrities, including Adelaide-born musicians Paul Kelly and Sia, Masterchef judge Poh Ling Yeow, former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett and comedian and actress Magda Szubanski, have called for the removal of trees for the proposed MotoGP circuit to be stopped.

They have signed an open letter, so far amassing more than 5,000 signatures, asking the SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and the state government to commit to protecting the parklands into the future.

An open letter calling on the SA Premier to halt the removal of trees has so far gained more than 5,000 signatures.  (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)

Speaking at a later press conference on Friday, Poh said the time to act is now.

"If the [MotoGP] project goes ahead, it would mark one of greatest environmental tragedies the state has seen," she said.

"These trees are important, they're an integral part of our state identity, this is about what we value, who our green spaces belong to and what kind of legacy we want to leave for future generations.

Poh Ling Yeow is among a group of celebrities urging the SA government to better protect the Adelaide parklands. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)

"We are absolutely not anti-sport, we understand it has huge community value, it's about finding a better solution.

"The fact that they've gone the path of least resistance, the laziest, most costly for the morale of the city way, it's inexcusable."