South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has personally intervened to halt plans to compulsorily acquire the land occupied by beloved Mount Barker restaurant Wok the Duck, after more than a thousand residents rallied behind the family-run eatery in a matter of days. The state government had earmarked the site for a new $61 million primary school, but intense community pressure has forced an urgent rethink.

Premier questions his own government's decision

Speaking on Wednesday, Premier Malinauskas said he would personally examine why the Wok the Duck site had been selected from a shortlist of 16 possible locations, flagging concerns about how the process had unfolded.

"I want to make sure that government bureaucracy hasn't acted belligerently here," he said.

The Premier has also committed to meeting directly with the restaurant's owners in the coming days, signalling the matter has reached the highest level of the state government. Education Minister Lucy Hood had publicly celebrated the school project just last Thursday, announcing it would accommodate 350 students — less than 24 hours after the owners were first notified their land would be acquired.

Family blindsided with no consultation

For the three owners — David, Dan and Ebony — the news came without warning. David described the phone call as completely out of the blue, with no consultation process offered before the government moved to acquire the land.

"They're pretty much going to come in and take it, force a sale, and we're going to have to leave one day," he said last Friday.

The timing made the blow particularly painful for Ebony. The call arrived on her birthday, after two years of sacrifices to get the business off the ground — including selling the family home to secure finance after being unable to obtain a business loan while caring for a nine-month-old child.

"I had a nine-month-old at the time, and we couldn't get finance to do a business… so we sold our house," Ebony said.

What followed was a rapid-fire sequence: the family received the news, and within less than 24 hours, the government was announcing the school at a press conference. "It wasn't even 24 hours before a press conference," David said.

Wok the Duck: a community institution in fast-growing Mount Barker

The restaurant has become one of the most popular dining venues in the Mount Barker region — a rare long-standing fixture in an area experiencing rapid population growth in the Adelaide Hills. Beyond meals, the venue regularly hosts market nights and live music, drawing visitors from surrounding new estates and cementing its place in local life.

The response to news of the acquisition was swift and overwhelming. Within days, a community petition had gathered significant momentum, with residents determined to save the eatery from demolition.

Local leaders break ranks

Among the most notable aspects of the backlash was the position taken by local representatives who had been present at the school announcement. Both Mount Barker Mayor David Leach and independent MP Matt Schultz signed the petition opposing the school's chosen location — despite both having been publicly associated with the project's launch.

Mayor Leach revealed that Schultz had privately expressed doubts even before the announcement went public. "I spoke to Matt Schultz the day before — he personally said to me that this is the wrong site," Leach said. The mayor has since shifted his position, saying he now believes the school and restaurant can co-exist on or near the site.

Schultz released a formal statement declaring he was "concerned" about the chosen location, and called for an urgent meeting with the Education Minister to explore alternate sites. "I believe there is space and opportunity for both the new preschool and primary school to be developed without the need for the local family business to relocate," he said.

With the Premier now personally involved and a meeting with the owners imminent, the future of Wok the Duck — and the school project — remains unresolved. The government has given no firm timeline for when a revised decision might be reached.