An urgent bid to stop work on Adelaide’s new MotoGP circuit has landed in the Federal Court – but just who is Joshua Hogan?

The battle over Adelaide’s new MotoGP circuit has moved from the parklands to the courtroom, with a mystery applicant launching Federal Court action seeking an urgent injunction against work on the $96 million project.

And at this stage, nobody seems entirely sure who he is.

Documents lodged with the Federal Court’s Queensland registry on 18 September name Joshua Hogan as the applicant in proceedings against the State of South Australia, seeking an urgent interim injunction relating to work on the new Adelaide street circuit.

South Australian Attorney-General Kyam Maher confirmed the government had been notified of the action and would fight it.

“The South Australian government is aware of the application in the Federal Court seeking an urgent injunction in relation to the works associated with the MotoGP,” Maher said.

“The Crown Solicitor’s Office is currently considering the application, including the orders sought and the grounds on which they are sought.

“The government intends to defend its position and will respond through the appropriate court process.”

Importantly, an injunction has not been granted.

At present it is an application for an injunction, meaning there is no Federal Court order stopping construction of the circuit. The precise grounds for Hogan’s action and the full orders being sought have also not yet been made public.

More intriguing is the identity of the man behind it.

Despite considerable opposition to the redevelopment of Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi and Adelaide’s eastern parklands, Hogan does not appear publicly connected with the established protest groups campaigning against the MotoGP development.

Even some local opponents of the project have been left asking who he is.

AMCN has been unable to establish a reliable public connection between the Joshua Hogan named in the proceedings and the organised campaign against the circuit. The fact the application was lodged through the Federal Court’s Queensland registry rather than South Australia only adds another question to the growing pile.

Whoever Hogan is, taking on a state government in the Federal Court isn’t generally a cheap afternoon out.

Federal Court fees applying from 1 July 2026 put the standard fee for commencing most proceedings at $1805 for an individual and $5255 for a corporation.

Certain urgent applications made without notice involving the preservation of property attract substantially higher filing fees of $3340 for an individual or $9200 for a corporation. It is not yet clear which fee category applies to Hogan’s proceedings.

And that’s before the lawyers get involved.

Legal costs can quickly run into thousands of dollars during the preparation and initial stages of Federal Court proceedings, and potentially much further once a contested matter reaches a substantive hearing. There is also the possibility of an adverse costs order if proceedings are unsuccessful.

The Federal Court itself warns prospective litigants that court fees are separate from legal costs and that, in some cases, an applicant may be ordered to provide security for the other side’s costs before a case is heard.

Hogan’s action is also the second Federal Court challenge involving redevelopment of Adelaide’s parklands.

A separate and unrelated case brought by Edwin Kemp Attrill and Janette Milera is seeking to stop redevelopment of the North Adelaide Golf Course. In that matter, the applicants argue the project should have been referred to federal Environment Minister Murray Watt for consideration under Commonwealth environmental law.

The South Australian government disputes that argument, maintaining the development did not trigger the need for referral. Judgment in that case is expected on 1 October.

The MotoGP project has already generated fierce debate in Adelaide.

Plans released last month revealed 377 trees would be removed to accommodate the 4.13km, 15-turn circuit, with another 88 relocated and 22 still under investigation. The government has pledged to plant 3770 replacement trees as part of the redevelopment.

Construction is scheduled to begin in December ahead of Adelaide taking over the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix from Phillip Island in 2027.

For now, those plans remain on track.

But after months of protests, petitions and political arguments over trees, money and the future of Adelaide’s parklands, the circuit has acquired another obstacle.

This time it has a court file number attached to it.

What it doesn’t yet have is much of a face.

AMCN will continue digging into exactly who Joshua Hogan is – and what he hopes to achieve.