PIAZZA DELLA VALLE

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:41): I rise today to talk about an event in the electorate of Mawson which occurred the weekend before last. It was sponsors' night at the Piazza della Valle, the new piazza that is being constructed in the main street of McLaren Vale. It was a fantastic night. We snuck in behind the construction fences because the official opening will not be held for a couple of weeks, on Sunday 6 November, from 12:30pm to 5pm. I encourage everyone to go along to the official opening. There will be some fantastic entertainment, as well as wine and food.

The Piazza della Valle started out as an idea seven years ago by a group of people in McLaren Vale who wanted to come up with a project that recognised the contribution that the Italian community had made to McLaren Vale and the surrounding area over the years. The idea started out as a bench in a park somewhere and has turned into a $1.6 million piazza.

Of that $1.6 million, the South Australian government—and I want to thank former planning minister Paul Holloway—has contributed $1 million through the Places for People fund, which is the fund where developers who do not meet the open space requirements within their developments put money into a fund, and then that money can be used for projects such as the Piazza della Valle.

The Piazza della Valle is a sensational space, with excellent architecture and tiling, and artwork on the walls. One such artwork is sponsored by the Osborn family from d'Arenberg Wines, and it was great to see d'Arry Osborn there on the night. Also in attendance were the committee members, headed by the chair, Vicki Osland, and members Anna Rogers, Michael Scarpantoni, Goe DiFabio, David Cavanagh, Richard Bennet, David Bennet, Vicki Vasarelli, Joe Petrucci and Margaret Staples. I want to congratulate them all for their great contributions.

As I said, some of them have been on the case for seven years, and others have come later to the project, but they have all done a tremendous job. The committee members have persevered, and I congratulate them.

The project marries in well with the legislation that will soon be put before the house to preserve McLaren Vale as an agricultural and tourism region. What we want to see is more people living within the town boundaries of McLaren Vale, and, if they are living in high-density areas, then a place like the piazza would be the perfect place to go and congregate, just as people do in Italy. People are crying out for that European lifestyle.

I would also like to mention another point today, and that is in response to some comments made by Mr Lucas in another place a few weeks ago. He asked about a trip I went on when I was media adviser to the then minister for police and emergency services, minister Conlon, in 2003. Mr Lucas has been looking through some freedom of information dockets, he says, and he wanted to work out my movements between 21 July and 30 July, as I flew out from Australia on 21 July.

I was actually working for two ministers on that one trip. For the first half of the trip, I was working for then minister for tourism, Jane Lomax-Smith, and I attended the Tour de France with her. I then went to Barcelona for the World Police and Fire Games. So, I was with Dr Lomax-Smith for the first part of the World Police and Fire Games, and then minister Conlon came along, and I was with him for the second part of the World Police and Fire Games.

The reason I went to the Tour de France is that, as a former international cycling journalist, I have a lot of contacts through the media centre at the Tour de France, and I was able to get minister Lomax-Smith many interviews with journalists from all around the world as well as a spot on Eurosport, where she was involved in the commentary with a very good mate of mine, Dave Duffield. She promoted the Tour Down Under at that time.

I did read a letter to the editor in The Advertiser when I got back, from someone who had written saying that they had just come back from Europe and had been watching Eurosport, and had heard Jane Lomax-Smith on there talking about the great Tour Down Under, and that if that was what government money was spent on for overseas trips then it was worth every cent. I paraphrased that, because it has been a few years since I read it.

That is just to give Mr Lucas that information; that is what happened. He also asked about some receipts and, as I said in an email that he quoted from, I did have receipts for that trip and they were forwarded through our office manager. I am sure that was all dealt with at the time through the office, although obviously I am no longer part of that office.

I would also like to pass on my condolences to the family of John Cassidy, who retired from the position of publishing officer in Hansard at the end of 2008. John Cassidy died on Saturday after receiving treatment for cancer for the past two years.