LAVENDER TRAIL

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (15:29): It gives me great pleasure today, as the member for Stuart and the shadow minister for recreation and sport, to fill the house in on an event that took place in Truro on Sunday of the weekend just gone. It was the official opening of the walking season, combined with the official opening of the most recent extension of the Lavender Trail from Springton to Truro. It was wonderful to be invited there by Mr Bill Gehling, the President of Walking SA. It was also wonderful to be there with the member for Schubert, who did the official opening, as the majority of that stage of the trail runs through the electorate of Schubert.

Ms Chapman: Did he do the walk?

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I was also very pleased to be able to point out to them that the next stage is on up to Eudunda, and the one after that is on up to Burra, so they really are moving into the very best part of the state. Yes, the member for Schubert did undertake that he would get moving, get walking and test out this very valuable part of the trail.

It really was wonderful. The Truro community did a tremendous job in catering, and many organisations, primarily various walking clubs from around the state, erected stalls. Craneford Wines did the same—a very important employer in the community of Truro. I congratulate them all on participating so well. It was especially nice to have Ann Lavender there, who is the widow of Terry Lavender, after whom the Lavender Trail is named.

As well as the obvious benefits to the walkers who get to participate and use these trails—and there were many of them there—I would just like to highlight some of the perhaps less obvious benefits of some of these trails that are springing up throughout our state and have been for many, many years. Not only do the walkers and the people who actually use these trails benefit but the communities benefit as well, and they benefit enormously.

There is a deliberate push to have these trails, which go through nature areas, reserves and, in many cases, wilderness areas, go from town to town because, as well as the communities being able to support the users of these trails, the users of these trails also support the communities. Hopefully, they leave a dollar or two behind, whether they stay in a motel or a pub or spend a bit of money in a business along the way, and there are also social benefits that come along, even right down to the nitty-gritty of the fact that the kids who might live in these towns just get exposure and influence to good habits and to active people.

Many of these walkers are in the later years of their life and they set very good examples about what activity and good health can do for you. Just the fact that they might get to bump into somebody from Adelaide or interstate, and quite often somebody from overseas who is using these trails, in itself in a small way contributes to the fabric of the town and the opportunities these communities get by virtue of the fact that the trails run to and from them. It is also important to point out that these trails are almost exclusively built and maintained by volunteers—typically people with an interest in walking or the particular activity that goes on there but often with community support as well, so I would like to thank those volunteers for their contribution.

It is wonderful to know that throughout South Australia we have an ever-increasing network of trails. These trails are not mutually exclusive; they are not competitive. A new trail in one area does not mean that another trail in another area is no longer attractive. Throughout our state, we have the Heysen Trail, which is a walking trail; we have the Mawson Trail, which is a cycling trail; and we have the Kidman Trail, which is a horseback riding trail. We have many other trails crisscrossing our state, and now we have the ever-expanding Lavender Trail, which is really terrific.

This network of trails is also particularly important for tourism because it does, as I said before, bring money into the communities. People will travel specifically to go on these trails. Walkers have a particular benefit because they are actually allowed to walk on any trail. Cyclists can only take their bikes onto bike riding trails, and horseback riders can only take their horses onto particular horseback riding trails, so walkers are very much in the box seat—they get to use all the trails.

Living in Wilmington, as I do, we are very fortunate to live right next door to Melrose, the next town down the road, which is one of the very few places (I think there are four of them in the state) where the Heysen Trail and the Mawson Trail actually intersect. We are very fortunate to be close to a mecca for these activities, and we participate actively ourselves. Congratulations go to the Truro community for their efforts.