Millswood Railway Station

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:29): I would like to talk about what has become the infamous Millswood station. As members may recall in the many contributions I have made on this issue in this house, the Millswood station was opened in 1910 and, in those days, had broad gauge tracks. The Millswood station was closed permanently in 1995. Apparently the opportunity was taken at that time to convert the tracks (people will know about the debates about the different gauge tracks we have had in South Australia and Australia) to western broad gauge tracks, and this was in line with the Belair line.

Having been involved in this campaign for over 10 years I really welcomed the announcement made by the former minister for transport services, which was supported by the former minister for transport and infrastructure, and also our Premier, that the station will be opened this year. It was also confirmed by the current Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. I guess the challenge will be for us and all those people in the community who have worked so hard to try to get the station reopened to make sure that the station is utilised properly.

The opening of the station also builds on a concept that, again, I have raised in this house before, which is to renew the Millswood area and particularly the Millswood traffic and pedestrian underpass on Goodwood Road. This wonderful engineering structure, which is partly in Ashford and partly in Unley, is 100 years old next year, so I am hoping that we can turn what might be a fantastic engineering project into a beautiful art space and one that will be a significant place in the electorate of Ashford and also, obviously, in the electorate of Unley.

Both the underpass and the area surrounding the station provide a basis, I think, for a great Millswood precinct renewal. I have been very impressed seeing the different renewal projects and pop-up projects that have been supported by the Weatherill government, but I think it is about time we had one in Ashford. Some of the other electorates, I am sure, would argue their case as well. However, being the member for Ashford, I would like to see the Millswood underpass turned into a beautiful space. While we are at it, if we are going to have a Millswood station reopening then that whole area around there could be improved considerably. It looks like a wasteland at the moment. There are a number of walkers who go through that area and hopefully there will be hundreds of people using the Millswood station as a public transport stop but we can also perhaps use that space for a whole lot of community events.

The proposal for the underpass community arts project has wide support in the community: the Unley council, the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia (of which I am a member), the Goodwood Traders, the Community Arts Network of South Australia, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure—although it has some limited support for the concept—the Goodwood Residents Association, the Millswood Residents Group and I am very pleased to say that I have had great support from the member for Unley in trying to get this underpass project underway. It would be terrific if in 2015 we could have a celebration and an opening for our community.