Community Groups

Mr GEE (Napier) (15:47): I rise today to speak about the reopening of a much-loved op shop in our community, the 40^th birthday celebrations for a local community group, and the Community Safety Grants and residential awards in the north.

I was pleased to recently attend the long-awaited reopening of the Lutheran Community Care Op Shop in Smithfield. The volunteer-run Smithfield Plains op shop has been supplying the community with clothing and household goods for 30 years. It was disappointing to see the shop destroyed by fire in June last year. I had just spoken to the volunteers while at a street-corner meeting just prior to the fire. The fire caused $150,000 in damage, but the most distressing impact for the volunteers was the loss of goods that the community had donated.

The volunteers rallied to ensure that the shop would serve the community again. Just two weeks after the fire, volunteers gathered at the front of the boarded-up shop to put on a free sausage sizzle for the locals. Around 150 people, including about 50 volunteers, attended the recent reopening which saw a ribbon-cutting ceremony with face painting, sausage sizzle, and balloon art. It was great to see the member for Morphett and his wife, Joanna, back in the northern suburbs.

Another community group which is undertaking great work in the north are the volunteers at the National Military Vehicle Museum. The group behind the Museum, the Jeep Club of South Australia, celebrated its 40^th birthday last Sunday. It was great to visit the museum again, and also represent our Premier.

The association maintains a museum containing an extensive range of military memorabilia, including a large number of vehicles. The museum provides a number of vehicles each year to carry participants who are unable to march in the Adelaide ANZAC Day march. The vehicles can also be seen at the Clipsal 500, and The Gawler Show.

I will now speak about the Playford Alive Town Park and the importance of advocacy by local residents. I have previously spoken in this place about the Playford Alive Town Park in Munno Para. The park has a large green space, large playground, the largest and most complex skate park in the Southern Hemisphere, and basketball and picnic facilities.

I am very pleased that the state government has recently awarded over $36,000 to the City of Playford to install three CCTV cameras as part of the $2 million CCTV Grants Program. This will be matched by the City of Playford on a dollar for dollar basis. This announcement follows advocacy by local residents, including Mrs Shirley Harris, who contacted my office about their concerns. There has been some vandalism and antisocial behaviour occurring since the park opened in 2015. I hope the installation of CCTV will assist with making it a safer place for families and young people to enjoy.

This is the just the latest investment in the new Munno Para development by the state government following the town park and two new schools. The private sector has also delivered a number of services to the community, including a shopping centre, various childcare centres, several medical centres and many other businesses. The Playford Alive Town Park is a very popular destination for local families and others from as far away as the Barossa Valley and Glenelg. I encourage members to check the park out with your family and friends. This is one great asset in my electorate.

The Playford Alive Town Park is part of the Playford Alive project, which is building new houses in Munno Para and redeveloping houses in Smithfield Plains and Davoren Park. Two Playford Alive residential development partners, Renewal SA and Rivergum Homes, have recently won the 2016 national Urban Development Institute of Australia award for the best affordable housing development for the Town Life Living homes. This follows wins in the state award category for both the best medium density development and best affordable housing development. The $11.2 million development will deliver another 65 new affordable homes.

The Playford Alive project is also continuing to deliver new and refurbished houses across the Playford Alive project area. These houses, and also houses built by not-for-profit organisations, are delivering good quality affordable housing for young people, families and our more senior residents to enjoy.

Lastly, I want to thank all the young people from across the north who are honouring our veterans at the ANZAC Eve Youth Vigil, particularly at the Smithfield youth vigil from 7.30pm on 24 April. I look forward to speaking about ANZAC Day and volunteers next month.