Playford Alive Community Reference Group

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:24): Today, I would like to talk about the southern parts of my electorate in the Playford council and also those areas that will be in the new Light post the election next year. Last week, I had the pleasure of representing the Premier at the 10^th anniversary of the Playford Alive Community Reference Group. This is a group of local people who collect information, organise events and also advise both the council and the government on issues impacting people in the Playford Alive area. Since the group was established, it has been an important conduit between residents and the different spheres of government to ensure that the way the Playford Alive project is rolled out is consistent with the vision that the residents have for that area.

I acknowledge the current members of the CRG and also make particular mention of some of the original members who have been on that group for the past 10 years. The current chair is Ron Jones; the deputy chair is Darryl Bothe; Coral Gooley is the secretary; and Betty Alberton is a member, as are Geoff Pope and Shirley Harris. Betty was actually the original chair of the group 10 years ago and Shirley was the original deputy chair. If my memory serves me correctly, Geoff Pope was also one of the original members.

Other current members include Brenda Larnio, Matthew Retallick and Shaun Barby. Shaun has been a very active member not only in that group but also in the community previously in the Peachey Belt Residents Association. Pauline Frost, a former councillor who is very active in the environment area is a member, as is Robert Battye. Council representatives are Councillor Gay Smallwood-Smith, whom I have known since the early eighties because we sat on the old district council of Munno Para together, and Councillor Jane Onuzans. They are the people who actually work amongst the community and also advise government on important issues. I would like to congratulate that group and thank them for their service.

This weekend is the village fair, which is held every year on the first Saturday of November in Pioneer Park in Gawler. All the community organisations get together under the auspices of the Gawler Rotary Club and this is a major fundraising activity for the community. A whole range of things happen at the village fair, as you can imagine, and valuable funds are raised by those communities. There are Scouts, Girl Guides, service clubs and various other organisations including schools and churches. It is a great community event and a great event to bring the community together. Once again, I will have a stall there.

On the same day, in the southern end of my electorate is the Playford Alive Community Fun Day, where I will have a presence as well. This is arranged by Renewal SA and it is a major contribution by Renewal SA in terms of community building in that part of my electorate. They have a huge program. In terms of entertainment, Isaiah Firebrace, our Eurovision finalist and also an X Factor (Australia) contestant, will be performing live. There will be a range of other local musicians and performers. Andrew 'Cosi' Costello, who was originally a South Australian award winner, will be the MC. There will be a whole range of activities, food and drink and stalls. That is the Playford Alive Community Fun Day.

I am sure one of the things I will be asked at the community fun day—because I will have a stall there—is the current status of Curtis Road at Munno Para. Curtis Road is actually a council-owned road and it certainly carries a lot of traffic. The one issue I get a lot of correspondence about is when the road is going to be upgraded. In some ways, the road is suffering from success, from both the success of Playford Alive—in other words, because there are a lot of people living there—and also the success of the Northern Expressway.

People use Curtis Road as a way of linking the east and the west and they use Curtis Road to access the expressway. Even people from the southern parts of Gawler who go along Main North Road use Curtis Road. People from Blake's Crossing and the Blakeview area use Curtis Road. It is a local road so it is the responsibility of council, but I would say that any upgrade would have to be a shared responsibility because of the impact of Renewal SA developments, traffic from Main North Road and also local commercial developments, which actually require access. It is one of the issues I will be tackling on an ongoing basis.