Riverbank Precinct

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): Supplementary: given the minister's indication that this was a decision of the chief executive of DPTI to do, did he receive any instruction or request from the government to do so?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:23): I did not say that it was a decision of the chief executive of DPTI because it is not clear, except that there was essentially a meeting, I think, on 27 November that the then chief executive of the infrastructure agency sought to try to manage this process in a way which would carry forward the government's opportunity to try to procure an upgrade to the car park facility.

Of course, if we all cast our minds back, it has been obvious I think for some years that this car park was getting to the point where almost literally it was falling down around the ears of certainly members of parliament but also people who frequented the Festival Theatre, let alone other people who chose to park there in the precinct. It was clear throughout the process that, at the very minimum, there was a requirement from government that this project be delivered.

I should also say it is not a simple project of itself, given that there was the need to replace at the very least the infrastructure that there was but also, as is referenced in the report, there was a growing desire, which was expressed from the Adelaide Festival Centre, to try to take the opportunity to improve some of their facilities. Of course we heard, I think it was from approximately 2013 onwards, of the increased desire of SkyCity to at the very least redevelop the facilities they have at the Adelaide Railway Station precinct, if not in fact invest in a significant addition to those facilities at the back of the railway station. In that context, any car park would have to take into account the sometimes competing needs of those different precinct stakeholders.

It is not just a question of building the car park and leaving it as such. The surface treatment was important as well. Although a little later than the period of time that the deputy leader is referring to, since the extraordinary (and quite literally, to some extent, unforeseen) success of the Adelaide Oval redevelopment and the level of patronage that was garnering, and the flow back and forth across the footbridge, there was also the growing desire to make sure that whatever was developed for the car park—on the top of the car park and hence the precinct—was taking that into account as well.

In short, at that point of time it was seen as an infrastructure project that did require a level of superintendence of somebody of the skills of the then head of the infrastructure agency. That, I think, is the context in which we—

Mr Marshall: Who instructed the chief executive?

The SPEAKER: The Leader is on two warnings.

Ms Redmond: Okay, I'll ask it: who instructed the chief executive?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: That is the basis under which that meeting—as far as one can glean from the report—

The SPEAKER: That's better.