Grievance Debate

McLaren Vale Town Boundaries

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (16:00): I rise today to talk about something that has really alarmed the people of McLaren Vale, which is the threat of the movement of our town boundaries to incorporate an extra 40 hectares to be developed by two landowners in that area, on the southern side of McLaren Vale.

We thought we had put this to rest six years ago when we came into this place and put through two bills: one to protect the Barossa Valley and another to protect the character of the McLaren Vale wine region. Unfortunately, the owners of this land will not take no for an answer and we are asking the government to ensure that they go out and tell the owners of this land in no uncertain terms that the boundaries of the McLaren Vale township will not be expanded.

The problem we have is that when you expand the boundaries of McLaren Vale, then a year or two later a planning minister might decide to do some development or increase the boundaries in Willunga. Over a series of years and a series of changes to the township boundaries, the towns will join up. McLaren Vale is an amazing place to live. It is a great place to visit as well, and it produces some of the best wines and food anywhere in the world. We want to make sure that we preserve that.

This has been going on for the 12 years that I have been the local member. We worked together as a community: the McLaren Vale Business Association, the Friends of Willunga, McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association and the Southern Community Coalition. We had everyone—the environmental groups, business leaders, the grapegrowers, the winemakers—all working together to make sure that we could come up with a plan that would preserve the character of our great region.

When we put that bill through this house and the upper house and it became law six years ago, we thought that it was done and dusted, although we knew that a review was to be held after five years. One thing that has come up in this five-year review is that people want to have a review every five years. I say no, that we close that down and not allow that to happen.

What we have done here is as historically significant as what Colonel Light did when he came in and put the Parklands around our city. What we have done here is now being looked at around the nation and, indeed, around the world as world-leading legislation to protect agricultural land that, right around the world, is becoming rarer and rarer as cities grow and urban sprawl spreads out from the heart of a city and consumes the wonderful soil and land that have, for centuries, in many parts of the world, been used for agricultural pursuits and to feed the world.

There are two landowners; one is the Karidis Corporation. They were told five or six years ago that they would not be allowed to develop this land because it was not in the town boundaries. They bought that land. It was for agricultural purposes and is still for agricultural purposes. In their submission, they say that it does not really matter and it is just low-value land. They are not using it for agriculture.

They ripped the vines out of that land four or five years ago and they are there like a big middle finger to the people of McLaren Vale. They have left all these vines in big piles. We have had grassfires go through there. It is a real shame that they have done that. I live in the area, which is something that I have declared to the planning minister. I live in this area that we have protected. My neighbours and the people in McLaren Vale, the people in Willunga and the people in McLaren Flat do not want to see these boundaries changed.

I call on the government to make sure that the Karidis Corporation and the other proponents from McLaren Vale Vines Pty Ltd, who have land bounded by Aldersey Street, Johnston Road and Main Road at McLaren Vale, are told in no uncertain terms that those boundary changes will not happen. They can either sell the land and someone can use it for agricultural pursuits, or they can hold onto the land, but it is not going to change because this issue is vitally important for the people of our area.

What worries me about the Karidis Corporation is that I know Gerry Karidis is a very strong personality. He has urged me, and he has urged planning ministers in the past, to change it. I know that Christopher Pyne and the Premier spoke at his 81^st birthday earlier this year. I hope he is not trying to curry favour with the new government to change these boundaries because this is something that will result in a huge backlash from the people of McLaren Vale. I thank the planning minister for the conversations that we have had around this issue. I know that he represents the Barossa Valley and that he also has very strong feelings.