Finniss Electorate

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:32): I rise to note once again how regional communities like those in the electorate of Finniss are receiving priority attention from the Marshall Liberal government. Last week, I was very pleased to have the Minister for Planning and Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government visit the electorate. We had a look at many of the projects the minister has just talked about in question time, and we looked at some long-term needs of the community as well.

We saw the fantastic project that we are looking to roll out, in partnership with the Alexandrina Council, to deliver a wonderful adventure playground in Mount Compass. The community of Mount Compass have looked after themselves for many years by volunteering and doing everything they can to supply what is needed in the town. Unfortunately, they have not been able to deliver playgrounds, while other towns have. With the $300,000 commitment from the Marshall Liberal government, we can now see this starting to come to fruition. Work is due to start fairly soon, and I was able to show that to the minister.

As the minister mentioned in question time, we also looked at the problem in Mount Compass of Arthur Road, where there are many accidents as cars try to skirt round on the verge to get past people turning right. There are many near misses and, sadly, the occasional hit, so it is fantastic that this intersection is being addressed. We also looked at many other things across the electorate, including the Boettcher Road intersection along the straight from Goolwa to Port Elliot, where there have been many accidents as people try to scoot straight across and head up towards Goolwa Airport from the seaside area of Middleton. There have been some fairly horrific accidents at that corner, and hopefully this will be addressed as well.

We also talked about some other long-term proposals. We saw the benefit of a road that was put in many years ago around the back of Victor Harbor, that is, the ring road that goes past the Urimbirra area and cuts around the back of Victor Harbor. That road has relieved pressure enormously in Victor Harbor, but there is also a need to do similarly in the townships of Port Elliot and Middleton.

At the moment, there are a couple of spots where a major accident would stop traffic between Goolwa and Victor Harbor to the point that, if you wanted to get around, you would have to drive all the way to Mount Compass, so there are some significant issues there that we need to look at. We were also able to sit down with the local government CEO and mayors and have a conversation about their needs. It was a fantastic visit.

The previous week, we were also privileged to be visited by the Minister for Education. We were able to go to three towns: Mount Compass, Goolwa and Port Elliot. We visited four schools while we were in those regions and had a chat about their needs and their concerns. We were able to have a look at the building works currently going on at Mount Compass as part of the STEM project and also look at the fact that there is a big spend in the budget for Mount Compass and Victor Harbor under the Building Better Schools program. We had a great conversation with all the principals we met about the future needs right across the Fleurieu in education.

Finniss has been visited by eight different ministers since the election: the Deputy Premier, the Premier, the Minister for Primary Industries and Regions, the Minister for Tourism, Trade and Investment, the Minister for Environment and Water and the Minister for Emergency Services, who was there on the weekend for the opening of the surf lifesaving club. It has been a great start in Finniss by the government by having that sort of visitation, and it has certainly lifted confidence in the region. I thank the cabinet for their efforts in coming to the regions and delivering for regional South Australia.