King Electorate Councils

Ms LUETHEN (King) (15:29): I rise today to speak about the collaborative approach I am taking in my electorate to work with local councils to deliver for the King constituents. Our King local councils include the City of Playford, City of Salisbury, City of Tea Tree Gully and, on the very fringe, the Town of Gawler. It has been pleasing to achieve a number of outcomes recently from these collaborations and from working with some of the excellent staff across these councils.

Over the past year, I have been speaking regularly with the One Tree Hill Soccer Club president, Nigel Staker, about how the club is forced to play seniors matches away from its usual home. This is due to insufficient space to cater for a full-sized pitch and broaden the sporting facilities in One Tree Hill. I have been speaking to council about this issue since my election.

As a result of advocacy from me, from the club and from our community, the City of Playford is currently conducting a review into the sporting facilities at One Tree Hill, and I have been told just recently that this is progressing well and that a report will be due by the end of the year. Secondly, I regularly meet with the Salisbury mayor, Gillian Aldridge OAM, to discuss how we can make progress together. I love listening to the council's ambitions for the wider area and how I can help assist to match these ambitions.

A win we have achieved through collaboration is a commitment to a safety crossing at the Tyndale Christian School. I approached council for support after parents were becoming increasingly worried about the traffic along London Drive and the dangers this presents to students attempting to cross the road. I have been advised that council has now completed a survey in the area, with discussions from the school, and are looking at an emu crossing at the newly created pedestrian ramps near the current bus stops. Council advises me that this will cost around $40,000 and that it will be designed this year for construction in 2020-21.

Finally, as I have previously mentioned in this house, work on the South Australian District Netball Association car parking expansion has begun finally at Golden Grove. This project is a joint venture between the City of Tea Tree Gully and the state government. I was excited to head down to SADNA last week to speak with the association president, John Adams, about his development and hear from him just how much it is going to help the 400,000-plus people who flock through the courts there each year.

I have also engaged in conversations with the City of Tea Tree Gully council staff about ways in which, working with DPTI, it can address congestion issues along Surrey Farm Drive near Pedare Christian College. We are trying different tactics, such as changes to light sequences, and exploring how to improve traffic flow to match the estimated student growth at the site. I think it is really important that we need to futureproof for the number of students who are coming to this very successful triangle of schools. In addition, I have been doggedly following up on my campaign to improve traffic and safety at the Greenwith Primary School. I met with staff to discuss the latest plans, and I hope to communicate a positive update to our community soon.

Finally, I am keen for collaboration with the City of Tea Tree Gully on finally fixing every bit of Golden Grove Road. Whilst I was a councillor, the staff told me that they would complete the landscaping, drainage and paths when the state government prioritised and funded an upgrade to the road. Well, now we have—the state government—committed the $20 million, and now it is time for the state and council to deliver on everything the residents have been waiting for for over 20 years.

It is common practice for local government to pay for infrastructure, such as footpaths and drains, and the last thing residents need now is a political gameplaying council delaying delivery of outcomes for a long overdue and much-wanted project in Golden Grove. This is certainly a project for which state and council collaboration will be in the best interests of residents.