Hampstead Pool Closure

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:30): Last week, there was devastating news for many families in my electorate of Torrens and the electorate of Enfield, as well as some in Florey, Wright, Newland and even King, with media reports that the Hampstead pool, which caters for swimming, water safety and water therapy for more than 1,000 children, will not be reopening up to the public following its closure through COVID-19 restrictions. It is reported that this pool will be closed to the public forever.

This is on top of the Marshall government closing the Strathmont pool in January 2019, a pool accessed by 1,500 people, again for swimming, water safety lessons and extensively for water therapy. Does the government not realise that for children and adults with disability often their grassroots sport is swimming and that without a pool they are not able to participate? Access to a swimming pool for these lessons provides equal opportunities for children and adults with disability. Swimming is an inclusive sport.

Going into the 2018 election, my electorate of Torrens and the surrounding suburbs had two swimming pools and an election commitment to build a new pool in the local area. Now, in 2021, under the Marshall government, locals are without access to any pool. When this government closed Strathmont pool, they alleged it was past its use-by date. Reports supporting this were not provided. The government could not even keep the pool open for the summer holidays. The ministers said places would be found for all the displaced children, including those with special needs. Well, ministers, for the record, that is not the case.

Many of these children no longer have swimming lessons, or they are forced to travel a 34-kilometre round trip, while a significant number have had their lessons reduced. Some from SwimSafe and Tea Tree Gully Learners were accommodated at the Modbury Hospital pool, and, for the record, that pool was built by the Labor government. I understand this now will not be reopening to the public. This will again leave hundreds of children without access to swimming lessons.

It is a well-documented fact that we need more not fewer swimming pools for swimming and water safety lessons, including for a large number of our growing CALD community in the north-east, for people with disability who benefit through water therapy, for the many requiring rehabilitation following injury and surgery, for seniors and for the elderly to assist them in keeping mobile in their home. The benefits socially and economically far outweigh the initial costs.

The correspondence I sent to the Premier and the ministers in the Marshall government outlined my deep concerns for the families that would no longer have access to a swimming pool following the closure of Strathmont pool. Closing Hampstead pool will further exacerbate this issue, leaving people in the north-east in Torrens and the surrounding areas without a pool. Today, I call on the Marshall government to set aside a portion of the government-owned vacant land in Oakden along Fosters Road or Grand Junction Road or another suitable site that forms part of the Oakden and Gilles Plains Structure Plan for a new public swimming pool, a pool to replace the facilities their government has closed.

The development alone will see 2,000 new homes in the local area. Given the urban infill experienced in the north-east, including this new development and Lightsview, there is a unique opportunity to collaborate with federal and local government and futureproof this area for generations to come. It is incredibly disappointing to think that the government will reap the benefits from a housing development while failing to provide infrastructure to support the growing community in the local area.

Many dedicated swim schools will be impacted, including Elite Swim, which has provided swimming and water safety lessons at the site for almost 30 years for the CALD community and those with autism as well as for the general public; Inclusive Swim, which caters specifically for children with autism; Gemini Swim, which provides lessons for children with autism as well as for the general public; and Tea Tree Gully Learners. These are all schools that, according to the many emails, telephone calls and letters I have received, offer quality, affordable lessons for those in the lower socio-economic bracket, many of whom would not be able to afford lessons with other schools.

I also ask that the government commit to Hampstead pool remaining open and give consideration to its being operated by an outside body like Royal Life Saving South Australia, which does an amazing job running the VACSWIM pool programs. This summer alone, they catered for almost 7,000 children across 82 sites. Further, I ask that the government explore any possibilities regarding the pool that may exist with the Port Adelaide Enfield council.

Time expired.