Colton Electorate

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (17:31): I begin by thanking the people of Colton for continuing to put their trust in me. It is an honour and a privilege to represent our community and one that I certainly do not take lightly. Can I also put on record my appreciation for the way the campaign was conducted in Colton and thank Paul Alexandrides and Deb Cashel for putting their hands up and playing a critically important part in the democratic process.

It goes without saying that we live in one of the most amazing parts of Adelaide and that we are blessed to have such a connected and passionate community. Today, I want to provide a quick update on some local issues and events that have taken place in the area over recent times.

The first I want to bring to locals' attention, particularly those who live in Lockleys, Fulham, West Beach or Henley Beach South, or anybody for that matter who frequently uses Linear Park, is that there is a temporary closure to the southern Linear Park path for works being undertaken as part of the Breakout Creek project. That project brings to an end a redevelopment that has taken over 30 years in rejuvenating the River Torrens. It is a $12 million project, stretching from Tapleys Hill Road to the Torrens outlet at West Beach, invested in by the previous Marshall Liberal government. It will see the artificial channel transformed into a natural, flowing and healthy river system.

There is a lot of work being undertaken there, and I am certainly very excited about seeing the end result, with increased amenity, cycling paths and lighting. I think the two river crossings are going to be a huge enabler to our community to access Apex Park. It was also made sure that the horses are being looked after through the transition period. I know there are so many in my local community who are very passionate about the horses down at Breakout Creek.

The second event that took place just recently, as everybody is well aware, was the ANZAC Day dawn service on 25 April. I was lucky enough to go down to the service and to place a wreath on behalf of our community. I want to extend, on behalf of our community, thanks to Malcolm Whitford, the RSL president at the Henley & Grange RSL, and also to Rod Hill at the Henley Football Club. This was the first time that the Henley dawn service was held at the Henley Memorial Oval rather than on Seaview Road.

One of the best parts of ANZAC Day at Henley, particularly at the dawn service, is that during the minute's silence you can hear the waves literally crashing onto the beach. It was a little bit different this year to be at Memorial Oval due to upgrades happening at the RSL, but there was a fantastic turnout. It was great to see so many people there, supporting our diggers and paying their respects for the service that they have undertaken.

A couple of nights ago, I got along to the West Beach surf club presentation dinner. It was fantastic to see Briny McArthur recognised for her contribution to that surf club over many years and for her work encouraging pool lifesaving. It is not necessarily the thing that lifesaving clubs are known for, but her passion in that area and getting people involved was well recognised on the night. Can I also say thank you to all the surf lifesavers who have just wrapped up the summer season: those at West Beach, Henley and at Grange for their work and volunteer hours in patrolling our beaches over the summer. It goes without saying that everybody in this place extends that gratitude to them.

We also had a rather unusual art installation undertaken not too long ago, in early April, at Ozone Reserve at Henley South. One of our local Henley legends, Andrew Baines, had been coaxed into getting involved with the UN Association of South Australia to take a picture to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Human Space Flight, which was a fantastic thing. We took a picture at the outlet in Ozone Reserve, as was mentioned. It is one place at Henley that has coped pretty well in terms of coastal erosion, given the natural groyne at the River Torrens. I cannot say the same for the rest of West Beach or Henley South more generally; I will probably put a few more things on record in regard to those issues in the coming weeks.

There were reps from the Andy Thomas Foundation, the Space Discovery Centre and Hamilton College. We also had the Deputy Premier there, and we were both scared of the term 'space cadet' coming out, but it was a fantastic day. I also put on record my congratulations to the West Torrens Cricket Club on their dual premiership season, in both the short one-day format and the long format.

There are so many things happening in the local area, and I look forward to getting out and continuing to enjoy, to foster, to grow and to bring together groups in my local community over the coming four years.