Private Members' Statements

Private Members' Statements

Ms PRATT (Frome) (15:42): I am bouncing back with lots to say about the electorate of Frome. This year we shift to Auburn and the Clare Valley. I want to give special recognition to those fabulous hoteliers and chefs in Watervale, Warwick Duthy and Nicola Palmer, who just keep smashing it out of the park: Best Restaurant in a Pub or Club, Best Wine Tourism Service in SA, to the point where their hotel, the Watervale Hotel, was inducted into the Hall of Fame at last night's restaurant and catering awards. They are extraordinary advocates for our region, for wining and dining, for sustainability, and for clean eating. I know that they are much loved for everything they bring to our region.

I want to thank Helen Smith, in particular, and Simon Millcock of the Mintaro Progress Association for the fantastic Festival of the Lamb week that we experienced last week. I got to join them at the Auburn Institute, where our special guest judging fashion on the field for the Festival of the Lamb was Italian Consul Dr Ernesto Pianelli. It was an honour to meet him and to have him come to our region. He understands very much what is special about that and I thank him for his contribution as a judge.

Finally, as we approach the first Tuesday in November—the race that stops a nation—the Lexus Melbourne Cup was on tour to the Clare Valley, where we were delighted with the company of Johnny Letts, 'The Punters Pal' and two-time Melbourne Cup winner. It was a fantastic week of activities in the electorate of Frome.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:44): There are many people who serve the community with distinction. Today, I would like to speak about and honour the work and life of Ms Angela Gerace. Sadly, Angela died on 5 July 2024, aged 45, from acute myeloid leukaemia. Angela started as a trainee at Patrick Conlon's electorate office. She then moved into his ministry as a ministerial adviser working in the public transport policy area, which included the upgrade and extension of the tram network, the electrification of the rail network and other transformational projects.

Angela also worked closely with the office for major projects, which were at the centre of state-changing projects. Angela also acted as a chief of staff for Patrick Conlon for a time, which in those years was the busiest role in town. Eventually, her unique skill set saw her move into the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, where they utilised her knowledge of political and departmental processes. She eventually became deputy director of the office of the chief executive, directly reporting to the chief executive, Jon Whelan. Her attention to detail is why she was always a sought-after public servant.

Angela's transport and infrastructure journey, from electorate office to ministerial adviser to departmental officer, lasted for over two decades. Angela was a highly regarded and respected public servant, who made a huge contribution to transport in this state. While the community has lost a distinguished public servant, I have actually lost a dear friend. Condolences to her mum, Sue, brother Pat, sister Maria and her extended family.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (15:46): The government announced just recently that it was going to expand urban boundaries and open up more housing, but the concerning bit about their announcement, of course, was the continual increase of urban infill in the inner suburban suburbs in Adelaide. There is no doubt that the eastern suburbs, and my electorate of Unley in particular, have been hammered with urban consolidation. We are really seeing the effects of that now in the streets of Unley, and we are seeing the effects of that in the changes to street character and the number of homes that have been knocked down for multiple-storey buildings on Fullarton Road and Unley Road. I notice that Unley Road was listed as one of the places where we will see more high-rise happening.

There is no doubt that we all know that we need more choice in housing, but we do need to ensure that it is balanced and that it is delivered in a way that improves amenity, not discounts amenity. Certainly, some of the examples that we have seen on Unley Road in particular have not led to an improvement in lifestyle in the electorate of Unley.

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:47): We had the footy and netball grand finals over the weekend, and congratulations are in order for a number of teams led, of course, by Moonta in the A-grade football. Golly, they have been a powerhouse of a club over the last half decade or so—I think that is four grand finals in a row and a couple of wins. I think the greatest compliment that you could possibly pay them is that success breeds envy, and I know there are a lot of jealous clubs around the region about how much success they have had, so congratulations to Moonta.

In A-grade netball, in a similar story, the Crows beat Paskeville. I think that was their fourth win in a row so they, too, have had a tremendous amount of success lately, and I suspect that will continue growing. So congratulations to those two teams in the headline game. Further down the list, Paskeville beat the Eagles in the B grade, and they actually knocked us out as well, so there is some comfort there that we lost to the eventual premiers. Wallaroo beat the Cougars in the Senior Colts, making it a three in a row for them and an undefeated season, and Moonta won the Junior Colts again, back to back and undefeated as well in that front of the footy.

In the netball, further down the Crows were in all but two grades and managed to win both the B and C grade, but unfortunately for them lost the D grade to Paskeville, and the Southern Eagles won the D2 grade making them back-to-back premiers in that grade and coincidently scoring 49 goals in each year. So congratulations to all those teams. I know that Brinkworth won for the fifth time in a row in a different league, so congratulations to them. Broughton Mundoora won in their league as well. Congratulations to them. Well done to all who partook in the sporting endeavours across the electorate over the winter, and I look forward to coming back to it next season.