Schubert Electorate

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:24): The Barossa is gearing up for a few big months ahead, hosting a number of really important events in our region, most notably the AFL Gather Round, which will be in Lyndoch in April. This is something that we are really hoping businesses in my community will be able to make the most of because we will be welcoming thousands of people from right across Australia into the Barossa Valley.

But one of the key questions that is always being asked is: how will people be getting around? This is why last year I spoke so frequently about rideshare and I am so pleased to note that the government has finally announced over the last six months that they will be lifting the metropolitan boundary and allowing rideshare services to operate in the Barossa Valley side by side with our taxis, just like they have been able to do in Mount Barker, McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills, Gawler and, of course, the city.

But, disappointingly, instead of doing this via the stroke of a pen through regulation, the government has made a decision to go through the parliament for these changes, which does leave a question mark hanging over whether rideshare will be fully operational in the Barossa by the AFL Gather Round.

I think it would be really embarrassing for the state and of course the region if we did not have rideshare available because, as I said, we have thousands of people coming to our region and we want them to get out and explore all that makes our region so fantastic, so I am really hopeful that the government can stop dragging the chain on this and make sure that it is rolled out before April. It would be a massive and categorical failure if we have thousands of people who are unable to get around and explore.

Another issue that I would like to draw the house's attention to is hoon driving in my electorate. This is a really big issue for people, particularly in the northern Adelaide Hills part of my electorate, most notably around the Chain of Ponds junction and Gorge Rd. I have been raising this quite frequently with the former Minister for Police, the member for Kavel, and in fact have invited him out to my electorate just so he can see firsthand some of these hoon hotspots.

Disappointingly, over the course of the last year I have noted from people in my electorate that hoon driving is not on the downward and is actually on the upward. After every weekend, my office is contacted by people saying that there is a new location where there is tyre debris or burnout marks.

My community has put forward a number of commonsense measures for the government to consider to help put a stop to this hoon driving, particularly around the Chain of Ponds junction, which is a main thoroughfare between the Adelaide Hills and the city, including things like anti-hoon bars on the road, concrete slabs and an increased police presence around this local area. I would love to see more action in this space and I am looking forward to engaging with the new Minister for Police on this issue so we can try to get some traction, pardon the pun.

Another issue that I would like to raise is perhaps a disappointing one. Max Schubert would be known to many people here within this chamber. He was a Barossa Valley icon and, in fact, he is the namesake of my electorate of Schubert. He was the creator of Penfolds Grange, which is arguably one of the most important wines that has ever been produced here in Australia.

Before Max Schubert went on to make Grange, he operated in secret for a number of years because Penfolds' management at the time had told him to stop wasting his time. I am so pleased that he defied management and kept on creating Penfolds Grange because without him I think the Australian wine industry would not be what it is and without Grange arguably Penfolds would not be what it is as one of our nation's most important brands.

So I was particularly disappointed this week to learn that Treasury Wine Estates had made the business decision to close the Nuriootpa cellar door. This was where Max Schubert first started. He did odd jobs on the floor of the cellar door of the winery in Nuriootpa. I am really disappointed with this decision. I have expressed my disappointment to Treasury and I am hoping to work with them to ensure that Max's legacy, and in fact the Barossa Valley's significant part in Penfolds' story, will continue to be told.