Northern Adelaide and Gawler Green Open Space

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house how the Malinauskas government plans to deliver more green open space for northern Adelaide and Gawler?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:28): I thank the member for Light for his question. The member for Light, for a considerable time, has been a powerful advocate for his community in Gawler and the northern suburbs of Adelaide, and I know the member for Light very much understands the importance—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: For Penny Pratt it might be. I know that for a long period of time the member for Light has been rather committed to making sure that Gawler is able to preserve its character, because it is a special part of the state as a town with a unique history and its own sense of place. This state government wants to preserve that, particularly given all the growth that is happening in and around Gawler. On the northern side of Gawler and places like Hewett, and what have you, we have seen extraordinary growth happen over recent years. We now know that there is going to be further growth in the northern part of Adelaide from Munno Para up into the area of Kudla.

It is absolutely critical in the first instance to make sure that we preserve Gawler's character and identity, and the best way to do that is to create a contiguous green belt around Gawler. We are committed to that. But more than that, there is a more fundamental question at play here and that is about equity of access to high-quality Parklands for the amenity of communities. It is the firm view of this government that it should not just be residents in Rose Park or Dulwich or Unley or Parkside or even in places like Bowden that should have access to Parklands; it should be people in the outer suburbs as well.

Glenthorne Farm is a good representation over in the southern suburbs, something I know that the members for Black and Davenport are enthusiastic supporters of, but it is also important in the northern suburbs, particularly given that is where the vast majority of the growth will be happening. Yesterday, the government announced its intention and its policy to establish the Northern Adelaide Parklands. They will be 40 per cent bigger than the Adelaide city Parklands. It will be established by an act of this parliament, subject to the will of the parliament, under the auspices of a trust in a model that is not completely dissimilar to what we see with the West Beach Trust.

The Northern Adelaide Parklands will be an environment that families can get access to, to be able to enjoy biodiversity, to be able to enjoy walking trails, cycling tracks—you name it—ovals and playing fields; it is all there. When you've got the South Para River, when you've got the Gawler River there, it makes perfect sense that we should be investing in this area.

Importantly, what is innovative and new is that the government has also established a funding mechanism for this so that it is not entirely dependent upon the state government. That is to say we will see a contribution from local councils in the way that you would usually expect and traditionally see, but on top of that, we are going to capture a degree of the economic or the value uplift from the rezoning of Kudla—a huge parcel of land.

With the value of that land when it transitions from a rural living zoning to a residential zoning, there is great uplift. The price of that land now will factor a significant contribution into an infrastructure scheme that operates for the purposes of the Northern Adelaide Parklands Trust to invest in the parklands. So it is not just identifying it but creating a revenue stream to fund it and this is big news for the residents of the northern suburbs. They deserve the opportunity for parklands too.