Bills

Supply Bill 2025

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 14 May 2025.)

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:59): I wish to continue my remarks from yesterday. I was talking about the project to improve footpaths in Ingle Farm and Pooraka. The project involves the removal of existing footpaths, the widening of the footpath to 1.5 metres and the installation of a new paved footpath. Existing stormwater connections under footpaths were retained or reinstated as required if impacted or damaged during works. The finished works are bringing welcome benefit to footpath users in Pooraka and Ingle Farm.

When combined with the commonwealth funding provided through the Black Spot program to undertake upgrades to the intersection of Montague Road and Henderson Avenue, Pooraka in particular has been the recent beneficiary of important and much welcome local infrastructure investment from two tiers of Labor government. Strengthened community safety and road safety for pedestrians, road users and, indeed, all people who move through the local area are good outcomes made possible by these worthwhile investments that have rightly been welcomed by the local community. I am proud to have played a part in advocating for these results to be achieved.

As a member of the South Australian parliament, as a Florey resident and also as a parent, I know that local reserves and play spaces contribute meaningfully to residents' quality of life through supporting physical health and wellbeing and social opportunity. I was proud when in August 2023 a $100,000 upgrade was completed for Rains Drive Reserve at Pooraka. Nearby residents had raised with me in the past that an upgrade was needed at this reserve and, indeed, the amenity adjacent to the playground has been substantially improved by works, including irrigated turf areas, landscaping, new connecting paths and a new solar picnic shelter on a concrete pad.

A significant area of focus of public spending during the term of the Malinauskas government has been education. There are many areas in which investment in public education is crucially important. One of those is in the physical infrastructure of an educational setting. The quality of school facilities can have a significant impact on students in terms of their learning outcomes, as well as their personal and developmental growth.

Quality facilities support positive experiences for students and, indeed, for all members of a school community. That is why I am so pleased that the construction phase of the Ingle Farm East Primary School gymnasium upgrade is progressing well. I understand the project is on track for completion around July of this year.

Made possible through a total investment by the Malinauskas government of $4 million, which represents a substantial increase on the initial commitment and which will deliver even better results than what we originally promised, the finished project will see Ingle Farm East Primary School with a new multipurpose gymnasium that more effectively supports the physical health and the wellbeing of students, as well as offering the capability to accommodate large gatherings for students and the wider school community. In addition to being a greatly improved facility in which students can learn, grow and be active, the fact that the completed gymnasium facility will offer benefit as an excellent venue for school assemblies and other gatherings of the school community will mean it is a broadly beneficial project for all local residents.

Another election commitment delivered for a school community in my local area, one that strengthens safety and accessibility, is the new footbridge at Mawson Lakes School. This is a much needed upgrade for a piece of infrastructure that is vitally important to the students, staff and families of Mawson Lakes School and, indeed, for all residents within our Mawson Lakes community. The old footbridge, which was technically a causeway, was affected by occasional flooding, posed safety concerns for school students in particular but, indeed, for all users of the bridge, including school staff, families and local residents. The new footbridge, which was designed to withstand flooding, was opened in June 2023 and it connects the two campuses of Mawson Lakes School over Dry Creek Reserve, facilitating easier movement between the two spaces for staff and students.

The City of Salisbury and the Department for Education collaboratively funded the project, with the department contributing $410,000 towards the $940,000 total cost for the project. It is my pleasure to work closely with the Minister for Education and Mayor Gillian Aldridge and I commend the hardworking staff within the Department for Education and the council who helped to get this important project delivered.

The Malinauskas Labor government maintains a steadfast commitment to strengthening our public education system in South Australia. We recognise that quality educational facilities go hand in hand with quality education. Providing schools and preschools with funding that helps to make sure they can pursue necessary upgrades to school facilities and infrastructure will support better experiences for students in my local community and across our state.

I have also been able to advocate for our local environment in my electorate of Florey. The Pledger Wetlands in Mawson Lakes run along the eastern side of the Gawler to Adelaide railway. The wetlands are well cared for in part by a community group known as the Friends of the Pledger Wetlands. They are a dedicated group of volunteers, many of whom are also Mawson Lakes residents. Some time ago, I was delighted to write to the state government in support of the Pledger Wetlands irrigation and planting project, and $100,000 in funding was secured through the Community Infrastructure Grant Program, which saw approximately 470 metres of irrigation installed along the northern side of the footpath at the Pledger Wetlands between Trinity Circuit and Brookside Drive.

The Malinauskas government continues our work to build a bigger health system. It is important for South Australians to know that we remain steadfastly committed to delivering better results across the health system and that we are working hard to do exactly that. We are continuing to build the state's health workforce with a record number of graduate registered nurses and midwives about to start across northern Adelaide. For the first time, all graduate nurses and midwives at the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network, which includes the Lyell McEwin Hospital and Modbury Hospital, have been guaranteed permanent contracts once they complete the 12-month graduate program. I understand that this year's record intake of 218 new nurses and midwives surpasses the previous record of 187 in 2023.

Very importantly for my electorate and the community of Adelaide's north, the Malinauskas government continues to deliver significant and crucial upgrades to the Lyell McEwin and Modbury hospitals. The Lyell McEwin Hospital saw 48 new beds open last year. This work continues in 2025 with 20 new acute beds and 12 acute surgical unit beds to come online this year. Recent developments at the Lyell McEwin have seen an increase in the capacity of the emergency department by 23 spaces, along with new services being set up in the hospital to help patients get home sooner.

At Modbury Hospital, construction is underway on a $130 million capital works redevelopment. The build includes a $92 million facility to accommodate a new 24-bed mental health rehabilitation unit as well as a 20-bed older person's mental health unit that will be relocated from the Lyell McEwin Hospital. Also included will be a new $25 million Modbury Hospital cancer centre. A new multilevel car park will form part of the hospital precinct redevelopment, providing additional parking for staff and increasing accessibility for patients.

Of course, over a year ago now, we opened the Salisbury Plain 24/7 pharmacy. It delivered on a key election commitment to give South Australians easier access to medicines and health advice when they need it. Access to a pharmacy at all hours of the day and night has created tremendous benefit for my area. In the first year of operation, there were more than 123,000 visitors, over 48,000 scripts filled and over 3,300 calls. When combined with the new Para Hills Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, out-of-hours options for medical treatment and advice have expanded very significantly for the communities of Adelaide's northern suburbs.

Broadly, across our entire state, the Malinauskas government continues the work to deliver what South Australians elected us to achieve. We are acting to address the housing crisis that is affecting jurisdictions around our nation and the world. We have released our Greater Adelaide Regional Plan, which identifies where 315,000 new homes are to be built over the next 30 years and sets aside important land to accommodate future infrastructure requirements while providing increased protection for 88 per cent of Greater Adelaide's food production areas.

For the first time in a generation, the South Australian government is increasing the number of public houses in the state, following decades of cuts and sales of housing stock by former governments. Of course, we have returned our trains back into public hands where they belong. Bringing a privatised service back into public hands is no small achievement, and I want to pay credit to the dedication of the Minister for Transport for achieving this. This is an outcome that will benefit residents in my community and, indeed, South Australians from all communities each and every day.

I am proud of what we have thus far delivered and what we will continue to deliver for the benefit of residents in my community and those living across Adelaide's northern suburbs. We are achieving a great deal for our state and its people across so many areas of policy. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the ministers, ministerial staff and hardworking departmental staff who are committed to making South Australian lives better in all they do. It is a pleasure to commend this bill to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. A. Koutsantonis.