Bills

Statutes Amendment (Vehicle Parking and Urban Renewal) Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 4 September 2025.)

The SPEAKER: The member for—

Mr FULBROOK: Playford.

The SPEAKER: Playford. I always get Florey and Playford mixed up because they switch.

Mr FULBROOK: It is always a bit confusing these days but thank you, sir.

The SPEAKER: I have a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right, and some days I do.

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (11:02): My record is unblemished through your accuracy, sir. I rise today in strong support of the Statutes Amendment (Vehicle Parking and Urban Renewal) Bill 2025 and the scheme that accompanies it. This bill is straightforward in its intent and practical in its application. Put simply, it responds to a very real and visible problem in our suburbs: our cars have grown in size but the spaces we design for them have not kept pace. The result is that too many South Australians are left with garages and driveways that are unfit for purpose and our streets are becoming clogged with parked vehicles.

The bill amends the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 and the Urban Renewal Act 1995. It introduces mandatory parking conditions for new residential developments across Greater Adelaide. That means if a new dwelling is built it must have car parking that meets minimum numbers and minimum dimensions or the developer must contribute to a dedicated vehicle parking fund.

The vehicle parking scheme, published by the minister, sets out what those standards are. For example, a dwelling with one bedroom must have at least one car space. As I understand it, a dwelling with two or more bedrooms must have at least two car spaces. Spaces must be larger than before: 3.5 metres wide and six metres long for a single park compared with the old standard of three metres by 5.4 metres. Garage doors must now be at least three metres wide, where previously 2.4 metres was the industry norm.

If the developer cannot or will not provide compliant spaces, they may instead make a contribution to the vehicle parking fund. The minister can use that fund to create or improve public parking, bicycle infrastructure or related facilities. Put in plain English, new homes will have garages and driveways that fit the cars people actually drive today, and there will be a safety net of public investment in parking where onsite options fall short.

I want to pause here and express a note of regret. I think it is a shame that we have had to legislate for something that, in many ways, should have been a matter of common sense. Garages ought to be built large enough to fit the cars people actually buy. Driveways ought to be long enough to keep vehicles off the street. Yet here we are, forced to step in because the reality on the ground has become untenable.

I feel this personally. At my own home in Parafield Gardens, built in 1998, my car struggles to squeeze into my garage. Parking becomes a matter of careful angles and patience. In the electorate that I am privileged to represent, we see this problem play out daily. Mawson Lakes, in particular, is one of the clearest examples. Streets there are narrow, driveways are short, and garages often double as something else entirely. Cars spill out onto the kerb because there is simply nowhere else for them to go.

This has direct consequences. Congestion grows, tempers fray and, most worrying of all, access for emergency vehicles is compromised. Residents are rightly concerned that a fire truck or an ambulance cannot simply mount the kerb when both sides of the streets are lined with vehicles. The result of these pressures is that existing garages often evolve into something else: home gyms, rumpus rooms, storage sheds. The irony is plain: we call them garages, but for many families they are anything but.

While Mawson Lakes is largely built out, there are still greenfield pockets in Parafield Gardens and Paralowie where change is possible. Here, this legislation will make a difference. New homes can be designed from the ground up, with practical garages and driveways that match the reality of modern vehicles. This is where forward-looking planning really counts. We cannot undo the mistakes of the past, but we can stop repeating them in new developments.

Another dynamic that is shaping my electorate is the presence of large mosques and temples. For many communities, proximity to a place of worship is as important as proximity to the CBD or the beach. The Playford electorate has in many ways become its own economic microclimate. We see subdivisions increasing around these institutions as families seek to live close by, but subdivisions mean smaller blocks, smaller driveways and greater demand for street parking. These changes in planning rules will help relieve some of that pressure, ensuring streets remain safe and unclogged even as our suburbs evolve to reflect our cultural diversity.

This bill will also shape the look and feel of our homes. The increase in garage dimensions is the headline change, but there are others worth noting. For example, there is a requirement for each new home to have a habitable room, or at least a window, facing the street. This is not just about aesthetics; it is about creating a sense of eyes on the street, contributing to safety and vibrancy.

I support this compromise, but that said I speak from experience when I say that living in a room facing the street is not always pleasant. Sleeping in a front-facing bedroom exposes you to traffic noise, and on hot summer nights when windows are left open there can at times be little comfort in knowing that pedestrians are passing right by your window as you try to sleep. A modest window requirement strikes the right balance. It adds natural surveillance without forcing families into impractical living arrangements.

It is important to note that these changes will initially apply only to Greater Adelaide. That makes sense. Growing up on five acres, my family never had to worry about where to park. We had more parking space than we knew what to do with, but in metropolitan Adelaide land is scarce and streets are narrow. This is where the problem is most acute, and this is where the solution must begin.

The bill also makes technical, but significant, adjustments to the Planning and Design Code. As mentioned, this includes changes on the reduction in the requirement for a habitable room with a large window facing the street, replaced with a smaller, more flexible option; the removal of certain limits on garage door widths, particularly for narrow-fronted allotments; and flexibility around front door visibility, allowing entrances through garages in very small lots. These changes are sensible. They balance housing affordability with the practical need for off-street parking without compromising design quality.

Another important aspect is timing. The vehicle parking provisions will not commence immediately. There will be a 12-month delay after the bill passes parliament, giving developers, builders and councils the necessary time to adjust. In greenfield locations, commencement will be further deferred to 2028 to align with infrastructure planning cycles. This phased approach ensures that we do not disrupt the housing pipeline or add unnecessary costs to projects that are already in train.

This bill, above all, is a practical reform. It balances community expectations with industry realities. It acknowledges that, while cars are getting larger and our streets are more congested, we cannot simply demand change without providing flexibility and fairness. By legislating larger garages, by creating a parking fund, by allowing reasonable exemptions, and by making targeted adjustments to the Building Code, this bill finds that balance. So, yes, it is a shame that we have to legislate something that once could have been common sense, but it is also an opportunity to get it right, to build suburbs that function better, to relieve pressures on our streets and to safeguard access for emergency services.

I have to add another dimension to this which occurred to me over the course of the weekend. I was doorknocking in Mawson Lakes, of which I am privileged to look after half—I share the responsibility and privilege with the member for Florey—and one thing that occurred to me was in regard to a lot of reports of cars on the streets having their windows smashed. That is very, very unfortunate, and not an indictment on the owners—and I am saying these words very carefully and very respectfully. As a consequence of what has happened, we are seeing quite a number of vehicle owners having no choice but to park on the streets. Subsequently, that does regretfully create a magnet for thieves: opportunistic people who see more of a critical mass of cars in certain pockets of Adelaide than they would elsewhere.

Unfortunately, given the short driveways and the small garages that have been converted, quite in prevalence across Mawson Lakes, we are seeing that play out. It would be lovely if we could unscramble the egg there, but we do have to learn from the mistakes of the past and, I am afraid, in this particular case Mawson Lakes would appear to be a textbook example. To ensure that we get this right in the future, it is important to see it through many lenses. I spoke earlier about so many ways this law shall be of benefit, but I do point out that there is actually a criminal element or a policing element on which this bill also has the potential to have a profound and positive effect.

Getting back to my notes, in the Playford electorate—from the built-up streets of Mawson Lakes to the remaining development pockets of Parafield Gardens and Paralowie—this change is not abstract. It is real, it is visible and it is urgently needed. I commend this bill and the scheme to the house. Just in passing, I want to thank the minister for his advocacy on this front; I think it is a massive step forward. With that in mind, I congratulate him and wish the passage of the bill all the best.