Morialta Electorate

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (16:14): Service in parliament involves many roles, but if you are doing it right the central priority is serving your community. We are in a unique position to identify gaps left by generic government programs. We are the people to whom local residents, community groups and local government alike come for assistance. We are in a privileged position to amplify the voices of our constituents to solve problems and to get things done.

Over the last nearly 16 years, I have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity. I am proud of what working together in our community has achieved. Members would be aware that I am one of nine members—a number that seems to be growing every week, in addition to some who have already departed—who will not be here after the election. While I hope to offer a few valedictory words later in the year, I would like to save colleagues and in particular my little children, if they make it to the gallery, the trouble of sitting through too many lists of stuff I am proud of and people to whom I am grateful. Instead, I am spreading them out in grieves such as this.

In no particular order, things that I am proud of in the community include: Morialta Secondary College—protecting this site from sale for a housing development, which had been planned at a time when new schools in the east were desperately needed, and delivering this outstanding school instead, which is now growing strongly, will be a boon for our area for generations to come. During the term of the Marshall government, other school upgrades included Norwood High, Charles Campbell College, Modbury High School, Stradbroke Primary School, Magill Primary School and more. Modest but welcome grants during COVID benefited all of our local schools, kindies and preschools as well.

There were traffic upgrades at Newton Road and Graves Street, Silkes Road and Gorge Road, and the resealing of Gorge Road in my first term; signalled crossings at Thorndon Park and Magill primary schools; the pedestrian refuge at Lower North East Road, Highbury, thanks to Abraham Shuken; and the traffic lights at the Dernancourt shops. These and more all have their own special stories.

We also helped deliver projects like Thorndon Park's Super Playground, championed by the Campbelltown council. I believe Dom Barbaro was the first councillor who brought it to my attention, but I know it was also championed by all of the councillors, the mayor and the staff. Credit where it is due: the excellent new playground at Morialta Conservation Park I think was commissioned by Ian Hunter as the former environment minister. I am also particularly grateful to former Liberal minister David Speirs, whose personal efforts saw the long sought-after upgrade to the car park happen. Local residents no longer need to put up with overflows into their driveways from visiting playground enthusiasts, nor the dust churned up during the summer as people parked nearby in the dirt.

Sporting club upgrades I have been pleased to support have included the Campbelltown soccer club on more than one occasion, the Athelstone footy club, the Rostrevor Tennis Club and more. I pay tribute to the presidents, the committees, the volunteers and the staff of all of these wonderful local clubs, without whose work these projects certainly would not have happened.

The member for Hartley and I have worked effectively together for many years as much of the infrastructure serving our communities, whether located in Hartley or Morialta, serves both communities equally. One of those projects, of which I am most proud, is the upgrade to the Paradise Interchange, delivered by the Marshall Liberal government. It was a long-sought upgrade. There are now hundreds of extra parks, and it is possible to get a park these days before 8 o'clock, which was not the case for a very long period of time.

It was a commitment Vincent and I made at the 2018 election with Steven Marshall, having also done so in 2014. We had been fighting for this project for longer than that, too. One of my first press conferences as an MP was with then leader Isobel Redmond and then shadow transport minister Steven Griffiths—which may narrow the timeframe—at the interchange. I am sure the press conference went really well, but what I remember were the awkward moments trying to gather footage of natural conversations between politicians and with people on the bus for background use for the TV.

There were several problems. The first was that one of my four or five colleagues with us—and I will not name which one—had apparently never used a bus ticket before and needed some assistance finding the machine and then guidance on where to put it. Tricks for young players: if you are doing a press conference on a bus, make sure your colleagues know how to use a bus ticket or indeed the reader, as it is now.

Isobel's efforts, which she was excellent at—she tried very hard on this occasion to chat with commuters, as she always would—were stymied as she was hemmed in on all sides by large cameramen who would not move to let her through to the back of the bus where some actual people were. Therefore, the footage that is still visible today is of her sitting by herself—it was not her fault. I do remember one journalist—who will remain nameless, although he is still on the telly—solving the problem he had of not having a bus ticket by casually walking by and ignoring the ticket machine altogether. If the police minister wants his name, I will let him know later so that he can pursue the matter further.

There is always more to do. I hope that whoever serves the people of Morialta later than me works very hard to do so for our community, speaking as a local resident. I obviously hope it will be the smart, committed, hardworking local firefighter for the CFS Scott Kennedy, a lifelong local who has always presented many strong ideas—

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Clancy): Time is up, member for Morialta. I gave you a bit of leeway, but you are really keeping on going, mate.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: —and the people of Morialta and I are grateful.