Morphett Electorate

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:24): As the member for Morphett, I have worked hard to serve the community that my family and I have lived in for more than 20 years, and it is a community that Labor has neglected. My wife, Tammy, teaches at a local primary school, and our four children have played football, netball and nippers at local clubs where Tammy and I have volunteered. Being active in our area has allowed me to fight for our community and deliver important projects locally over the last eight years.

One of the most significant is the Morphett Road tram crossing overpass. I fought for this upgrade before I was elected in 2018, helping secure funding in early 2022 for a design. After years of worsening congestion at this notorious tram crossing, the Labor Party refused to act, handing down six state and federal budgets without a single dollar to fix the Morphett Road tram crossing and instead only funding tram overpasses at Marion and Cross roads.

In early 2024, I launched my petition to fix the Morphett Road tram crossing, for an overpass to be built when the tramline was closed. Thousands of locals backed it. I held listening posts, doorknocked and spoke directly with residents about this notorious bottleneck. Under mounting community pressure, the state and federal Labor governments finally committed funding: a grassroots win secured by locals, not Labor.

When it comes to investing in Glenelg, the Malinauskas Labor government is conspicuously absent. The federal government has put money on the table for the Jetty Road upgrade—a bipartisan funding commitment—and the City of Holdfast Bay is contributing ratepayer funds, but the Malinauskas Labor government, the one that should be helping fund this state tourism asset, is not contributing a single cent.

The state government refuses to provide funding that could have been put towards night works that would have sped up the upgrade and helped struggling local businesses. Instead, the Malinauskas Labor government is totally ignoring the impact the tram closure is having on local traders when the tram brings so many visitors down to the Bay. The Malinauskas Labor government should be helping to fund one of South Australia's premier tourism destinations, not leaving the burden to fall mostly on local ratepayers.

It is not the first time the Malinauskas Labor government has let our community down. The Labor Minister for Health forced a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility into Glenelg, placing the centre just 200 metres away from a primary school. SA Health's own tender recommended that it be located in one of 22 other suitable suburbs, all in Labor electorates, with the closest more than 15 kilometres away. Despite serious concerns about placing the centre in a very old building so close to young families, the government arrogantly used extraordinary planning powers to bypass council assessment and silence the community. More than 1,000 locals signed a petition, yet the Malinauskas Labor government dismissed them as nimbys and pushed ahead. Residents were left to fund their own Supreme Court challenge simply to have their concerns heard.

Remember, when the Premier was the police minister, the operating hours of the Glenelg Police Station were slashed from seven days a week down to just Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, plus station-based foot patrols were ended. As a result, crime and antisocial behaviour around the area rose. When I was elected, I delivered increased operating hours for the Glenelg Police Station during peak times, and I will continue to fight for a greater police presence in Morphett.

Remember, the Malinauskas Labor government said they would fix the ramping crisis, but instead they have delivered 41 of the worst months of ramping in the state's history. Remember, the Malinauskas Labor government said they would build a hydrogen power plant by the end of 2025 to bring down wholesale electricity prices by 8 per cent. Instead, Labor have spent or committed half a billion dollars on their failed hydrogen hoax, which has now been cancelled. It is a once-in-a-generation waste of taxpayer money. Meanwhile, power bills have skyrocketed by 43 per cent under the Malinauskas Labor government, leaving South Australian households paying the highest power bills on record. As the only electrical engineer in the South Australian parliament, I am determined to end Labor's power price spiral.

The Labor Party comes asking for your vote in Morphett, thinking our community will not remember. Do not reward them for their neglect. As a trusted local, I am proud of what we have achieved together, and I will continue to work hard and fight to deliver for our community in Morphett.