GLADSTONE

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:19): My question is to the Minister for Urban Development and Planning. Will the minister outline how recent state government funding is assisting in the creation and improvement of public spaces in the township of Gladstone, located in South Australia's Mid North?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for his important question. I was delighted to travel to Gladstone earlier this month to attend and officially open the redevelopment of the main street, including the former railway land opposite the main street. I was joined at this ceremony by the local state member, Mr Geoff Brock (the member for Frome), as well as Mr Allan Woolford, the Chairman of the Northern Areas Council, and several local councillors.

This project to improve the town's main thoroughfare and the adjoining railway land has been made possible through ideas generated from the master plan for Gladstone and funding for capital works, both of which were funded through the Places for People grant funding program. In 2005 this government provided $15,000 for an urban design framework and master plan for Gladstone which identified a series of improvement projects for the town's main street and adjoining railway land.

Two years ago the Northern Areas Council was provided a grant of $180,000 from the Planning and Development Fund to assist design document and capital works for Gladstone's main street. I would like to acknowledge the federal government's $263,000 in funding through the Regional Partnership Program and a further $10,000 from the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. Additional state funding was secured for the project through a $25,000 grant from the Department of Trade and Economic Development Spencer Gulf Enterprise Zone Fund.

The Northern Areas Council and Gladstone volunteers also dug deep to bring this project to reality, providing $90,000 and $6,000 respectively. This significant funding has paid for capital works to visually improve the town centre, create a multipurpose public space, recognise past events, and improve parking to encourage visitors to stay longer in the township of Gladstone. I should say the development also includes a memorial garden dedicated to the young lives lost at the Quinn's factory explosion in May 2006.

Since the prison was closed several decades ago and, of course, with the changes to the railway that were made with the standardisation of rail lines, Gladstone has suffered a significant downturn over the years. This project, like others in the region, contributes to civic pride and provides a place to gather and contemplate. The Quinn's factory explosion did have a profound effect on the people of Gladstone and so the council are currently contemplating the exact form of this project, but it is only fitting that this major development should include a memorial garden.

I understand that Gladstone residents have greatly appreciated the improvements to their main street, in particular, the improved pedestrian safety created by a landscaped median strip and the development of the playground and picnic area which revitalises a space that was run down and in need of major improvement. It provides local families with a place to meet, where their children can play safety.

The project has also considered the needs of visitors to Gladstone by providing parking specifically available to meet the needs of tourists and visitors with campervans and caravans, which has a range of flow-on benefits for attracting additional business activity. In the past those visitors would be unable to park in the main street and look at the tourist centres and so on but now, with the use of this former railway land (which was fairly unique because it had three different railway gauges), it has now provided some parking specifically for the needs of tourists. That should lead to a range of flow-on benefits for attracting additional business activity.

As members may be aware, the Open Space and Places for People grant funding programs are financed through the Planning and Development Fund and provide grants to councils across South Australia. The Gladstone main street project is just one of many projects where state and local governments are successfully collaborating to achieve long-term benefits for the region.

Similar projects to improve these main street areas are underway in Jamestown and Georgetown, and another project recently began in Laura. This state government, along with the residents of Gladstone, also appreciates assistance from the federal government to help fund this major project.

Attractive public spaces are essential to maintaining the livability of country towns and sustaining a sense of place. This grant typifies the state government's commitment to develop open space and the public realm throughout South Australia.

I conclude by saying that since July 2002 more than $75 million in funding has been provided through the Open Space and Places for People programs. The funding assistance provided by the local, state and federal governments and the voluntary contributions from local residents have combined to improve the main street of Gladstone and provide an outstanding community asset for both local residents and also visitors to the region. I congratulate those volunteers in the Northern Areas Council for the work they have done.