SEMAPHORE PARK CLEAN-UP DAY

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Social Housing. Will he tell the council about the recent clean-up day in beautiful Semaphore Park which involved Housing SA and a variety of community-based services?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:56): I thank the honourable member for this most important question. On Saturday 2 June 2012, a community clean-up day was held in Semaphore Park. The event was triggered by a spate of fires in the area over the preceding months, some of which had left families homeless and others of which had threatened the lives of Housing SA tenants.

The clean-up involved Housing SA's Community Building Team in partnership with Housing SA's office staff from the Port Adelaide region. It also included staff from the City of Charles Sturt, SA Police, Metropolitan Fire Service, Solo Resource Recovery, Transpacific Industries, St John Ambulance, members of the Housing Trust Tenants Association and local residents. The aim was to remove a significant amount of hard rubbish from the area, some of which had been used to start several of the recent fires. An estimated 10 tonnes of hard rubbish and more than 30 mattresses were collected, thus significantly reducing the amount of fuel available to arsonists and the potential for copycat fires and further rubbish dumping.

Apart from the opportunity to physically remove rubbish from the area, the day provided the opportunity for many people to connect with each other and form relationships which will be beneficial to the community into the future. This sense of community has the potential to provide the local residents and support services with valuable insight into each other's roles and responsibilities and makes very important connections across the community.

Housing SA and the City of Charles Sturt each contributed to the cost of rubbish removal and also provided a sausage sizzle on the day. The Metropolitan Fire Service provided a fire truck as well as demonstrations and education to residents and younger members of the community. SAPOL's newly appointed Neighbourhood Watch officer for the area was introduced to residents, and Solo Resource Recovery donated the hire of four skips, three staff members and the trucks to collect larger items. Transpacific Industries donated the waste disposal fees required to dispose of all rubbish collected on the day.

To ensure the project's long-term sustainability, residents were invited to form a residents group to continue to build on the work done on that day. This proved very popular, with more than 25 residents, I am told, signing up to be involved on an ongoing basis to build community connections and to look after their local community. I have been advised that there have been no further reports of arson in this area since the clean-up day and the formation of that group. My great thanks go to all who took part in this project, for helping to build and strengthen local communities in the area of Semaphore Park.