Royal Adelaide Hospital Site Redevelopment

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:15): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Treasurer regarding the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: As reported in The Advertiser on 6 June 2018, a plan for two hectares of the seven hectares of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site has won an international award for its design of a significant cultural institution. The Premier has indicated that the state government is not obliged to proceed with this design, but may consider it alongside its own proposal. My questions to the Treasurer are as follows:

1. Could the Treasurer outline more specifically the government's intentions in relation to the site?

2. What is the time frame for demolition and also for new building work to commence?

3. Will the Treasurer commit to undertaking community consultation on any proposed initiatives?

4. Will the Treasurer advise who will run the proposed national Aboriginal art and culture gallery—will it be the Art Gallery, the Museum or Tandanya?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:17): The sensible answer to the member's question would be that I will take it on notice and speak to the responsible minister, who is minister Stephan Knoll, and also the Premier, who has an active involvement in the ORAH project, as we refer to it.

In relation to some aspects of the question, I can give some brief answers. The Liberal Party's position prior to the election was made quite clear in relation to some aspects of the site, and the Premier, on behalf of the government, some weeks ago indicated that, in relation to some of the heritage-style buildings—if I can use the phrase 'heritage-style buildings'—that have been preserved on the site, the government is already commencing a process of reactivation of those particular sites with a view to encouraging entrepreneurial, innovative, start-up companies in that particular part of the site.

The government's position is that we certainly see a prominent part of the reactivation of the ORAH site being the attraction of innovative companies, start-ups and the like, not only in that area but perhaps in other parts of the site as well, although at this stage it is limited to those heritage-style buildings that are to be reactivated. The first part of that process was announced recently, so that is on the public record.

The party also indicated clearly that, as the member referred to, the issue of the gallery has been put on the public record, and that is a clear part of the government's intentions for the site. In relation to specific questions about the governance structure of the site, I will need to refer that issue to the Premier, who is also the minister responsible for the arts organisations, and he will be able to provide at least some responses there.

In relation to the member's question about the remediation of the site, by and large there is a program of remediation at the site that was locked into the forward estimates by the former government, and that was to take a period of time. I would have to check exactly the length of that time. I think the funding did spread over about three years, although I have a recollection that the demolition of the buildings and remediation of the site might have been a slightly shorter period than that, perhaps about two years.

The new government may well have some slightly different priorities in terms of which parts of the site might be demolished and remediated first, as opposed to what the former government was doing, because we have different plans for the site. I will take advice on that and bring back an answer to the honourable member.

In relation to other aspects of the site, the government made it quite clear that there would be an international hospitality school. I haven't got the exact name of it right but we have indicated that Le Cordon Bleu and others, TAFE included, would be located in a state-of-the-art offering there in terms of courses in that particular area, and that will be somewhere on the site as well.

In relation to whether or not the government will give a commitment to go out to public consultation on every aspect, I will take advice on that, but I think issues like the activation of the site, in particular the innovation hub and those sorts of things, I think the government has already commenced action on that so the notion that we are going to go out to public consultation before proceeding with that, I think the answer there clearly is no.

In relation to whether or not we go out to consultation, for example, on the Le Cordon Bleu—the international hospitality school—again, there may be requirements for buildings in terms of the environment act or related pieces of legislation where processes of consultation are required. I am not aware of those. If there are, we would have to go out to it; if there are not, the government has already announced the policy and will be intending to proceed with it as soon as it could and, similarly, I think, the same answer in relation to the gallery.

If there are legislative requirements in relation to consultation, we clearly would be required to follow those, but if there are not, the government has announced a policy in relation to the gallery. That particular one will involve consultation, obviously, with key stakeholders and groups, some of which the member has already referred to, but there would be other stakeholders and groups who are obviously going to wish to have a say in relation to the style, nature and the governance of the gallery along the lines that the government has talked about, and so I am sure the government will be involved in consultation amongst those key stakeholder groups.