Seaton Redevelopment

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (14:30): My question—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The honourable Leader of the Opposition should be silent.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I beg your pardon. The Hon. Mr Ridgway is on his feet and has the call.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Thank you for your protection, Mr President. My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding housing. Can the minister please outline how a housing renewal project in Seaton will support jobs and benefit South Australians?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for his question and for his interest in this area. Indeed, the redevelopment of Seaton is long overdue. A project of over $8 million will support 165 jobs, which is going to be another project which will support our important trades in South Australia. The Seaton redevelopment is in an area of public housing bounded by the roads of Matthews Avenue, Lark Avenue, Glenburnie Street and Frederick Road.

When I did the press conference with the Premier and the Liberal candidate for Lee, Jake Hall-Evans, the Premier was very proudly pointing out the property down the road that his grandparents had occupied, which was one of many properties which have served that particular community very well for a number of years.

This particular project is going to see urban renewal. I think I have said before in this place in terms of public housing that there's a lot of stock that you wouldn't build in the same way these days. We will be having a blend of ownership. Some of the properties have been bulldozed and a number of the current tenants have been relocated. They will be replaced by a total of 100 dwellings.

Across the Neighbourhood Renewal Initiative there's actually an increase in public housing stock; in this particular zone there is a mix of affordable homes, social housing and market sales. There will also be a new landscaped reserve, which will clearly add to the amenity of the site. It is a very well-located piece of land which is just opposite Seaton High School and close to the beach.

It was interesting to note, however, the negativity heaped on this project by the current local member, the member for Lee, who described it quite recently:

This is a bad project. It is not in the interests of the electorate of Lee or the people of Seaton, and I will continue to not only oppose this project but also look forward to proposing a much better way of doing this in the near future.

That is an interesting comment from the member for Lee, given that he was the minister responsible for Renewal SA prior to the last election. My understanding is that under his watch not a lot happened in terms of renewal in this particular suburb, and one might ask why. Indeed, I think the people of Seaton have good reason to ask whether the current member for Lee in his role as a former minister may have deliberately delayed this project for his own interests. Having been a minister, it's intriguing that he now claims that he will be releasing an alternative proposal, when he was the minister at the time and had that opportunity.

However, I should report that on the day that we made the announcement people were walking past who were clearly local residents, and people wound down their windows and said things like, 'It's about time.' Anybody who drives around that particular suburb will immediately recognise that it is out of date, that it is run-down and that it needs to be redeveloped and redeveloped sooner rather than later.

The particular part of the suburb that is being developed in the first instance we believe will be an example of how to build a really good suburb going forward, a modern mix place of amenity and a place that public Housing Trust tenants and people purchasing affordable homes and market sales will really enjoy.