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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-15 Daily Xml
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MITCHELL ELECTORATE

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (15:44): I rise today to speak about the State Aquatic Centre and GP Plus Health Care Centre projects within my electorate of Mitchell.

Several weeks ago I was fortunate to tour the site with the Premier and Minister for Infrastructure. I must say, I was very impressed with the progress of the 26,400 square metre project. The State Aquatic Centre building will have a site area of approximately 10,000 square metres and will be 15 metres high, and the combination floor space of the GP Plus and community mental health building is about 7,500 square metres, and that will be over four levels. There will be 560 car parks, which will be provided underground, on ground level and in a multideck car park environment.

I was excited to see the work taking place on the recreational and community elements of the state aquatic centre and leisure water facilities. This portion of the project comprises three undercover heated pools, including a multipurpose program pool, a learn-to-swim pool and a leisure and toddler pool, which has a gradual depth incline for junior users. The leisure waterhole includes an aqua play area with splash decks, and this area includes water toys and spouts. Externally, the leisure waterhole is enhanced through a 15-metre high slide tower with two slides, one ejecting the rider directly into the pool and the other into a large space bowl, spinning users around before plunging them into a pool below. How exciting!

The GP Plus Health Care Centre will provide specialists services, including dentistry, nutrition, mental health, counselling, and healthy lifestyle programs. It is also very impressive and taking shape. A very important element in this whole project is the environmentally sustainable design: stormwater harvesting for irrigating landscaped areas and re-use in toilet amenities; solar panels for heating the hot waters; high-efficiency filtration systems for the pool water recharging, which will significantly reduce total water consumption; and building orientation that will reduce the requirements for air conditioning by shading and orientation.

Candetti Construction is the largest family-owned private construction business in South Australia and has a proud history in targeting direct local employment. A large number of safety supervisors and labourers have been employed from our local area. They have also specifically targeted direct long-term unemployed, with a number of long-term unemployed in the project in positions such as traffic controllers, plant labourers and access controllers.

I will talk about one worker I met on the worksite, and I would like to share his story. He is now working as a traffic controller and has done so since the development began. He was previously long-term unemployed for four years. This job has changed his outlook on life. He has learned valuable skills, and it has had a huge impact on his family life. He is now working seven days a week, earning well over $1,000. This is one of the many great stories for constituents in and nearby my electorate involved in the valuable construction program.

Averaging approximately 300 workers per day on site currently, Candetti estimates that they have indirectly employed approximately 1,000 people through contracting trades on the project to date. Candetti has also placed the required importance on employing Adelaide-based companies with local contractors. I congratulate them on their commitment to local and South Australian workers. This project is a great boost for businesses in the local area, especially local retailers, and I cannot wait for the opening.

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