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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-06 Daily Xml
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RIVERBANK PRECINCT

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:27): My question is directed to the Premier. Premier, can you update the house on the government's vision for the Adelaide Riverbank precinct?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (15:27): I thank the honourable member for her question. Our riverbank is home to our halls to culture and education, the Adelaide Oval, Australia's first integrated cultural centre in the Adelaide Festival Centre, our Convention Centre, hotels and hospitality, the Casino, and even our metro rail station, as well as Elder Park and other stunning natural features. We need to see the riverbank as a legacy for Adelaide's next generation, in the same way as the previous generation saw Linear Park. It was one of the first ambitious concepts to think holistically. However, for too long we have had a city which has turned its back on the river, and now we are making the river the centre, the focus point of our city.

Last week, I asked the Capital City Committee to examine options for the future of the Thebarton police barracks site on Port Road and the Old Adelaide Gaol. The Thebarton police barracks, established in 1917 and expanded until the 1950s, are still used today by the South Australian police, including the mounted police. The Old Adelaide Gaol was built in 1840 and remained an operational facility until 1988, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources manages the museum and tourist attraction.

Apparently, there are views about re-opening Adelaide Gaol, but I am advised by the minister for corrections that it would not be appropriate to modern-day conditions; however, it is a very historic building. Together, these two sites cover an overall area of approximately nine hectares. I have also asked the Capital City Committee to draw up options for the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, keeping in mind heritage-listed buildings, as well as returning a sizeable part of the area currently occupied by the Royal Adelaide Hospital to Parklands or to the Botanic Gardens.

The Minister for Health and I, and the Deputy Premier, had a meeting down at the Royal Adelaide Hospital site with Tim Horton and others just a week ago. Our aim for this site is to deliver even more green space to city workers and residents for the future. The site is currently compromised by buildings at the end of their design life and infrastructure that itself was developed over successive periods without thinking about its special location.

Riverbank is just a keystone to a wider setting. Like the Torrens, Riverbank does not stop at a bridge. It will be the state's biggest ever building site and, when complete, will revitalise the city centre. We are beginning the process of master planning from Hindmarsh—and that is why we extended the tram down there—the Bowden site, all the way down to Hackney Road.

Just on the bridge, let me say this clearly so that it cannot be misinterpreted. I know there has been great excitement about a bridge that never was and a bridge that never will be, going direct apparently from the oval to the Convention Centre. I read the front page of The Advertiser. Let me make it very clear—because I heard what the Leader of the Opposition said this morning, and I will not insist on someone informing the house correctly so I am going to—I do not favour a bridge going over the Torrens to the Convention Centre, and never have, and have never expressed such a view, and neither does the Minister for Infrastructure. So, I hope that is clear and understood, but I understand that there are days when it is quiet, that things have to fill spaces.

Let me explain for the benefit of those opposite—who I know would be the last to criticise the planning of vital infrastructure being subject to proper scrutiny—as all members know, a Riverbank Reference Group has been convened to work on a coordinated master plan for the whole Torrens riverbank precinct. The reference group comprises representatives from the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, the SA Tourism Commission, the Integrated Design Commission, Adelaide City Council, Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, Arts SA and SkyCity Casino. They are quite rightly looking—

Mr Pisoni: What about Health?

The Hon. M.D. RANN: On the bridge between the oval and the Convention Centre?

Mr Pisoni: You have a hospital in there, don't forget. So, don't forget Department of Health.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: What about the Zoo? What are those creatures called? They quite rightly are looking to ensure that the footbridge is positioned correctly for maximum benefit for the whole precinct. That is what you would expect any government to ensure is widely considered, before the final design plans are drawn up, let alone approved.

Since the master plan for the precinct is still under development, no decision—no decision, no decision—on the location of the proposed footbridge has yet been made. Our vision for a riverbank precinct master plan is to extend the lens of today's architects, landscape architects, planners, engineers and urban designers from Adelaide's most innovative mixed-use community at Bowden Urban Village to Adelaide's Botanic Gardens at Hackney Road.

The master plan will further enhance the developments we have already supported including the upgrade of Adelaide Oval, the extension of the Adelaide Convention Centre and construction of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. It will be done in close consultation with the Integrated Design Commission. It comes at a time when Adelaide is rapidly evolving into a city with an enormous future. The riverbank is one of the most under-utilised visual identities of South Australia, and seeing it reach its potential as a cultural and social hub has always been high on this government's agenda.

Our vision will strengthen our position as Australia's most liveable city. It will provide a long-term vision for the future and serve as a roadmap for decision-makers to inform more targeted and intelligent investment. These developments will change the face of Adelaide. Metropolitan Adelaide is situated on the Torrens. Where once it supported the Kaurna people, it can now sustain us all, and that is what the people of South Australia expect. We are going to do it properly. I think that, when a source in the upper house is described as 'reliable', then you know how much substance that story had.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition.

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