House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-28 Daily Xml

Contents

ADELAIDE OVAL REDEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT BILL

Final Stages

The Legislative Council agreed to the bill with the amendments indicated by the following schedule, to which amendments the Legislative Council desires the concurrence of the House of Assembly:

No. 1. Amendment No. 1 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 3, page 3, after line 7—Insert:

and

(e) the land referred to in section 11;

No. 2. Amendment No. 2 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 3, page 3, line 10—Delete paragraph (b)

No. 3. Amendment No. 3 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 3, page 3, after line 14—Insert:

(da) land that, immediately before the commencement of this Act, constitutes the Creswell Gardens or the Pennington Gardens West; or

No. 4. Amendment No. 4 [Lucas–4]—incorporating Amendment No. 1 [ConsAff–4] and Amendment No. 1 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 4, page 3, lines 32 and 33—Delete subclause (1) and substitute:

(1) The Council must, at the request of the Minister, grant a lease to the Minister over all of the Adelaide Oval Core Area, or any part of that area specified by the Minister.

(1a) A lease must be granted by the Council under subsection (1) within 30 days after the making of the request by the Minister (or such longer period as the Minister may allow).

(1b) Subject to this section, a lease under subsection (1)—

(a) must be for a term specified by the Minister (being a term of up to 80 years including any right to an extension or renewal); and

(b) will only be subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may specify after consultation with the Council.

No. 5. Amendment No. 5 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, line 1—Delete 'The' and substitute:

It will be taken to be a term of a lease under subsection (1) that the

No. 6. Amendment No. 6 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, line 2—Delete 'vested in the Minister' and substitute:

constituting the Adelaide Oval Core Area

No. 7. Amendment No. 7 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, line 5—After 'square metres of' insert:

grassed

No. 8. Amendment No. 8 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, after line 11—Insert:

(4a) The Minister (or any other person) must not remove or substantially alter any Moreton Bay fig tree (ficus macrophylla) located within the Adelaide Oval Core Area without the approval of the Council (which approval must not be unreasonably withheld).

No. 9. Amendment No. 9 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, lines 12 and 13—Delete subclause (5) and substitute:

(5) A lease under this section (and any use of land under a lease) is not subject to Chapter 11 of the Local Government Act 1999 or section 21 of the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005.

No. 10. Amendment No. 10 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, line 14—Delete 'On the vesting of the Adelaide Oval Core Area' and substitute:

When a lease is granted

No. 11. Amendment No. 11 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 4, page 4, line 19—After 'Adelaide Oval Core Area' insert:

that is subject to a lease under this section

No. 12. Amendment No. 12 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, lines 22 and 23—Delete subclause (1) and substitute:

(1) The Minister is authorised to grant a sublease to SMA over any part of the Adelaide Oval Core Area that is subject to a lease under section 4.

No. 13. Amendment No. 13 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 24—Delete 'lease' and substitute:

sublease

No. 14. Amendment No. 14 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 24—Delete 'term up to 80 years' and substitute:

period not exceeding the term of the head lease

No. 15. Amendment No. 15 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, after line 25—Insert:

(2a) The consent of the Council is not required before the Minister grants a sublease under this section.

No. 16. Amendment No. 16 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 26—Delete 'lease' and substitute:

sublease

No. 17. Amendment No. 17 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 33—Delete 'lease' and substitute:

sublease

No. 18. Amendment No. 18 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 35—After 'may allow for any' insert:

further

No. 19. Amendment No. 19 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 36—After 'this Act' insert:

and to the provisions of the relevant head lease

No. 20. Amendment No. 20 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 37—Delete 'lease' and substitute:

sublease

No. 21. Amendment No. 21 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 5, page 4, line 38—Delete 'lease' and substitute:

sublease

No. 22. Amendment No. 22 [Lucas–4]—incorporating Amendment No. 1 [Lucas–9]—

Clause 5, page 5, after line 6—Insert:

(8) A sublease under this section (and any use of land under a sublease) is not subject to Chapter 11 of the Local Government Act 1999 or section 21 of the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005.

(9) The Minister must grant a sublease to SMA under this section by 15 March 2012.

No. 23. Amendment No. 23 [Lucas–4]—incorporating Amendments No. 2 and No. 3 [Lucas–6]—

New clause, page 5, after line 6—After clause 5 insert:

5A—Sinking fund

(1) SMA must, as soon as practicable after the grant of a sublease under section 5, establish a sinking fund out of which may be paid non-recurrent expenditures associated with the sublease.

(2) SMA must keep proper accounts of the revenues and expenditures of the sinking fund.

(3) SMA must, before 1 September in each year, report to the Minister—

(a) the amount of money paid into, and out of, the sinking fund during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June; and

(b) the amount of money proposed to be paid into, and out of, the sinking fund during the current financial year.

(4) As soon as practicable after receipt of the report from SMA, the Treasurer must, after consultation with SMA, approve or determine the amount of money to be paid into the sinking fund during the current financial year (and SMA must comply with any determination of the Treasurer).

(5) The Auditor-General may at any time and must, at least once in every year, (and without further authorisation) audit the accounts of the sinking fund and examine the matters to be dealt with under subsections (3) and (4).

(6) The Auditor-General may, for the purpose of subsection (5), exercise any power that the Auditor-General has in relation to an audit or examination under Part 3 of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 (and that Part will apply in relation to the exercise of any such power under this section as if the power were exercised under that Act and as if any reference to a public authority included a reference to SMA).

(7) If an audit or examination by the Auditor-General under subsection (5) indicates that—

(a) SMA has not complied with a determination of the Treasurer under subsection (4); or

(b) money has been paid out of the sinking fund for a purpose other than non-recurrent expenditure associated with the lease,

the Auditor-General must prepare a report on the matter and deliver copies of the report to the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

(8) When the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly receive a report from the Auditor-General under this section, the President and the Speaker must—

(a) immediately cause the report to be published; and

(b) lay the report before their respective Houses at the earliest opportunity.

(9) If the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the House of Assembly is absent at the time the Auditor-General delivers to the Parliament a report under this section, the Clerk of the relevant House will receive the report on behalf of the President or Speaker (as the case may be) (and the report or document will then be taken to have been received by the President or the Speaker).

(10) If a report is received by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the House of Assembly at a time when Parliament is not sitting, the report will be taken to have been published under subsection (8)(a) at the expiration of 1 clear day after the day of receipt of the report.

(11) A report or document will, when published under subsection (8)(a), be taken for the purposes of any other Act or law to be a report of the Parliament published under the authority of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.

(12) In this section—

non-recurrent, in relation to expenditure, means expenditure for a particular purpose that is normally made less frequently than once a year;

No. 24. Amendment No. 24 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 6, page 5, lines 7-30—Leave out the clause.

No. 25. Amendment No. 3 [ConsAff–4]—

Clause 7, page 5, after line 35—After subclause (1) insert:

(1a) A licence must be granted by the Council under subsection (1) within 30 days after the making of the request by the Minister (or such longer period as the Minister may allow).

No. 26. Amendment No. 25 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 7, page 5, lines 37 and 38—Delete paragraph (a) and substitute:

(a) must be for a term specified by the Minister (being a term of up to 20 years); and

(ab) must, at the request of the Minister, be extended or renewed for 1 or more periods of up to 20 years at a time subject to the qualification that the total term of a licence under this section must not exceed 80 years; and

No. 27. Amendment No. 26 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 7, page 6, line 1—Before 'may be subject' insert:

subject to subsections (2a) and (2b),

No. 28. Amendment No. 4 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, line 1—Delete 'may be' and substitute:

will only be

No. 29. Amendment No. 27 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 7, page 6, after line 2—Insert:

(2a) If the Council considers, at the time that a licence under this section is granted, extended or renewed, that the Minister is acting unreasonably in relation to the terms and conditions to be specified under subsection (2)(b), the Council may apply to the Development Assessment Commission for a review.

(2b) The Development Assessment Commission may, on application under subsection (2a)—

(a) determine whether or not a term or condition, or a proposed term or condition, is reasonable; and

(b) subject to a determination under paragraph (a), direct—

(i) that a term or condition of the licence be varied or revoked; or

(ii) that the licence be subject to a term or condition specified by the Development Assessment Commission; or

(iii) that any related action be taken,

(and a direction under this paragraph will have effect according to its terms).

No. 30. Amendment No. 5 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, line 6—After 'car parking' insert:

on grassed areas within a park-like setting in association with events at Adelaide Oval or Adelaide Oval No. 2, or otherwise in accordance with the regulations

No. 31. Amendment No. 6 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, line 7—After 'providing' insert:

reasonable

No. 32. Amendment No. 7 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, lines 9 and 10—Delete paragraph (c) and substitute:

(c) activities that are ancillary to the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval or Adelaide Oval No. 2; or

(ca) activities that are ancillary to the use of Adelaide Oval or Adelaide Oval No. 2 and take place—

(i) on a temporary basis for a period not exceeding 1 month; or

(ii) on a temporary basis for the purposes of a special event or activity prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph; or

No. 33. Amendment No. 8 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, line 11—Delete 'playing' and substitute:

the playing and watching of

No. 34. Amendment No. 28 [Lucas–4]—incorporating Amendment No. 9 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, after line 18—Insert:

(5a) Subsection (3)(d) only applies in relation to Adelaide Oval No. 2.

(5b) Subject to subsections (5c), (5d) and (5e), any use of land under a licence (or sub-licence) under this section, and any associated works on land subject to the licence, will be subject to the provisions of the Council's management plan under Chapter 11 of the Local Government Act 1999 that relate to the Adelaide Oval Licence Area.

(5c) If, after 1 July 2011, the management plan referred to in subsection (5b) is amended or is revoked and replaced by a new management plan, the amendment or the new plan (as the case may be) will not apply under subsection (5b) unless the Minister agrees (and until the Minister so agrees, the management plan as in force before the amendment or revocation will continue to apply under subsection (5b) as if it had not been so amended or revoked).

(5d) If—

(a) the Minister considers—

(i) that a provision of a management plan that applies under subsection (5b) is unreasonable in connection with the use of any part of the Adelaide Oval Licence Area; or

(ii) that the Council is acting unreasonably in relation to the administration or implementation of the management plan; or

(b) the Council considers that the Minister is acting unreasonably in refusing to agree to an amendment or new management plan under subsection (5c),

the Minister or the Council (as the case may be) may apply to the Development Assessment Commission for a review of the matter.

(5e) The Development Assessment Commission may, on application under subsection (5d)—

(a) determine whether or not a provision of the relevant management plan or an act of the Council or the Minister (as the case may be) is reasonable; and

(b) subject to a determination under paragraph (a)—

(i) direct—

(A) that a provision of the relevant management plan be varied or revoked; or

(B) that a decision of the Council be varied or revoked or that a different decision be made; or

(C) that the Minister agree with an amendment to the relevant management plan or to a new management plan; or

(D) that any related action be taken,

(and a direction under this subparagraph will have effect according to its terms and despite the provisions of Chapter 11 of the Local Government Act 1999 or the Adelaide Park Lands Management Strategy under the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005); or

(ii) confirm any act or decision of the Council or the Minister to be reasonable in the circumstances.

No. 35. Amendment No. 29 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 7, page 6, line 26—After 'public' insert:

or with the provisions of a management plan that applies under subsection (5b)

No. 36. Amendment No. 30 [Lucas–4]—incorporating Amendment No. 10 [Lucas–6]—

Clause 7, page 6, lines 27 to 29—Delete subclause (8) and substitute:

(8) A licence under this section is not subject to section 202 of the Local Government Act 1999 or section 21 of the Adelaide Park Lands Act 2005.

No. 37. Amendment No. 31 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 7, page 6, after line 32—Insert:

(10) In this section—

Adelaide Oval No. 2 is the area identified as SA Cricket Association Licenced Area—Park 26 in Schedules 1 and 2 and Annexure A to the Park Lands Lease Agreement entered into by the Council and SACA on 4 January 2007 (as that agreement exists immediately before the commencement of this Act).

No. 38. Amendment No. 32 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 8—Leave out the clause.

No. 39. Amendment No. 33 [Lucas–4]—incorporating Amendments No. 1 and No. 2 [ConsAff–6]—

New Parts, page 7, after line 23—Insert:

Part 3A—Financial management

8A—Extent of financial commitment

(1) If an appropriation is made for the purposes of, or in connection with, the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval envisaged by this Act, the total amount that the Minister, or any other entity acting on behalf of the State, is authorised to make available or expend for a designated purpose is $535 million.

(2) Subsection (1) applies in relation to any amount made available or expended during the period commencing on 1 December 2009 and ending on 1 December 2019.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a designated purpose means any of the following:

(a) development within the area bounded by King William Road, Pennington Terrace, Montefiore Road and War Memorial Drive, other than land that is subject to a lease or licence to the Memorial Drive Tennis Club Inc., Next Generation Clubs Australia Pty Ltd or the South Australian Tennis Association Inc.;

(b) grants or other forms of financial assistance to or for the benefit of SMA, SACA, the SANFL or any other entity in connection with the development of Adelaide Oval (including to assist with, or to achieve, the reduction or discharge of any loan or other commitment, to pay any interest, to provide or support a guarantee, security or bond, or to provide any other form of financial accommodation but not including amounts that have been agreed to be paid in relation to interest costs incurred by SACA for loans provided for the Western Stand Redevelopment).

(4) However, a designated purpose does not include—

(a) roadworks within the area referred to in subsection (4)(a) from 1 January 2015; or

(b) roadworks relating to King William Road, Pennington Terrace, Montefiore Road or War Memorial Drive.

8B—Financial supervision by the Auditor-General

(1) The Auditor-General must, within 2 months after the end of each designated period, prepare a report on—

(a) the extent to which money has been made available or expended within the $535 million limit specified by this Part during the designated period; and

(b) the state of the public accounts that are relevant to the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval envisaged by this Act; and

(c) the extent to which it appears that public money made available to any entity, including an entity that is not a public authority, for the purposes of, or in connection with, the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval envisaged by this Act has been properly and efficiently managed and used during the designated period.

(2) The Auditor-General may, at any time (without further authorisation), audit or examine the accounts of a public authority or SMA in order to prepare a report under subsection (1).

(3) Furthermore, the Auditor-General must in any event audit the accounts of SMA each year and include a report on that audit in the Auditor-General's annual report.

(4) The Auditor-General may, for the purposes of subsections (1), (2) and (3) exercise any power that the Auditor-General has in relation to an audit or examination under Part 3 of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 (and that Part will apply in relation to the exercise of any such power under this section as if the power were exercised under that Act and as if any reference to a public authority included a reference to an entity that is the subject of an audit or examination under this section).

(5) The Auditor-General must, after completing a report under subsection (1), deliver copies of the report to the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

(6) When the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly receive a report from the Auditor-General under this section, the President and the Speaker must—

(a) immediately cause the report to be published; and

(b) lay the report before their respective Houses at the earliest opportunity.

(7) If the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the House of Assembly is absent at the time the Auditor-General delivers to the Parliament a report under this section, the Clerk of the relevant House will receive the report on behalf of the President or Speaker (as the case may be) (and the report or document will then be taken to have been received by the President or the Speaker).

(8) If a report is received by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the House of Assembly at a time when Parliament is not sitting, the report will be taken to have been published under subsection (6)(a) at the expiration of 1 clear day after the day of receipt of the report.

(9) A report or document will, when published under subsection (6)(a), be taken for the purposes of any other Act or law to be a report of the Parliament published under the authority of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.

(10) This section—

(a) is in addition to the provisions of any other Act or law requiring the accounts of a company or other body corporate to be audited; and

(b) is not in derogation of any such provisions.

(11) In this section—

designated period means—

(a) a period commencing on 1 January in each year and expiring on 30 June in the same year (both dates inclusive); and

(b) a period commencing on 1 July in each year and expiring on 31 December in the same year (both dates inclusive);

public accounts has the same meaning as in the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987;

public authority has the same meaning as in the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987.

Part 3B—Development assessment

8C—Development assessment

(1) The Development Plan that relates to the area of the Council will be taken to provide—

(a) that the Adelaide Oval Core Area is an area or zone that may be used predominantly for the purposes described in section 4(2); and

(b) that the Adelaide Oval Licence Area is an area or zone that may be used for the purposes described in section 7(3).

(2) To the extent of any inconsistency between subsection (1) and the Development Plan referred to in that subsection, subsection (1) will prevail.

(3) Any development—

(a) undertaken within the Adelaide Oval Core Area associated (directly or indirectly) with the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval, its stands or other facilities, or in connection with a lease under section 4 or a sublease under section 5; or

(b) undertaken within the Adelaide Oval Licence Area associated (directly or indirectly) with development within the ambit of paragraph (a), or in connection with a licence or sub-licence under section 7,

will be taken to be complying development under section 35 of the Development Act 1993 and Category 1 development under section 38 of that Act.

(4) The Development Assessment Commission will be taken to be the relevant authority under section 34 of the Development Act 1993 in relation to any proposed development within the ambit of subsection (3).

No. 40. Amendment No. 8 [Parnell–1]—

Clause 9, page 7, lines 27 and 28—Delete 'or to land within the Adelaide Oval Licence Area that is subject to a licence under this Act'

No. 41. Amendment No. 9 [Parnell–1]—

Clause 9, page 7, lines 33 and 34—Delete 'or within the Adelaide Oval Licence Area'

No. 42. Amendment No. 1 [Lucas–7]—

Clause 9, page 7, after line 34—Insert:

(3a) Despite section 11 of the Development Act 1993, the Development Assessment Commission is not, in the exercise and discharge of its powers, functions or duties under this Act, subject to the direction and control of the Minister responsible for the administration of that Act.

No. 43. Amendment No. 2 [Lucas–7]—

New clause, page 8, after line 2—Insert:

9A—Council leases, licences and approvals in adjacent area

(1) The Council must not grant a prescribed lease, licence or approval in relation to any part of the adjacent area without the consent of SMA.

(2) A lease, licence or approval granted in breach of this section is void and of No. effect.

(3) In this section—

adjacent area means the area bounded by King William Road, Pennington Terrace, Montefiore Road and War Memorial Drive (other than land that is subject to a lease or licence to the Memorial Drive Tennis Club Inc., Next Generation Clubs Australia Pty Ltd or the South Australian Tennis Association Inc. and land that constitutes part of the Adelaide Oval Core Area or the Adelaide Oval Licence Area);

prescribed lease, licence or approval means a lease, licence or approval to use land for a business purpose that—

(a) is granted to a person or body other than the Minister or SMA; and

(b) confers rights on the lessee, licensee or holder of the approval (as the case may be) in relation to a day on which an event is to be held at Adelaide Oval or Adelaide Oval No. 2.

No. 44. Amendment No. 10 [Parnell–1]—

New clause, page 8, after line 13—Insert:

11A—Public Transport Plan for Adelaide Oval

(1) The Minister must, within 12 months after the commencement of this section, prepare a report on strategies to encourage members of the public to travel to events at Adelaide Oval by public transport.

(2) The report must include a plan to achieve target of at least 70 per cent of members of the public using public transport (wholly or in part) to attend events at Adelaide Oval once the redevelopment envisaged by this Act is completed.

(3) The Minister must, within 6 sitting days after the report is completed, cause copies of the report to be laid before both Houses of Parliament.

No. 45. Amendment No. 1 [Lucas–8]—

New clause, page 8, after line 27—Insert:

13A—Special annual sublease fee

(1) SMA is liable to pay the following amounts to the State on account of a sublease granted to SMA under section 5:

(a) in relation to 2015-16 financial year—$200,000;

(b) in relation to 2016-17 financial year—$400,000;

(c) in relation to 2017-18 financial year—$600,000;

(d) in relation to 2018-19 financial year—$800,000;

(e) in relation to 2019-20 financial year—$1,000,000;

(f) in relation to each succeeding financial year while SMA holds a sublease over any part of the Adelaide Oval Core Area under this Act—$1,000,000 (indexed).

(2) An amount payable under this section in relation to a particular financial year must be paid by SMA to the Treasurer by 31 July immediately following the end of that financial year.

(3) The Treasurer must pay all amounts received from SMA under this section into the Sport and Recreation Fund established under the Gaming Machines Act 1992 for the purposes of the Active Club Program or, if that program is discontinued, a program that provides financial assistance to South Australian not for profit community-based active recreation and sporting organisations.

(4) In this section, $1,000,000 (indexed) for a particular financial year means an amount obtained by multiplying $1,000,000 by a proportion obtained by dividing the Consumer Price Index for the quarter ending on 31 March in the financial year immediately preceding the relevant financial year by the Consumer Price Index for the quarter ending on 31 March 2019.

(5) In this section—

Consumer Price Index means the Consumer Price Index (All groups index for Adelaide).

No. 46. Amendment No. 37 [Lucas–4]—

Clause 14, page 8, line 29—Delete 'lease' and substitute:

sublease

No. 47. Amendment No. 1 [ConsAff–5]—

New clause, page 8, after line 32—Insert:

14A—Temporary use of adjacent area during construction period

(1) Despite any other Act or law (and without the need for any further consent, approval or authorisation), the Minister may, for the purpose of carrying out works for the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval during the construction period, enter and remain on any land in the adjacent area and do any of the following:

(a) take any vehicles, machinery or equipment on the land;

(b) deposit any material on the land;

(c) undertake works on the land;

(d) erect fences, workshops, sheds and other structures of a temporary character on the land;

(e) divert vehicles and pedestrians through any part of the land;

(f) occupy, and do any other works on, the land necessary for the purpose of carrying out works for the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval.

(2) A management plan under Chapter 11 of the Local Government Act 1999 that applies to the adjacent area during the construction period is taken to be modified to the extent of any inconsistency with subsection (1).

(3) The Minister may not, however, remove or damage any trees in the adjacent area in the exercise of powers under this section.

(4) If, in the exercise of powers under this section, any damage is caused to land in the adjacent area, the Minister must take reasonable measures to make good the damage at the end of the construction period.

(5) In this section—

adjacent area means the area bounded by King William Road, Pennington Terrace, Montefiore Road and War Memorial Drive (other than land that is subject to a lease or licence to the Memorial Drive Tennis Club Inc., Next Generation Clubs Australia Pty Ltd or the South Australian Tennis Association Inc. and land that constitutes part of the Adelaide Oval Core Area or the Adelaide Oval Licence Area);

construction period means the period ending—

(a) on the day on which the Minister publishes a notice in the Gazette, declaring the end of the construction period for the purposes of this definition; or

(b) 31 December 2014,

whichever occurs first.

Consideration in committee.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I move:

That the Legislative Council's amendments be agreed to.

In doing so, I just place a few words on the record. I do not intend to speak for long because a great many words have been used on this already. In fact, I think every single member of the opposition made a speech while I sat here a few weeks ago.

I would like to place on the record my thanks to a number of people. He is not here today, but I would thank Kevin Foley for being the initiator of this proposal some time ago. I would also place on the record my appreciation for the work of the shadow minister, the member for Davenport. I think he said that he would genuinely lay down arms and help the bill proceed. Even though I am not in a position to agree with all of the amendments that were sought, I think he was genuine in that. We have arrived at a workable package and I thank him for it. I would also place on the record my thanks to the member for Waite who has been a supporter of this throughout.

I would like to thank some of my staff and departmental people, in particular, Matt Clemow, chief of staff, who spent an enormous amount of time in the Legislative Council dealing with our friends there to secure this. I thank Rod Hook, the head of the department of transport, and before him while he was away, Manuel Delgado, who both spent an enormous amount of time in the last, something like, I think, 14 months that we have been handling this, getting it to a point where we got through the various hurdles and now on the verge of making it law.

Can I assure everyone in the house that they worked very hard. A great deal of detail has been gone over in this and I thank them for that. I would also thank Mike Rann, the Premier, who has been a strong supporter in this controversial matter throughout, right from day one. Can I say (he is not here, but I hope that this will get back to him), in particular, the house and the Legislative Council owe a debt of gratitude to Richard Dennis, Parliamentary Counsel, because this stuff was done with short notice—writing amendments and making workable desires that were rarely seen in legislation before. He is, I think, as good as it gets around the country in terms of parliamentary counsel, and I was grateful that he was working on something as difficult as this.

Finally, I would just like to thank those crossbenchers in the Legislative Council who did not always vote for us but who did give us a hearing on all occasions. They did show that you should not simply assume that someone is going to vote for you or against you: that you should always go and look someone in the eye and give them an explanation and find out just what they are thinking and tell them what you think. It is a good process and one that has got us to this conclusion today.

I thank all my colleagues on this. I do think that what we are going to pass—and I know we may hear differently from the opposition—and what this bill will achieve will be a great thing for South Australia. Many of us when we are no longer here will be enjoying the outcomes of this, that is, football at Adelaide Oval and, more importantly, the great use for the first time by the people of Adelaide of its riverfront precinct through the developments that returning football to Adelaide will cause.

In that regard I would therefore thank the representatives of football and cricket who have ended a 40-odd year war in order to arrive at this conclusion. In particular, I thank Ian McLachlan and Mr Harnden at cricket and Leigh Whicker, John Olsen (a former premier) and before him Rod Payze at football. The outcome is one that I think will be a tremendous legacy for the individuals involved.

With those few remarks, I pass on and commend the bill as amended to the house. I will point out that we have not agreed in the other place with all the amendments. We believe that, in the spirit of the importance of it and of compromise, we have been prepared to be flexible in our approach, and we believe that we saw some flexibility from others. I should also pass on my thanks to the Mayor of the City of Adelaide and his council for their support in bringing football back to Adelaide Oval. I hope that I missed no-one.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: The opposition also supports the motion to accept the amendments from the other place. The minister quite rightly points out that not every side won every amendment, and there was some compromises both before the legislation, or the amendments, went into the other place, and then on the floor, as these things happen. Once the Liberal Party agreed to facilitate the Adelaide Oval redevelopment on the basis that we had always committed to bringing football back to Adelaide and we accepted the fact that the government had won the election and it was their model that was going to be delivered, we sought to genuinely undertake amendments that we thought improved the project and processes without necessarily putting roadblocks in that would destroy or stop the project.

Once we took the decision to facilitate the project, it was always a genuine attempt to improve the legislation as far as this side of the house was concerned. I want to thank Matt Clemow from the minister's office and also Rod Hook and Manuel Delgado for their briefings and the quickness of their response. It was good to be able to float things past those particular officers and get a relatively quick response so that we could move on to the next issue or rethink certain issues in what was a pretty complex matter.

I also thank the Adelaide City Council—Peter Smith, the Lord Mayor, the Deputy Lord Mayor and Nicola Hurdle, who briefed us on various matters from council's point of view. I think the council would be relatively happy with the outcome: most of their requests were met in one form or another.

I, too, would like to pay tribute to Richard Dennis and Aimee Travers, who put a lot of the opposition's ideas into words that made sense. I agree whole-heartedly with the words of the minister about the quality of parliamentary counsel. I think this parliament is brilliantly served by our parliamentary counsel officers.

I am not going to go through all the amendments and make any political points about the amendments, other than to say that, if the house reflects on my second reading contribution and the broad principles that we were seeking, it is fair to say that the amendments that were achieved in the upper house essentially go to those principles in large. So, we are comfortable with the legislation and the opposition has facilitated the development of Adelaide Oval. We will still, of course, raise the occasional question and try to keep the government to account about the project, which is our role. But with those few words, we agree with the minister's motion.

Motion carried.