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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-04 Daily Xml
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Finniss Electorate

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:52): My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister please outline to the house how the government is delivering on its election commitments in the Finniss electorate and prioritising infrastructure across regional South Australia?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:52): I would like to thank the member for Finniss for his question and for the fact that he used the word 'please'. I think that is a level of civility that has been sorely missing so, member for Finniss, thank you very much for the question. I know that you are a very fierce advocate for your local area and you, like a number of other MPs, have been discussing how we can make sure that we deliver on our election commitments.

Unfortunately for those opposite, this is going to be an answer that provides information that suggests we have once again delivered on another election commitment. It's difficult for those opposite to hear but, with the new government coming in, I think the people of South Australia are beginning to realise that they can trust politicians who will actually do what they say they are going to do.

What we have been able to negotiate in the last couple of weeks is an agreement with the Alexandrina Council to give them $300,000. I think councils like to negotiate when you are giving them money, but they have also put $396,000 on the table to deliver an upgrade to the Mount Compass Recreation Park.

I think that is absolutely fantastic, especially for a small town like Mount Compass, which dearly needs an upgrade to this facility. I know that broken bones probably aren't as much of a problem for young children in the town of Mount Compass because everybody drinks a lot of milk and their bones are like titanium, so I know that all the kids of the town will get fantastic use out of this facility.

What this highlights, I think, are a couple of things. First off, it highlights the fact that there is a state government and a local government sector that are willing to work together, that in the light of some of the difficult challenges that we are putting to local government about how they operate their business and how they go about collecting money from ratepayers we are showing a commitment to continuing to work together with them on joint priorities and the fact that we can maintain a very good, constructive working relationship to help deliver for local communities.

However, it is extremely important that these kinds of projects happen, especially in towns like Mount Compass, because we know that our regions are fantastic places to live in. In trying to encourage more families to go and live in those places, amenity of the regional area, and amenity of the town, is something that is very much front of mind when families look at where they are going to live. In fact, I bought a house based in no small part on the fact that there was a park across the road for the kids.

By helping to invest in regional communities and small towns like this, we help to encourage people to live in our beautiful regions and we help to make them more liveable, and I think that is extremely important. I know that the council is getting on and doing some early design works that will be finished by September when the tender will go out, and we look forward to construction being completed in early 2019.

I look forward to potentially going down to visit for a glass of full-cream milk—I dare not say whether or not it has been homogenised or pasteurised, but we will see—and going to visit this new facility, and again reinforce our commitment to regional South Australia that we are here to help them.

This is one of many commitments that we have made in regional areas. We have successfully negotiated with a number of councils to help to deliver on projects like this. I look forward to being able to talk more about those in the remaining time. I can also put on the record the fact that I am looking forward to finalising negotiations with The Barossa Council about a couple of dog parks that the community up there would dearly love to see, and I look forward to helping to deliver yet again on another Liberal election commitment.

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