House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-02-26 Daily Xml

Contents

City Skate Park

Mr DULUK (Waite) (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister update the house on the city skate park?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:48): I can indeed. I note, member for Waite, your deep and abiding interest in skating and—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The minister will resume his seat for one moment. The member for Badcoe can leave for half an hour under 137A. Thank you.

The honourable member for Badcoe having withdrawn from the chamber:

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Yes, I will deal with them, too, don't worry—I am saving it up. Minister.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: As I was just saying, the member for Waite has a deep and abiding interest in the skating community right across South Australia. I would like to take—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: There are obviously members opposite who haven't apprised themselves of recent history. Back in 2013, it was first discovered that the city skate park on North Terrace was going to be demolished. At that point, a rally was held. At that rally, there was the Liberal member for Adelaide and there was the Labor candidate for Adelaide, Jo Chapley. Hang on. No, that's right; it is David O'Loughlin—it is hard to keep track. At that point, both member and candidate made a commitment to the South Australian people—

Mr Boyer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Wright is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —that they would fix and find a new location for the city skate park. We fast-forward to March 2014 and Labor won the election and formed government. There was an intervening four-year period where nothing happened—where absolutely nothing happened. Now, we fast-forward to March 2018, March 17—a very happy day. The Liberal government is elected here in South Australia, and what happens is that the members opposite discover that we don't have a city skate park, and then they start to get out there in the community and fight for a skate park that they failed to deliver for five years.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Well, guess what, Mr Speaker?

The Hon. C.L. Wingard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Police is called to order.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: We didn't need to wait five years to get the job done. We have been working diligently with the Adelaide city council—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —and we were able on Monday to announce that we now have a location for a new city skate park here in Adelaide. It is something that the member for Adelaide and I have been discussing for many, many months as very strong advocates—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —because this was a commitment that we made, and herein lies the difference.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Playford!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: When South Australians voted in their Liberal government—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —they knew that they were going to get their election commitments delivered, unlike what happened previously, and that is precisely what we have done.

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: The member for Reynell may put a few things on Twitter and decide that she is helping somebody, but a tweet isn't going to deliver a city skate park: dollars on the table will.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Yes. Minister, please resume your seat. Point of order?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The minister is talking about members opposite—

The SPEAKER: Yes, I uphold the point of order and ask the minister to come to the substance of the question, please.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: So I would like to also congratulate the Adelaide city council that did go on a consultation process to help find the best new home for this park. I think that the location at Gladys Elphick is the perfect location because it has good access to public transport—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —it has good access to facilities around that area and the Karen Rolton Oval, and it also has very strong connectivity—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is on two warnings.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —to the rest of the city.

The Hon. S.S. Marshall: And if you break a leg, you can hop over the road to the Royal Adelaide.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: The Premier makes a point that I think is quite valid. This is a great location. What is going to happen is that there is going to be a period where we now talk again to the skating community about not only now having decided where the location is but also what sort of skate park it is that they want.

The South Australian government, the Liberal state South Australian government, has put $3 million on the table to make sure that this finally gets done. Talk is cheap, but here we are on this side of the house delivering on yet another commitment that we took to the South Australian election, and the skating community, who have had words and empty rhetoric and rallies that lead to nowhere for the past 12 months, will finally now have the outcome that they so richly deserve.