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

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:30): I rise to speak about another unfair decision. Last year, the residents of the north-eastern suburbs were shocked to hear a proposal had been made and accepted by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government to close not only their local branch of Service SA in Modbury but also the branches at Prospect and Mitcham—an apparently poorly thought-out cost-cutting exercise.

There seems little logic behind what surely must have been jottings on the back of an envelope because no-one seems to know exactly what impact this will have and what savings will be made versus what it will cost, for instance, in lost prepaid rent and how hundreds of thousands of transactions will be undertaken in the future.

Let's take a look at some of the impacts. Longer travel and waiting times: it will take nearly an hour to get to Elizabeth or Tranmere by bus. In the case of Tranmere, sir, in your electorate, it will be two buses. By car, it will take around 20 minutes. The already long queues at Tranmere (which I am sure you are aware of, sir), which already serves 85,000 customers, and at Elizabeth, the state's busiest office, which already serves 141,700 customers, will swell with Modbury's displaced customers.

Prospect's 105,000 customers will have to go to the city—already serving 74,000 customers—or Tranmere. Again, I know that you know, sir, that Tranmere is already looking after their own 85,000 customers and will have to cater for the Modbury spillover, too. Clearly, this is a recipe for disaster. The same is true for Mitcham. Those customers will have to go to the city or Marion, which is already servicing 117,000 customers. That is the rub—the loss of Service SA offices is a disservice to the people of the state.

Not all people have the ability, for a number of reasons, to access online services. If the online services already available are not being utilised, it is because we know people are attending offices in growing numbers to do their business in person. How will acceptance and use of online services be increased? I am hearing that the service online is not up to scratch, and the increasing traffic in the call centre will have its own unique issues—or, rather, issues similar to those already experienced by the long-suffering public who use Centrelink's call centres.

My own experience last night with Service SA was that I spent nearly an hour not even listening to good music or music of any variety. I eventually had to hang up before I could get my business done by the call centre, which closed at 6 o'clock, apparently not servicing many customers up to that time. What thought has been given to the staff in the Modbury, Prospect and Mitcham offices? They deliver an amazing service under very difficult circumstances.

I have witnessed the diligent work of staff at Modbury many times and, more recently, on visits to Tranmere, Prospect and Elizabeth. They provide the person-to-person service so valued by the community. The electors and residents of Newland, King, Florey and Wright in the north-east are not happy that this policy was not canvassed prior to the last election—not even 12 months ago. It was not part of any policy offered for their consideration prior to them deciding their vote. They have made it very clear that they do not accept this measure and will not forget this senseless course of action.

It is a transfer of cost to the individual, who will have to travel further and wait longer to pay the government money. There is no way that closing these offices will improve services. It would take some time for that day to come. As we were told at this year's service at St Peter's Cathedral, we must remember the little people, for we are also called to serve them. Those who are caught up in this period of transition to the online world will be disadvantaged by this move, just as they are by the withdrawal of things like bank services. I do not want to see parliament sink to that level, where we are not models of best practice, where we do not ensure everyone has access to services. Young people will feel the weight of this decision, too, for it will impact on their ability to access their learner's permit and P-plates.

Let's look at the logic. Again, we see there is little logic and no sense at all in these proposed closures, unless it is the sinister prelude to the withdrawal of more services. As I said earlier, the people of Newland, King, Florey and Wright have been treated poorly—the closure of Holden Hill courthouse, reduction in the Holden Hill police station opening hours, reprioritisation of the expansion of the Modbury Interchange car park to name a few. Residents in the seat of Adelaide will also remember, as will the electors of Waite and Elder.

We must not neglect the calls of the residents. They are not convinced that this is a plan to deliver better services and will not forgive such a callous decision where demand is not given priority. The people of the north-east will not accept this continuing neglect. They have signed a petition in their thousands, and they are right behind my attempts to give petitions more weight in the parliamentary process.

They want a say more often in what happens to them, not only once every four years on election day. I am looking forward to seeing them at our next rally on Wednesday 13 March at Modbury and again here in this place on Wednesday 20 March, when the private member's bill on petitions is going to be moved. Their resolve must be matched by our willingness to address their concerns, and I urge this government to give people and Service SA officers the extra time needed for the transition to digital business and take their proposal for better services to the next election process, for if we can see we can have better services there will not be any problem.

Mr BROWN: Point of order, Mr Speaker: I draw your attention to the state of the house.

The SPEAKER: There is no quorum present; please ring the bells.

A quorum having been formed:

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