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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-24 Daily Xml
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Riverbank Arena

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:41): My question again is to the Premier. How many additional major conventions unable to be accommodated at the recently expanded Adelaide Convention Centre does the business case for the new stadium outline as being hosted at his new facility each year?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:41): Infrastructure SA is independently operated from the government. It has its own separate board and it looks at all the proposals independently. We ask it to do an independently verified benefit cost analysis and it makes sure that those projects are fit for purpose for us to spend taxpayers' dollars on. I would have thought that the member for Lee might have taken a look. I think he has the shadow responsibilities for this area.

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I would have thought he would have looked at Infrastructure SA. It's an excellent body and we thank those people who are dedicated to that cause. They have made the assessment, the independent assessment, looking at what the demand for a facility like this is going to be, what the likely construction costs are going to be, what the likely operation costs are going to be and have formed the opinion, independent of the government, that this stacks up.

I would point out that this is not the first proposal that has been suggested in terms of a new facility on the Riverbank. We have seen speculation about other proposals that the government was considering. In fact, the Treasurer, the Hon. Rob Lucas, made it clear on Tuesday that there were other proposals including a soccer pitch that was basically raised up and lowered down and this came with a very much larger price tag. It didn't offer that benefit cost ratio that this version offers, and that's one of the reasons why we decided to further invest in Coopers Stadium at Hindmarsh—so that we could have that done in time for the Women's World Cup in 2023.

If we didn't do that, there was just no chance that we would have matches played here in South Australia. We want those matches to be played in South Australia. We want to advance women's sport here in South Australia. That's why we are investing in the Hindmarsh stadium here. That's why we are investing in—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —grassroots sport in South Australia. That's why we are investing in change room upgrades. That's why we are investing in a range of sports.

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell will cease interjecting. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Sorry, I was slightly—

Ms Hildyard: You said you didn't want it.

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I was slightly distracted then, sir. I almost lost my place but not quite. There are still other things to say about the upgrade that is going to occur down there. I think it's going to offer much greater amenity in a much faster time frame. We know that the world game is a very exciting game. We are seeing higher and higher participation in South Australia. That is one of the reasons why we are also investing out at Gepps Cross in a fantastic new facility there.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will resume his seat. The member for Lee on a point of order.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Standing order 98: once again, debate. The question was quite specific about conferences, not soccer matches or developments at Gepps Cross.

The SPEAKER: The question was to a rather more specific aspect of the business case. I uphold the point of order. The Premier will direct his answer to the specific question.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I think the question was what were the elements of the viability, and what I have been outlining is that we assessed independently a range of demands for the new facility, whether they be sporting matches, whether they be concerts—which previously weren't coming to South Australia which we will now be able to bring to South Australia—or, of course, conferences, conventions and exhibitions in South Australia.

In looking at the viability of a project like this or the attractiveness of a project like this, we also ask what are the added benefits and who else is going to benefit from this? We say that the CBD will benefit. In other cities around the country and around the world where you have big events, where you have a big drawcard like an entertainment centre or a conference facility, people spill out into hotels, restaurants and cafes.

It enlivens the city, and that is one of the other many benefits that we see from the Riverbank arena. We feel that the position that the Labor Party has taken in South Australia is very short-sighted and will cost jobs in this state going forward.

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