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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-11-17 Daily Xml
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Gibson Electorate

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:30): It is my great pleasure to rise to speak about the wonderful work that is done by a number of community groups and individuals in my electorate, and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge some of them today.

In 1952, a group of residents banded together to protect gum trees from being uprooted. Thanks to their efforts, many local gum trees around Marion were planted, protected and able to grow to full maturity. This band of residents called itself the Oaklands Estate Residents' Association, and I am pleased to say that they are still going strong today and next year will reach the impressive milestone, their 70th anniversary.

I attended the Oaklands Estate Residents' Association's AGM last month, as I try to do every year. It was great to see such a strong turnout and to hear which issues mattered most to those residents. At the AGM the residents association also elected its committee for the next term, and massive congratulations to everyone who was elected, including the re-election of Fred Hill as president, Robert Riggs as vice-president, Mike Windows as the treasurer and Lyn Roberts as the secretary.

There are now around 300 homes and a thousand residents in this small pocket of Marion known as Oaklands Estate, so it is fantastic that the residents association continues to be so active as it preserves the historical spirit of the area while, at the same time, seeking ways to improve their neighbourhood. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with these residents at the AGM and when I am doorknocking in that area. In fact, we are working with them on fixing the road alongside the Oaklands Wetlands as well. I congratulate the members of the committee on their election and look forward to seeing what they have planned for their 70th anniversary celebrations.

National Seniors Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that strives to achieve better outcomes for older Australians. The Brighton branch of National Seniors is very active in the community and offers a range of enriching experiences for its members. Last month, I brought members of Brighton National Seniors through the halls of Parliament House on what they later described as an engaging and informative experience.

Brighton National Seniors is constantly striving to provide its members with engaging and informative experiences. In the last few months alone, Brighton National Seniors have run a Barossa Valley bus tour, a Townsend Park tour, a Parliament House tour and held their AGM. They have more planned for later this month, with a scheduled visit to Cummins Historic House and a Christmas lunch at Club Marion.

The Brighton National Seniors had such a great turnout for the Parliament House tour that I cannot mention everyone here, but I do wish to acknowledge some of the members who attended and who also live in my community: Anne Arthurson, Doreen Cooper, John Cooper, Cynthia Correll, Graham Gurry, Meredith Huxtable, Graham Lines, Pat Schirmer and Heather Williams—to name a few. Thank you to the Brighton National Seniors for all the work you have done and continue to do to further interest the older Australians throughout our community.

Doorknocking is a great way for me to get feedback from local residents, so it is one of the ways that I can best represent my community. As I have regularly done, doorknocking month on month and week on week over the eight years I have been in this role as a local member in my community, I have been doing even more doorknocking over the past few months and have met dozens of fantastic people in our community, and I just want to mention a few of them here.

It was lovely to meet Marlene from Warradale, who chatted with me about the Adelaide Metro timetabling. I was able to provide her with copies of her desired bus timetable and information about COVID-19 protocol on the buses. It was also wonderful to get a follow-up letter from Marlene, who told me that, in 63 years living at the same address, she has only been doorknocked by a local MP twice.

Robert from Hove shared his enthusiasm for the arts with me. Robert is a musician and had some thoughtful suggestions on how we can improve our local music scene, and I have relayed those to council. Matthew and his family from Seacombe Gardens moved to the electorate recently and have been settling in well as they enjoy all that is beautiful about the suburb and location they live in and all that it has to offer.

Filomena from Dover Gardens greeted me with her bright, optimistic personality and chatted about important local issues and made me feel very welcome as well. Nathan from Sturt told me about his experience working as a renovator on holiday houses, owning a landscaping business and his interest for a possible career change in the future.

These were just a few of the wonderful people I have been meeting each week as I have called in door to door around the Gibson electorate. It is a privilege to represent a community filled with groups of individuals I have mentioned today. As we approach the festive season, I do wish everyone in my local community the very best for Christmas and hope that they celebrate with family and friends in whatever way is meaningful for them.

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