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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-15 Daily Xml
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Adelaide Aquatic Centre

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (15:56): I rise to talk on an incredibly important project in my local area, and that is the delivery of a brand-new Adelaide Aquatic Centre. On the weekend, I was really excited to be joined by the Premier, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Treasurer and the Lord Mayor to unveil the very first concept designs of a brand-new facility at Park 2 in North Adelaide.

We are doing this project because the current facility is ageing. It was never built for purpose, and it is in decline. It has concrete cancer, the diving tower is structurally unsafe and closed off, and large parts of the grandstand are closed off. I am there every Friday evening with my two children as they do their swimming lesson, and I think any user who attends the facility knows that it is in need of a complete rebuild. That is why the Malinauskas Labor government has stepped in to deliver a brand-new facility.

At the election, we did have two very different tales: we were stepping in with a fully funded commitment to the Adelaide Aquatic Centre, unlike the then Liberal government at the time who merely put $25 million on the table for an unfunded project. They had no commitment from the federal Coalition government at the time towards the centre, which was really concerning for locals because in some ways the Aquatic Centre had become quite the political football—literally, when even the Adelaide Crows got involved—and there was a real concern around its long-term future.

There was also concern around the burden placed on Adelaide City Council ratepayers in regard to the centre. When you look at the number of people who use the centre, only around 11 per cent of those users are Adelaide City Council residents, yet the former Liberal government was asking Adelaide City Council ratepayers to effectively shoulder the burden of a new facility.

At the time, the then Treasurer, Rob Lucas, said that if they could not get the funding from the federal government they would look to Adelaide City Council ratepayers to pay the bill. That really is not fair. This is a facility that serves a huge area, not just the Adelaide City Council area but communities to the north, the west and the east as well. That is why we stepped in to make sure we were delivering a fully funded, new facility that is going to serve generations to come.

Over the past 12 months we have been working really hard on consultation, first on the location of the new centre, its design and also its features. When we look at some of those features I can say that this facility is going to be an absolute game changer for our area. We are going to have indoor and outdoor pools. For the indoor pools it is going to have 10 lanes for lap swimming, and there will be a 25-metre outdoor pool, which is going to be incredible.

Picture North Adelaide in summer, in our beautiful Parklands setting—we are going to have outdoor pools and outdoor play areas. Families are going to be able to come and have picnics and barbecues and be in that beautiful Parklands setting, which is going to be an absolute game changer for our area. Having attended the centre on those really hot days, I know that it is probably more like a sauna than a swimming centre, particularly in the heat of summer, so the fact that we are going to have these outdoor pools for the community to enjoy is just amazing.

It is also going to have a dedicated warm-water pool for rehabilitation, and it is going to have a dedicated learn-to-swim pool. Teaching kids to swim is something I am incredibly passionate about. I spent every single summer at the Naracoorte Swimming Lake learning to swim and then learning to be a swimming instructor and a lifeguard, so I am incredibly passionate about teaching our young kids to swim. The fact that we are going to have a dedicated swim school pool within this facility is so incredibly important.

Another thing that I am really proud to be delivering as part of this project is an increase in open green space and an increase in Parklands as part of this development. We are going to be delivering an extra 1,000 square metres of Parklands as part of this project, and that has come from this extensive consultation of listening to the community and delivering on the feedback we have heard.

As part of the fact that we are going to be delivering an improved design with more Parklands, more facilities, more family fun facilities, it will require a closure of the current centre in August 2024. Again, I understand and acknowledge the inconvenience that will cause for users. Again, as a mum of two children who do their swimming lessons at the centre, I will need to find alternative arrangements. We have set up a dedicated hotline, a dedicated email for users, and importantly we have allowed 12 months lead-in time ahead of that closure.

We are also going to be holding some information sessions for people to come and view the designs and ask any questions. Those sessions will be held on Thursday 22 June at 4.30pm to 6.30pm and Saturday 24 June at 1pm to 4pm at Eliza Hall at the Prospect Town Hall, so please come along, view the amazing designs and ask all the questions. We cannot wait to get on with delivering this incredible project for our community.

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