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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-03-05 Daily Xml
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Stirling Community

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:25): Last Wednesday evening, 28 February, I was proud to attend and to speak at yet another full hall meeting at the Stirling RSL, this time brought together by Stirling Rotary, in particular Greg Russell leading the way as a member of Stirling Rotary. Stirling Rotary has distinguished itself over such a long period of time, including in recent years putting together the Echunga field days as an initiative to bring together, to educate, to inform and to promote community activity and awareness across a range of interests that are relevant to the Hills. Last Wednesday's forum at Stirling was no exception to Stirling Rotary's tremendous contribution to the community over a long period of time. So thanks very much to Greg Russell in particular.

The forum was on the occasion early on in this new year of 2024 to reflect on, to hear some information about and to regalvanise ourselves as a village, as a community, to face the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Now, we know that we went through the bulk of last year having to get to grips with what had been presented to the community by the Stirling Hospital Board as an existential challenge that was taking the shape of a proposal possibly to sell and to move to Mount Barker and take up rented premises. The Stirling community spoke up very loudly and clearly in opposition to that and the end of the year saw words of positive reassurance from the board, working together with the Save Stirling Hospital association. The president of the Save Stirling Hospital association, Dr Scott Brumby, was there in attendance on Wednesday evening and addressed the hall.

Of course, in the later part of last year—and I am so grateful to those from outside the Hills who have followed this and expressed their sympathy and empathy—on 15 October, the most catastrophic of individual fire events that the Stirling CFS brigade has ever seen in its history totally devastated the Woolworths at Stirling and the precinct surrounding it. It was only through the great skilled capacity, dedication and bravery of those of the Stirling CFS brigade, Aldgate brigade and those responding neighbouring brigades throughout the Hills, together with the efforts and commitment of MFS officers working alongside them, which saw both defensive and offensive measures applied to putting that fire out.

In the time since then, Stirling residents have been witness to the gradual orderly demolition of that site, the clean-up of the site and the work towards restoring that site as the centre of the Stirling community activity. In the meantime, it has been a significant disruption. The owner of the site, who was not long in ownership when the fire came along, is Leyton Funds, as is well known. Its leader, Warwick Mittiga, was also present on Wednesday night and addressed the hall and set out, in straightforward, clear and well thought-through ways, the plan ahead for the site. Warwick Mittiga was able to advise that, working together with Woolworths and alongside other stakeholders in the precinct, the work is well underway towards planning and then building to complete what will be a state-of-the-art shopping centre at that site. He indicated that that planning, with a view to the work, is well underway in order to get that done as soon as possible.

There were representatives there from the Adelaide Hills Council. I thank, in particular, the council's new CE, Greg Georgopoulos, for being there and presenting—after having had six months in the role it was good to hear from him. Sarah Burchell, the president of the Stirling Business Association, also presented to the meeting and spoke up for local business, including the markets, Tim's Hokey Pokey—which is doing very well and is well known—Red Cacao, retail stores as well as the professional services that are coming along at Stirling. It is a time for resilience and is a time of challenge, but it ought to be a time for opportunity. I say: viva the future of the village of Stirling.

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