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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-08-21 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committees

Public Works Committee: Rebuilt Whyalla Ambulance Station

Debate resumed.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (11:09): It is with a great deal of pleasure that I rise today to speak to this report from the Public Works Committee. It is the new Ambulance Service in Whyalla, the new building, and the expansion of the crews will be a real plus for the Whyalla community. I remember a few years ago being approached by a number of constituents expressing some serious concerns about response times when it came to the Ambulance Service in Whyalla. These people, sometimes parents, sometimes the people related to older people, were deeply concerned about the impact of sometimes the long wait, and this had nothing to do with the diligence of the people who worked for the Ambulance Service in Whyalla. It was a clear case of being under-resourced.

At the last election we made a commitment—I think at the time it might have been $1.3 million—to do a refurbishment of the existing ambulance station in Whyalla, which is co-located with St John's, which owns that part of the building, and the Metropolitan Fire Service. It became very apparent after a number of visits to the existing facility that it was just not fit for purpose and, had we spent $1.3 million or thereabouts on upgrading it, it would have been good money after bad. The right decision was made to build a new ambulance station, obviously in part to accommodate the expansion in the number of people who were to be employed.

The new ambulance station will have a transfer crew, which in a regional area is incredibly important because an ambulance can be drawn away from Whyalla to another community, or halfway to another community, leaving Whyalla under-resourced. The same sort of thing was happening in Port Augusta. It was really having an impact on their response times.

I am proud to say that we have delivered the promise in Port Augusta. There is a new ambulance station there, with an expanded crew, so that is a real plus for the Port Augusta community, and Whyalla is also to get a real plus. In addition to the transfer crew, there will also be an additional 24/7 crew. Whyalla will be well resourced, and we will have that capacity now to more effectively, without drawing resources away, do the necessary transfers.

One of the other pluses about this new build is its location. The member for Adelaide referred to the parcel of land, which would mean absolutely nothing to the people in Whyalla. It is a place we call the Appleyard Reserve, named after the Appleyard family who were and are still very heavily involved in hockey in Whyalla. It used to be a hockey ground many years ago, but since it has no longer been used as hockey ground it is virtually in the centre of our city as a big piece of land that essentially is just dust and weeds, in a very prominent location. About the only use it had was occasionally when the circus would turn up and camp there—that was the only use.

To see a new ambulance station go in at Appleyard Reserve, on what is our main thoroughfare, Nicolson Avenue, behind Eyre High, which is now also surplus to requirements from an educational point of view but is used by the council, is another real plus. Ultimately, it is about providing a service for the people of Whyalla, an essential service. I cannot praise highly enough the people who work for the Ambulance Service in Whyalla—they do a fantastic job. With this expansion, this new building and the expansion in the crews, that job will only improve. The facilities now for people employed by the Ambulance Service in Whyalla are going to be second to none. It is going to be a massive improvement on what they had previously.

The interesting question in all of this is about the Metropolitan Fire Service that is still in the old building and whether, with the Ambulance Service moving out, that is going to be sufficient to meet their needs. They have to determine that, but it may well be that down the track the MFS could, given the land available on the Appleyard Reserve, co-locate once again with the Ambulance Service.

I should flag that when we are talking about these essential services, it would be great to see the police station move from the far eastern part of Whyalla to the western part of Whyalla, as close to the Westland Shopping Centre as possible—and even co-location with the Ambulance Service and potentially the MFS. If the Treasurer is listening, these are some big budget items that I would like to flag. This will be a great building and a great service for Whyalla, and I am looking forward to the turning of the sod and getting on with this great project.

Motion carried.

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