House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-06-27 Daily Xml

Contents

University of South Australia, Magill Campus

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (17:05): My question is to the Minister for Planning. Has the master plan process for the UniSA Magill campus commenced and, if so, when did it commence? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: On 10 August 2023, InDaily reported the minister's comments at the time, that Renewal SA will not begin master planning the site for at least five years. However, by last week, InDaily was reporting that Renewal SA had released a tender for a planning consultancy to master plan the 11-hectare Magill campus.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION (Taylor—Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Housing Infrastructure, Minister for Planning) (17:05): It is true—

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: Which one is it?

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: We are 10 seconds in, so just steady.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: I'm waiting.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: You are waiting with bated breath, yes. I have received a bit of correspondence from the member opposite and from the member for Bragg about their hostility to strategic infill and general infill as well. That is the best way to describe it. That is not an unfair characterisation of their correspondence to me. We can go into that. I know the opposition's housing policy tends to be hostility to all forms of supply, it would seem.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: The honourable member should understand that things evolve. What happened between the InDaily article and the tender going out is that, from discussions with the Campbelltown council, Renewal SA and myself—and, of course, in part in response to very sensible inquiries by the member for Morialta about the childcare centre and many other things—it seemed to me that there was an appetite from local government and from local members to have a degree of certainty around the master planning for this site. So I stand by my comments about density. We don't want Manhattan in Magill, but, equally, there is a desire for certainty or a desire for knowledge, and you can't have that unless you have master planning.

I am happy to work with the City of Campbelltown, I am happy to work with members opposite, I am happy to of course receive the briefings of Renewal SA, who do want to get on with the master planning documents but who have not appointed a master planner as yet. I will of course read their recommendations with care, and of course I will consult local members about what is a very important strategic site for the state.