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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-06-26 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: New Two Wells Ambulance Station

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:47): I move:

That the 145th report of the committee, entitled New Two Wells Ambulance Station, be noted.

The South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) operates 119 ambulance stations located across South Australia, including the MedSTAR Emergency Medical Retrieval Service at Adelaide Airport. SAAS has developed an Operational Growth Plan, which sets out how state government investment in infrastructure, vehicles and staffing will be delivered.

The new Two Wells Ambulance Station project will construct a new ambulance station in Two Wells and is part of the broader $102 million Department for Health and Wellbeing program to deliver five new and six rebuilt ambulance stations. The new station will provide a purpose-built ambulance station with an increased capacity for associated crews and vehicles to address the growing demand from population growth in Two Wells and the nearby regions.

SAAS has worked with Renewal SA to identify potential locations for new and rebuilt ambulance stations and has determined the new station will be located at the intersection of Old Port Wakefield Road and Wells Road. The site spans approximately 2,000 square metres, situated in a precinct that currently comprises several facilities, including the Adelaide Plains Council office and Public Information Centre.

The project will provide patient-centred emergency services designed around community needs, and forms part of the state government's 2022 election commitment to improve ambulance infrastructure. The new station will include one office with four workstations, a multitraining area for 10 staff, a four-person study, a four-person meeting room, one kitchen and crew area for six staff, four private wellbeing break rooms with lockers, three ambulance bays, one light fleet vehicle bay, 15 external parking spaces and one carport for ambulance parking. The project will also construct a new car park in place of the council car park that will be displaced by the new ambulance station.

The project is expected to cost $5 million drawn from the broader $102 million state government commitment to deliver the new and rebuilt ambulance stations. The project site is currently under the care and control of the Minister for Environment and Water, and SA Health and SAAS have commenced negotiations to acquire the proposed portion of land. Construction is anticipated to commence this October, with the expectation for it to be complete late next year. The delivery of the project will follow best practice principles for project procurement and management, which will include:

extensive consultation;

evaluation and review of solutions against the brief;

development of formal communications with stakeholders in the community;

preparation of a program that reflects the scope of the project;

establishing and managing a cost plan;

appointment of professional service contractors; and

scheduling reviews of design documentation and construction.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) has engaged the professional service contractors, and the general building contractor will be engaged, utilising standard form of contact. Further specialist contractors will be engaged as required.

A steering committee has been established, with executive-level membership across SA Health, SAAS, DIT and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. The steering committee is supported by an integrated management team which operates at a program-management level for all key matters.

The project team has reviewed geotechnical information to establish existing conditions, with the intent to mitigate or remove potential risks. The project has established formal processes to ensure ecological and sustainability principles are incorporated into the design, construction and operation of the ambulance station. SA Health recognises that providing a facility with good environmental qualities will provide a positive environment and workplace for staff and users, support improved wellbeing, and assist in managing behaviours.

Design measures have been incorporated to support increased adaptability and changes of use with minimal impact, including highly accessible and flexible spaces to support and incorporate changing technology as well as provisions for a solar electric system and future electric vehicle charging stations. A range of detailed initiatives are in place to maximise sustainability outcomes throughout the project's lifespan regarding indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency, monitoring, transport, water use, materials and emissions. An independent consultant will be engaged to assist in the successful delivery of sustainability initiatives.

The project's footprint is on a portion of a larger site that also comprises three state heritage places: the Two Wells public library, the Two Wells Courthouse and a retail store. The department states that the work will not impact on these properties. The department also states that a search of the central archive has identified no record of Aboriginal sites in the proposed work locations.

SA Health will engage in ongoing consultation with stakeholders in the community throughout the construction process and into service readiness. The community has been informed via targeted letter drops and was invited to a community information session held in June. Throughout the implementation of the project, SAAS and the SA Health Media and Communications Unit will manage required external communications, media inquiries and press releases.

The project team has also undertaken specialised subject matter expert reviews with various units and agencies within SA Health and SAAS, including work health and safety, infection control, hygiene advisers, and industrial bodies.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the new Two Wells Ambulance Station. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Melissa Nozza, Director, Capital Projects, Department for Health and Wellbeing; Paul Lemmer, Executive Director, South Australian Ambulance Service; Robert Tolson, Executive Director, Country Operations, South Australian Ambulance Service; Rob Elliott, Chief Executive Officer, South Australian Ambulance Service; and John Jenner, Portfolio Manager Health, Department for Infrastructure and Transport. I thank the witnesses for their time. I would also like to thank the member for Light, who presented to the committee concerning this project.

Based on the evidence considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Ms PRATT (Frome) (11:52): I rise to speak today in response to the Public Works Committee update report on the new Two Wells Ambulance Station. I know that my community of Two Wells are really pleased by the progress that we are going to see by the end of the year with the commencement of construction for the new ambulance station. It is certainly a service that a community of this growing size needs, including in new estates like Liberty and Eden and with the new Xavier College school seeing enrolments increase. Safety and access to health services, in particular emergency services, is a fantastic step towards seeing the community of Two Wells really grow into itself.

Anyone who lives north of Two Wells, including communities like Mallala, Balaklava and my town of Blyth, who would use Traeger Road and the Nine Mile would duck through around Old Port Wakefield Road to curve around Two Wells and make their way through to their local communities. It is on the corner of Old Port Wakefield Road and Wells Road that we are going to see exciting construction taking place as we see, by the end of the year, the beginning of a new ambulance station.

For the community's benefit, we are going to see at this station the inclusion of one office with four workstations, a multi-training area for 10 staff, a four-person study, a meeting room for four staff, one kitchen and crew area for six staff, four privacy wellbeing break rooms with lockers, three ambulance bays, one light fleet vehicle bay, 15 external parking spaces and one carport for ambulance parking. This project will also construct a new car park to accommodate the council car park displaced as a result of the construction of the new ambulance station.

We can expect, as progress is made with this construction, to have some disruption around the main street. It is a busy hub. Across the road, on the other side of Wells Road, is the great work that the Adelaide Plains Council has been doing with developers to deliver to the Two Wells community. It is going to be an extraordinary, modern shopping precinct which we await with great anticipation. That is not to take away from the services that have been provided for decades now in the main street, and I think of the great work that Kate Dimasi, community pharmacist, has done in providing services to her community. I remember popping in to chat with her and, with her back to the door, it did not matter who walked in that morning, she knew by the sound of their voice who had come in and she was ready to have a chat.

The butcher and Paul at Bella Mia Espresso Bar coffee shop in the main street—that has been a real hub—have engaged in the opportunities that have been presented to the Two Wells community by the state government and the Adelaide Plains Council for not just a facelift but an injection of funds that will see government services and commercial retail opportunities expand. That is not to take away from the fantastic lamb-shank pies that you will find at the Two Wells Bakery.

But today my reflections are on the corner of Old Port Wakefield Road and Wells Road, where we are going to see the progress of a $5 million project that sits on a larger portion of land that also hosts heritage places such as the courthouse, the library and what is described as a retail shop but is, in fact, a craft shop well supported by the Red Cross volunteers in Two Wells.

The government came to visit Two Wells earlier in the year, in February, as part of country cabinet. They made an announcement at the time of an investment in the police station that is in the main street. Again, residents of Two Wells have raised with me concerns about what they see is a sign of increasing crime, of young people who perhaps have less to do and find themselves making poor choices. As a community, the residents of Two Wells are certainly going to benefit from an investment in the police station, seeing more cops on the beat as the population grows, and we know that that is set to swell.

I mentioned the courthouse and the library. While Two Wells is perhaps under-resourced at the moment in terms of meeting places, private function rooms or areas that people can book for meetings, what I absolutely love to do is to make myself available in the front room of the library. As I said, it is a heritage place: the original stonework has been lovingly restored. At the front of a well-patronised library is a kitchenette and a function room or public meeting space that allows for anyone to come in and sit there. It is a place where people often find me, and it is a fantastic accessible location for those who are keen to catch up, to come and have a chat.

This space sits adjacent to the public green, the square in Two Wells, and the Adelaide Council has seen opportunities to keep investing in the main street in a way that maintains pride and becomes an attraction. It is not every day that a local town wants to be known for its public bathrooms and toilets, but there is a sense of pride about those rest stops as people are travelling through the green square. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

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