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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-28 Daily Xml
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PARKS COMMUNITY CENTRE

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations a question about the Parks Community Centre.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: The Parks Community Centre was opened in late 1979 after the change of government from the Corcoran Labor government to the Tonkin Liberal government. Credit for construction of the centre belongs largely to former premier and local member for what was then Ross Smith, the Hon. John Bannon, who said, as the new opposition leader in a press release late in 1979, that the centre was 'one of the most notable community projects in the whole of Australia and one which has attracted international interest'. He then said that he would be 'happy to use whatever influence I possess to safeguard the Parks Community Centre'. Former premier Bannon went on to state:

Probably the only real danger to be faced by the Parks is that it will continue to attract visitors from other areas, people who come to gape and admire.

My research reveals that the centre was established because a large number of housing trust homes were constructed in the area and families in desperate need for housing from across the state were brought into the area in rapid succession. Consequently, there was a pressing need to address social harmony and build community, something the Parks has performed admirably. Former premier Bannon said in debate in 1981, on a bill about the centre, that 120 Adelaide suburbs had been surveyed for their desirability to live in, and of those all the Parks suburbs had ranked bottom. Consequently, the then Dunstan government took the socially innovative and bold step of building a unique community centre there. I give credit to those two former Labor premiers.

The feedback I have from the Parks community is that the centre has continued to fulfil its purpose of addressing disadvantage and building community in the area. However, many problems and disadvantages remain in the Parks area. Constituents are telling me that closing the centre will be a serious detriment to their community and could see young people turning to crime. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the state government in dispute with the Port Adelaide Enfield council regarding the level of funding provided in the past, present and future for the centre?

2. Has the government made submissions to council seeking a greater funding contribution and, if so, what was the response?

3. Has Labor betrayed the voters of the Parks, the seat of Enfield, the western suburbs and the bold vision of former premiers Dunstan and Bannon encapsulated in the Parks Community Centre?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for his questions. Any negotiations in relation to the Parks Community Centre would have been conducted by the Minister for Families and Communities. These are not matters that relate to my portfolio responsibilities, so I am happy to refer those questions to the relevant minister, or ministers it might even be, in another place and bring back a response.

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