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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-22 Daily Xml
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Matters of Interest

Ovingham Level Crossing

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (15:20): This will not be the first time I have mentioned in this chamber the significance and the importance of time. It is incredibly precious to everyone, so when 70-plus residents give up their winter's Monday night to hang out with a couple of pollies, you know there is considerable concern in the community. On Monday night, I co-hosted a community forum with the South Australian opposition leader and member for Croydon, Peter Malinauskas, regarding the government's proposed Ovingham level crossing removal project.

This was the second such forum we have held since the government, only recently, opened the community consultation period on 15 June for this large-scale project. Yes, this is a welcome project, but there is a very big but. Only yesterday, the Hon. Stephen Wade stood in this chamber and grandstanded about the government's commitment to the value of consultation. But where is the government on this project that will change the landscape of this community for the foreseeable future?

There is growing concern in the Ovingham community about the impact of the Marshall Liberal government's proposed Ovingham level crossing removal project and how this will have an impact on local property values, businesses and traffic flow in the streets of Ovingham. The community is asking where is their local member for Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson?

Only yesterday, I received a message from a constituent who had reached out to the member for Adelaide's electoral office to seek further feedback on what this project will mean for the local community, home owners and residents. The constituent was advised by the Adelaide electoral office that they have only received one complaint about the Ovingham level crossing and that they only saw the government's overpass design once it was publicly released.

Labor was able to get 80 people to a forum with only four working days' notice, a forum that was held in the electorate of Adelaide. This attendance demonstrates the level of concern the community has about an overpass popping up on their doorstep. Yes, the EO staff may not have been privy to the design plans for the overpass before they were made publicly available, but their boss and local member, the Hon. Rachel Sanderson, sits at the very table that makes the government's policy decisions, just as she did when the government looked to cut the free City Connector bus service and thousands of bus stops.

Perhaps the local member has decided Ovingham only makes up a small portion of the Adelaide electorate, so knocking on doors, making phone calls or sending out surveys seeking local residents' feedback is not a priority. As one local resident said, Ms Sanderson's lack of community consultation on this project is nothing but deafening. Many who attended the forum were unaware of the project until they received an invitation to attend from Labor, and residents have rightfully stated that it is pretty hard to provide feedback when you have limited information available to you.

Yes, this is a troubled intersection that needs to be addressed, but where are the options and where are the very people proposing this high-rise project? Like all South Australians, Ovingham residents are good people: considerate and understanding, especially considering the challenges this state is facing. But local residents want to get this project right and they want to get it right the first time. They do not want a quick-fix, bandaid option.

When the opposition leader asked people to simply give a show of hands on their preferred preference, it was clear: it was wall to wall hands raised for an underpass at this busy intersection. If an overpass is truly the best option for the longevity of this Ovingham community, so be it, but the community is rightfully calling for the evidence to back that. They want to be sure that having an overpass on their doorstep truly is the best option and not the cheapest option.

They want to know if the value of their homes will be impacted. Will streets like Gilbert Street become a busy thoroughfare, and will traffic noise pollution increase as a result of the overpass? They want to know whether their streets and local businesses will be better off, or if this multimillion dollar project will make them worse off. We are talking about people's homes and, for the most of them, their largest financial investment.

Time expired.

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