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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2022-02-09 Daily Xml
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Port Augusta

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:48): I rise to speak about the structural deficit inflicted on the citizens of Port Augusta by an uncaring state government uninterested in the impact on the people of this region. The Port Augusta City Council contributes more than $1 million each year to two assets that should be funded by the state government: the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden and the Port Augusta Airport. The state government needs to fund the structural deficits of these two important operations to remove the unreasonable burden from the ratepayers of Port Augusta. Otherwise, the ratepayers of Port Augusta will have to continue to fund these initiatives in addition to services the community needs.

I have asked questions of the responsible ministers, been in regular contact with the council and mayor, written to The Transcontinental (the local Port Augusta newspaper), been interviewed on ABC radio at Pirie and contacted the local Labor member for Giles and the Independent member for Frome. The government is not interested in this matter. In the lead-up to the election, the people of Port Augusta need to communicate their demands to government and seek a commitment from Labor to address the million dollars cost they pay each year.

The Botanic Garden is a significant cultural tourism and natural science asset to the state. It is a jewel that the people of Port Augusta have a right to be proud of developing. The cost to council in maintaining this state and regional asset is in the order of $750,000 each year, or some 4 per cent of their rates.

Given the considerable support provided to the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and the complementary nature of the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden of Port Augusta and the goodwill provided by the community of Port Augusta in funding this Botanic Garden over many years, it is reasonable to now expect the state government to step up. The Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden comprises 100 hectares, showcasing plants from Australia's low rainfall regions and attracting more than 150 bird species, with surrounding views of the gulf and Flinders Ranges. Contained within the gardens and opened in 1996 are an interpretive centre, cafe and shop.

The council has endeavoured to achieve ongoing state government funding to support this outstanding garden in the same or similar manner that the Botanic Gardens around Adelaide—Wittunga, Mount Lofty and Adelaide Botanic Gardens—receive state funding. A cursory examination of the financial statements of the Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium 2019-20 reveals considerable state government support in the order of $10 million.

The Port Augusta Airport is operated and funded by the council, ensuring that this vital infrastructure is available to the state. The airport is the hub for the fly-in fly-out operations to many mines in the north of the state. In addition, it is the base of operations for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, serving an area of 840,000 square kilometres and providing comprehensive health services to people in the far west and northern regions of South Australia.

For example, in a recent state government capital funding initiative the Port Augusta Laurie Wallis airport will receive critical infrastructure for the Royal Flying Doctor Service base while the citizens keep funding the quarter of a million dollars-plus annual structural deficit. Because of the 3½ hour road travel time to Adelaide, there is no regional passenger service from the airport to Adelaide. Given these facts, why does the state not meet this funding deficit for this important state infrastructure operation so that the burden does not fall on the ratepayers of Port Augusta? The annoyance of the ratepayers of Port Augusta should be directed to the source of their problem: the state government.

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