Mr Speaker, imagine waking up on a sunny Sunday morning .. collecting your paper from your driveway .. unfurling it over a hot coffee .. to see images of your own neighbourhood – looking nothing like your own neighbourhood.
You splutter your coffee as you realise that outside your home you’ll soon have not just the 50 metre wide sunken roadway you were expecting to be built in place of the existing South Road … but additional at-grade roads .. three tunnel exits .. and most surprisingly an elevated flyover road – right in front of your home. All spanning some 120 metres wide.
Shock
That would have been a surprise to anyone.
It was certainly a shock to those who just escaped being scooped up in last month’s compulsory acquisition notices in Glandore .. to find they’re now facing this triple decker highway, severing them from Black Forest.
It was an even bigger surprise to people in Everard Park and Ashford – along Anzac Highway itself, who had no idea this was coming at all – seeing as they don’t even live on South Road. They were simply stunned beyond words.
It was also a pretty big shock to veterans in Badcoe – whose memorial boulevard will be forever changed by an aerial roadway touching down and plunging into the centre of this tribute to our diggers.
It came as a big surprise to the many residents in my area who have long fought and continue to fight for more tree canopy in our area – to find that 120 fully grown and towering old trees will be lopped down.
Artist impressions not accurate
Put simply, the artist impressions show an expanse of my electorate completely transformed. And is this a ‘proposal’ – nope – seems not. This is what the government is telling us will happen. They’re not asking.
And those artistic images are rather flattering. Compared to the Concept Diagram – there are rather notable things missing – like the fact there are TWO elevated roadways – not one. And there are 15 metre high exhaust stacks, which are not highlighted.
There is no doubt this is a necessary project. Labor was pleased to commence all other stages of the North-South Corridor. But it’s very difficult for my community – who are the ones sacrificing their homes – and sacrificing their way of life in Glandore, Black Forest, Ashford, Everard Park – and soon Kurralta Park, Marleston and Keswick – to understand the rationale, the alternatives that have been explored and the eventual consequences - amid so little communication – and indeed, misinformation.
Put simply, if this was happening to you – it’s not the way you’d like to be treated.
I listened intently to the Minister’s address on this topic yesterday. There wasn’t a word of sympathy or understanding in his address. Nothing.
What that says to me is that this government simply doesn’t give a stuff about people in Badcoe. It’s another kick in the guts.
The government isn’t interested in how we might feel about these really wide ranging impacts on us – from land acquisition, to our communities being split, to the loss of trees, to impinging on our veterans heritage, to the way we move around our community, to the impact on property values.
The Minister is happy to tell the media of significant developments – before the affected residents. Which directly contradicts his comments to ABC Adelaide radio on 29 September (2021) in which he said:
“.. that’s why we’ve always said we wanted to do was deal with the people impacted first, not do it through the media …”
Hmmm.
The Minister hasn’t come to my community since these impacts became apparent.
Now he did slip in – unannounced – his attendance not promoted – to a poorly attended event in a park – just slightly before land acquisitions were announced. But that’s not facing the music, is it?
And I hear the Minister say that consultation has been conducted. I might buy him a dictionary for Christmas.
Consultation on a quite radical transformation like this is not asking people for comments in a vacuum, without any reference point, a year ago .. it’s not having DIT officials doorknocking for people’s email addresses but answering every question residents ask with ‘I can’t answer that’ .. and it’s not telling people this is what they’re getting and then running feedback sessions afterwards.
That’s not consultation – and my community aren’t stupid.
Am I surprised about this treatment by this Liberal government of my community? No.
But I am disappointed.
I did think that after the outcry over reneging on their CBD school zone promise in 2018 .. then the disgust over suddenly allowing up to eight storey buildings for selected developers on Anzac Highway at Glandore without any local consultation … I thought they might have learned.
Clearly they simply DO NOT CARE.
Tough decisions have to be made in government. It’s not easy.
But the way you deal with people at these times matters.
The lack of information, genuine conversation and compassion for local people – humans with their own complicated lives to lead – is galling.
At an Expert Forum I recently held to help my community get access to high quality information about South Road – one woman said “What has this government got against Glandore? It’s like they’ve got it in for us.”
And she’s not the first to say that.
My community has so many questions. The pictures released to the media raise more questions for my community than they answer. I look forward to having the chance to ask those questions directly of the Minister or his Department.
But of course Mr Speaker, many of my community’s questions could be answered with the release of the Reference Design. A design first promised for release in mid 2021 – but we’re still waiting.
Minister Wingard told ABC News on 11 November 2020 that “We’ll be finalising the Reference Design and that will be by the middle of next year.” That time has come and gone.