"..vile, rude, and an embarrassment to the party, the parliament, and to the people he represents"

BARTON ROAD DEBATE 11/07/12

Isobelle Redmond, Member for Bragg :

“The government is planning to throw its weight behind this bill. The government's time which is now allocated to deal with this matter, prompted my office to request a briefing from the Department of Transport on this matter...no piece of traffic data or information from any transport expert including anyone from the Department of Transport has been presented in support of the effect of this legislation to open up to all forms of traffic this part of Barton Terrace - not one scintilla of professional information.

The new event is that the government now own the Clipsal site. The government have announced that they are going to develop this piece of property as a very significant housing development with lots of other design aspects...

The government have spent, through the LMC, about $10M in promoting this piece of development to obviously make it attractive enough for people to invest in it, and secondly, to ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure and transport around it.

One of the things that they have recently announced is to support or contribute to a $400m grade separation of rail infrastructure both at Goodwood and at Torrens. The Torrens interchange is immediately adjacent to the Bowden development, and that's to include an undergrounding of a significant portion through that site, of one of the rail corridors. This is a major piece of infrastructure which the taxpayers of of South Australia; in fact of Australia because the Commonwealth is paying the other half, which will enhance the opportunities of the development.

It is my contention that in the absence of any data that has come from the Member for Croydon that the only benefit in the government coming to the party on this now, suddenly, is that they want to develop that precinct and that they know that the one way they can deal is this - because it seems that they have been pretty slow so far in being able to get some interest in the Bowden development you might have noticed that in the Budget Bill just recently they cherry picked a bit across to enable it to have also the stamp duty exemption which the City of Adelaide people enjoy along with a Western Australian developer on a Hackney site but the Bowden site has now been added in but what else could they do other than to try and develop the opportunities of that site to say: "You'll be able to have access through this road, you'll be able to go and have coffee on O'Connell street" - whatever, right?

[Member for Croydon: Excellent! Excellent ]

That kind of self interest by the government, to scramble across and support the member for Croydon twenty years later is almost laughable... total self interest by this government. I look forward to hearing what the Department of Transport has advised of this matter, what they have advised the Minister for Transport or Minister for Transport Services as to the merits of this bill. This issue has been around for twenty years. I cannot understand why we have these amendments on the day of the debate. It's just lazy.”

The Bill's third reading motion was endorsed along party lines.

Historic Poll Result

Former Minister Micheal Atkinson claims he has 99% backing for his controversial road-opening campaign in the Adelaide Parklands to the east of Bowden Brompton.

“We have about 4,000 returns so far in favour of reopening the road and about 40 against.” (Hansard, 2012)

If correct, this would be a result that authoritarian rulers the world over could only dream of.

The M.P. For the state electorate of Croydon has a private members Bill aimed at re-opening Barton Road for general traffic – Barton Road links Park Terrace with Barton Terrace (west) – however since the site lies within the boundaries of the National Heritage listed Adelaide Park Lands (see below), Mr Atkinson's present legislative endeavour could face the same fate in the courts as some of his previous efforts.

“The Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout is widely regarded as a masterwork of urban design and signifies a turning point in the settlement of Australia. It was the first place in Australia to be planned and developed, not as a penal settlement or military outpost, but as a place for free settlers.

The area received Australia's highest heritage honour when it was included in the National Heritage List on 7 November 2008.” (Commonwealth Government Heritage website)

Location/Boundaries:

Proposed final boundary:

About 900ha in Adelaide and North Adelaide, defined as follows:

1. an area with an outer boundary defined by the centerlines of the following streets:

Park Terrace, Fitzroy Terrace, Robe Terrace, Park Terrace (east), Hackney Road,

Dequetteville Terrace, Fullarton Road, Greenhill Road, the Mile End Railway line and

Port Road.

2. Within 1. above, the following areas are excluded. Areas 1. and 2. have

boundaries that are defined by the road reserve boundaries of the named streets, such

that each road reserve is included in the place: Area 1: North Terrace, East Terrace, South Terrace and West Terrace

Area 2: Barton Terrace West, O’Connell Street, Barton Terrace East, Lefevre Terrace,

Kingston Terrace, Kingston Terrace East, Mann Terrace, MacKinnon Parade,

Brougham Place, Sir Edwin Smith Avenue (originally named Roberts Place),

Pennington Terrace, Palmer Place, Brougham Place, Montefiore Hill, Strangways

Terrace, Mills Terrace.

Area 3: All land under the care, control and management of State Government

Agencies and Instrumentalities, other than: West Terrace Cemetery (Land ID

F219057 A7), Adelaide Zoo (H105100 S590, S1187), Adelaide Botanic Gardens

(D66751 A101, A102), Botanic Park (H105100 S574) and Torrens Parade Ground

and Buildings (F38386 A23).

Area 4: Government House and grounds (H105100 S755 and S757), Old and New

Parliament Houses and grounds (H105100 S747 and S748).

Area 5: Land owned by Rail Track Corp Ltd and Australian National Railways

(F14185 A22; F22072 A23, A24 and A25; D15497 A29; F14184 A20; D56872 A58

and D58245 A20).

3. Notwithstanding the areas excluded in 2. above, the following areas are included

in the place:

(a) six squares and two gardens being: In North Adelaide - Wellington Square,

Palmer Gardens and Brougham Gardens and in Adelaide - Victoria Square,

Hindmarsh Square, Hurtle Square, Whitmore Square and Light Square, and

(b) the grid of major roads (including the whole of each road reserve) consisting

of the City centre grid defined by four major roads: East Terrace, North Terrace, West

Terrace and South Terrace; the following streets traversing the City east-west:

Hindley, Currie, Waymouth, Franklin, Grote, Gouger, Wright, Sturt, Gilbert, Rundle,

Grenfell, Pine, Flinders, Wakefield, Angas, Carrington, Halifax and Gilles, the

following streets running north-south: Morphett, King William, Pulteney and Hutt;

and

(c) three smaller grids in North Adelaide including the following major streets

(including the whole of each road reserve): Barton Terrace East, Mills Terrace,

Strangways Terrace, Ward Street, Lefevre Terrace, Hill, Jeffcott, O’Connell, Childers,

Buxton, Gover, Molesworth, Tynte, Barnard, Archer Streets, Brougham Place, Palmer

Place, Kermode Street, Pennington Terrace, Kingston Terrace, Kingston Terrace East,

Mann Terrace, MacKinnon Parade, Jerningham, Stanley, and Melbourne Streets.