Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Following a review of electoral boundaries in South Australia, the suburb of Mawson Lakes is now within the electorate of Makin and I have the privilege of representing the Mawson Lakes community in federal parliament. Prior to the review Mawson Lakes was very well represented by my friend and colleague the member for Port Adelaide. As Mayor of the City of Salisbury during the planning and development of Mawson Lakes, I had a very long personal interest in and close association with the Mawson Lakes community. I therefore very much welcome the opportunity to now represent the Mawson Lakes people in this place.

Mawson Lakes is a unique, relatively self-contained community built on a theme of quality living, learning, working and recreation. It was a joint venture project between the South Australian government and Delfin Lend Lease, with the City of Salisbury and the University of South Australia becoming key partners in the development. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it was a fully pre-planned community built on vacant stock land adjacent to a university campus and to Technology Park, a high-tech industry precinct. Strategically located in close proximity to other key destinations in Adelaide, it has good arterial road access and a direct rail link to the Adelaide CBD that takes less than 15 minutes.

Today, Mawson Lakes has a residential population of around 10,000, a student population in the order of 7,500 and a working population of about 5,000, all well supported by a range of retail, business, education and recreational facilities. The expanded and still growing University of South Australia is complemented by Mawson Lakes primary school and Endeavour Lutheran secondary college, providing an integrated and seamless learning pathway within the community.

Community engagement has been a major strength of the Mawson Lakes development. From the outset, active consultation with the local community has driven much of the decision making. A residents association was quickly established once the first residents had moved in. Community events have become a regular feature of the Mawson Lakes community, with both the Mawson Centre and Mobara Park acting as focal points for most events. The Mawson Centre is a modern multipurpose community building which includes, amongst other facilities, a public library and a theatrette. Mobara Park, located in the heart of Mawson Lakes, is named in recognition of the City of Salisbury's Japanese sister city.

Mawson Lakes is a very diverse community, with people of all ages, nationalities and occupations now living there. An important aspect of Mawson Lakes is the number of man-made lakes and public open-space areas, including a continuous linear park along Dry Creek, which runs through the suburb. A special feature of Mawson Lakes is the dual water system throughout the development. Each property is connected and plumbed with both mains water and recycled water.

In July last year I joined the member for Port Adelaide in the official opening of the Mawson Lakes primary school's new indoor sports stadium, aptly named the Dennison Centre. It is a fantastic addition to the school and, not surprisingly, was very well received and much appreciated by the local community. Equally notable was that the official opening was a whole-of-community event, with broad representation from across the local community further highlighting local community collaboration and community spirit.

I take this opportunity to especially acknowledge the first residents of Mawson Lakes, the pioneers who moved in during the early years when few services were available. They placed their faith in the developers. At the time, they understandably may have questioned the wisdom of locating their new home there or whether the new suburb would live up to their expectations. I believe that it has. What began just over a decade ago as a relatively isolated university campus surrounded by stock paddocks and a handful of high-tech industries has been transformed into a vibrant, modern community that has become a model development and a sought-after residential and business destination.

I am acutely aware of the importance of the defence sector and in particular the DSTO, the Edinburgh defence base, the many defence related industries in Mawson Lakes and the Techport hub at Osborne to the livelihood of many Mawson Lakes residents. For that reason, I recently met with the Minister for Defence Materiel to discuss the importance of federal government contracts to South Australia's defence sector and to South Australia's future.

I also know that a considerable number of Mawson Lakes residents are small business operators. As a former small business operator, I well understand the demands and pressures on all business and the importance of ensuring that our economy remains strong. I look forward to representing the Mawson Lakes people in federal parliament, working with them and taking up on their behalf the issues that matter to them.