House debates

Thursday, 25 July 2019

Constituency Statements

Adelaide Electorate: Heritage Listing

10:49 am

Photo of Steve GeorganasSteve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise to speak on something that's very important to my electorate of Adelaide, and that is the preservation of the heritage-listed buildings that are along South Road. We know there is a proposal for works along South Road that will be stretching from Thebarton through to Darlington, roughly 10 kilometres of expansion. But there is limited commitment given by both the state Liberal government and the federal government to preserve some iconic heritage buildings that are in that pathway. I'm talking of many buildings, including pubs, but two main ones are the Queen of Angels Church, a Catholic church built in 1915 which is 104 years old, and Thebarton Theatre, which recently celebrated 90 years of providing arts, music and cinema to the community. These buildings cannot be lost to South Australia. Once we lose these buildings, they are gone forever.

We're talking about buildings that have played a very big part in the formation of our local communities. For example, I remember as a child attending Saturday matinees at the Thebarton Theatre, watching everything from the Three Stooges to the Walt Disney movies. The Queen of Angels must be spared, and so must the Thebarton Theatre. These two most iconic buildings must be preserved. I've written to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure asking them to assure the people of Adelaide that works associated with the South Road upgrade will not damage historic buildings, including Thebarton Theatre and Queen of Angels. There are ways of preserving these buildings. Now is the time for the state Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Stephan Knoll, to ensure he has discussions with Prime Minister Morrison and asks for additional funding from the Prime Minister to ensure that these iconic buildings are saved. There are ways of saving them—for example, a tunnel has been proposed. If a tunnel is needed, so be it, because these buildings are iconic and both properties should be completely hands off.

The Thebarton Theatre has provided a stage for artists such as The Angels, Cold Chisel, Kylie Minogue, John Farnham, Iron Maiden—and I attended that concert last year!—Midnight Oil, Ed Sheeran, children's performers like the Wiggles, the Hoodoo Gurus et cetera.

Photo of Trent ZimmermanTrent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

You went to the Wiggles as well, didn't you!

Photo of Steve GeorganasSteve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I spoke to Peter Garrett recently, who has performed at Thebarton Theatre with the Oils many times. He was outraged that this fantastic venue may be demolished. We're asking the government to preserve it; we're asking Mr Morrison, if extra funding is needed, to give that extra funding to South Australia to ensure that these iconic buildings remain for South Australia to enjoy and for Adelaide to enjoy.