House debates

Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Statements by Members

Sturt Electorate: Kensington Gardens Reserve

1:38 pm

Photo of James StevensJames Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Four weeks ago it was my pleasure to represent the Deputy Prime Minister at the opening of the Kensington Gardens Reserve redevelopment, of which we were a happy cofunding partner with the local Burnside council and the South Australian state government. This is a project that I was able to commit to before the 2019 election. At that stage it was a partnership between the federal government and the local government, so it was a thrill to be there less than three years later to be opening the finished product.

It's an excellent outcome for my community and particularly the residents of the Kensington Gardens, Kensington Park and Magill areas of my electorate. It is a major upgrade to a local open space that is used recreationally. Also, as an excellent environmental outcome, we removed the old duck pond, which had become an environmental hazard and a safety hazard for young children, and now we have a beautiful natural wetland installed that is also going to see natural cleaning of the water that comes along Stonyfell Creek into the Torrens catchment zone. We also realigned and resurfaced eight hard-court tennis courts and brought them up to Tennis Australia standards, which is excellent for the tennis club there. We've also been able to coinvest with the state government on a parkrun circuit and a local Kaurna Indigenous interpretive trail. It's a great outcome for the community and a great example of us working in partnership with state and local government to deliver for my constituents in Sturt.