James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I didn't know it at the time, but I hold a unique distinction, being one of the few people on the planet that can say they grew up in a UNESCO World Heritage site. I spent a few years as a boy—my father got a job on Norfolk Island—living in the former commandant of the guard's home, which is part of the historic convict sites of the UNESCO World Heritage listing, which covers Norfolk Island as well as some sites in Sydney and, of course, in Tasmania. Despite not being aware of it at the time, I'm so excited about realising this now that I've got another excellent candidacy for World Heritage listing, which is the Adelaide Park Lands. It's been a policy commitment that the Liberal Party has now adopted. We took it to the last state election in South Australia, and support is growing for the need to achieve that listing for two reasons. Firstly, it's justified. The city of Adelaide was a famously planned by Colonel William Light, and the Adelaide Park Lands are one of the most distinctive design features of this planned city. There are hardly any places in the world that benefit from such good planning, although I note that Canberra is probably another good example of long-term and sensible urban design. In 1836 Europeans settled in South Australia, and the way in which Adelaide was planned and the significance of the parklands in that planning should be noted. I believe the Adelaide Park Lands are worthy of being on that register. The other reason is that regrettably there are ongoing risks to the integrity of the parklands. I'm a very pro-development person, and I like to see my city growing in a sensible, managed and planned way. But I don't want the parklands of Adelaide to be part of any development proposals. Regrettably, we have seen just recently another example of the state Labor government looking at ways to put built form on the Adelaide Park Lands. Of course, once that occurs, a slice of those parklands would be lost from this unique and treasured local asset.

I've been working closely with state and local governments in my electorate on securing a long-term plan and vision for the River Torrens. The River Torrens runs through my electorate, through the Adelaide Park Lands, through the electorates of Adelaide and Hindmarsh to the ocean. The Torrens corridor and the Linear Park run on either side of the course of the Torrens River. They're great assets, and the parklands are central to Linear Park as well. We announced at the last election that, if we were re-elected, we'd put a significant investment, along with local and state governments, into a master plan and design principles for investing in Linear Park into the future. These projects would include recreational projects as well as environmental projects and ways in which families and our community could really take full advantage of Linear Park along the Torrens. Of course, World Heritage listing of the parklands would be an amazing jewel in the crown of that long-term vision because it would draw appropriate attention to the parklands, to the Torrens River and to Linear Park.

I hope that at the next election we can achieve this vision, which, sadly, has not come to fruition because the Labor Party don't support it and therefore haven't made similar commitments to the ones we made in 2022. But it's a huge opportunity for all three levels of government to invest in the sorts of projects that would dramatically transform the neighbourhoods that are contiguous to Linear Park and the Torrens. It would create so many opportunities for people to use the Torrens not just for recreation but also for travel in and around the city. You would be able to take a bike ride, a walk or a run along the River Torrens in Linear Park, particularly if we were to invest in appropriate upgrades all the way into the city. You would be able to go to the football, go to the Adelaide Zoo, and walk or ride to university, to school or to work. You would be able to use it as a real thoroughfare and a way of bringing the community together. That's our vision, and World Heritage listing of the parklands is central to that vision. I'll certainly be doing all I can to fight for our vision and achieve that great outcome for the city of Adelaide.