Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

VENNING () (): September is the best month of the year. It's finals time. From football and netball to soccer, hockey and golf, this is the business end of the season, and everyone wants the chocolates. To players, coaches, umpires, trainers, team managers, timekeepers and supporters: this is your month, and we reward you after months of hard work and commitment. Behind every club stands an army of volunteers. Running a sports club takes commitment and countless hours from canteen helpers, bar operators, gatekeepers, committee members and sponsors. There is a role for everyone who wants to contribute. This season, I've enjoyed lending a hand with my local footy club. I played a couple of games when not travelling and even managed not to burn the chips at the Port Pirie netball courts. I look forward to continuing to support these clubs now and into future. To all teams heading into the finals: I wish you the very best of luck. To every volunteer: thank you for everything you do to keep our clubs strong and our regional committees connected.

Next week marks the return of the Yorke Peninsula Field Days, a cornerstone of agricultural excellence and innovation. This three-day event is the oldest of its kind in Australia, and it has grown to be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere—a remarkable achievement. I am honoured to officially open this year's event. I'll be hosting a stall alongside more than 600 exhibitors, and I look forward to hearing directly from constituents about the issues that matter most to them. Events of this scale are only possible thanks to volunteers. More than 400 local volunteers have worked tirelessly to bring the field days together. I especially want to thank President Greg Stevens, whose leadership and dedication have been outstanding, securing 680 grand for a new function centre. This year's field days are a celebration of not just agricultural excellence but also the resilience of our regional communities, which are still battling drought conditions and now facing further pressure from Labor's superannuation tax on farmland and the ute tax.

We recently held a Vietnam Veterans' Day event, marking 50 years since the end of the war. I was proud to join more than 700 locals and veterans in Edithburgh for the official opening of the Vietnam War Memorial Walk. It was a moving occasion. We even had a Vietnam-era Huey helicopter there, landing on the grass. It's such an iconic noise. We were also joined by special guests General the Hon. Sir Peter Cosgrove and Australian War Memorial Director Matt Anderson. The memorial walk itself is a remarkable community achievement. It was the idea of Vietnam vet and local Roger Hogben, who, together with John Edwards, worked tirelessly to make this a reality. Roger is a man you cannot say no to. Their passion and persistence has delivered something truly special for the Yorke Peninsula, something we can be proud of. The 3.7 kilometre long coastal trail between Coobowie and Edithburgh features 29 laser-cut signs, bench seats and, most importantly, recognition of every single unit that served in Vietnam. This is the first war memorial in Australia to do so, making it a project of national importance as well as local pride.

I rise to raise a matter that has been consistently pursued by the hardworking member for Frome, Penny Pratt, which is the urgent need to upgrade regional helipads across South Australia. In 2022, the Liberals committed to upgrading these helipads in their second term, to meet CASA requirements. Let's be clear. This was not a Labor initiative. Once elected, Penny Pratt rightly called on the Labor government to match the commitment. Yet, for two years, nothing has happened. Only early last year did Labor finally announce $23 million to upgrade the helipads, promising completion by the end of this year. But the reality has been far from that promise. We've seen high fences installed, only to be lowered against because they make take-offs unsafe. How does that happen? It was a costly engineering blunder with a true expense still unknown. We've seen ongoing uncertainty with air ambulance contracts, with changes made but little real progress on the ground. As for the consequences, a football game in Balaklava had to be stopped for an emergency helicopter landing because the local helipad was not operational, and that was not the first time. Delays have become the norm. Communities have been left waiting for vital infrastructure that underpins timely emergency retrievals and life-saving medical care. In my electorate, only three helipads are currently in operation. Sites at Clare, Port Pirie and Port Broughton and others across the state remain idle. Every delay erodes the confidence of rural South Australians who depend on these services. They deserve better than promises unmet and timelines ignored.