PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: GAWLER STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE UNIT

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:47): I rise to make a few brief comments supporting this build of the Gawler State Emergency Service unit. Gawler has certainly grown massively, and the surrounding districts have certainly grown, since the settlement of this state. In fact, at one time Gawler was quite the regional area. Certainly, it is a place close to my heart. Both sets of grandparents lived up there. In fact, my great-great-grandparents moved out there in the mid to late 1800s from a little farm at Plympton.

Gawler has really become part of the urban area now as we see it. It is nearly infilled all the way between Adelaide and Gawler, and certainly there is massive growth around Angle Vale. We have Riverlea just up the road, where there are thousands of homes going in. We have the Concordia development happening and also much growth out in the Roseworthy region.

This unit will be, I suppose sadly in a way, much needed, but that is what you need. You need that disaster resilience capacity to assist people. I take my hat off to the 1,700 SES volunteers in this state and the staff who support them and the vital work that they do. I know that into the future they will do that work supporting the other bases, whether they be from Salisbury or Kapunda nearby.

Just as an aside, certainly during the River Murray floods 18 months ago and around that time, it was just fantastic to see the SES personnel who came out to the River Murray to assist with sandbagging and other roles. Certainly, I support these works, and they will be much needed in an area that is growing significantly and will grow well into the future.


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