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

I really value the opportunity to talk about one of the very important commitments we made to my electorate in the campaign that has developed greatly since election day, and that is the upgrade of the Kensington Gardens Reserve, which is a joint project between the Commonwealth government and the local council, the Burnside council. There is a $3 million commitment from each, so it is a $6 million upgrade. It sounds smaller than some of the bigger-ticket items they were committed to during the election across the country, but it's a great example of really important local partnerships between the Morrison government and local government.

Kensington Gardens Reserve is a great, cherished asset in the middle of my electorate, and it's got quite a high level of notoriety because it's the home of the Kensington District Cricket Club, which has a very famous former member, Sir Donald Bradman, who was a member of that club for many, many decades. So it is quite a holy relic for cricket tragics from across the planet to come to Kensington District Cricket Club, be there and be associated with Sir Donald Bradman and his very long time and tenure there. But, more importantly, it has lacked serious investment for some time, so this project is timely. It's got environmental outcomes and local recreational and sporting outcomes. It involves, effectively, the removal of a lake and turning that into a wetland for the free flow and cleaning of storm water coming through the eastern suburbs of the Adelaide Hills.

We're also going to realign and resurface the tennis courts at the East Torrens-Kensington Gardens Hardcourt Tennis Club, which means that they will be lifted to a much higher standard. They'll be able to undertake much better tournaments there. They'll be compliant with the Tennis Australia rules and regulations. So that's a very exciting outcome. There's also the realignment of the playground and the oval pitch. A number of local groups are going to benefit from this—lots of sporting groups, like the Burnside Rugby Union Club, the cricket club that I mentioned and the tennis club.

It'll be a much safer place for people to enjoy local amenities, particularly those that like to bring their pets down there on a weekend or take the children there. It's been quite dangerous, and the pond that we're removing has had to be fenced off because there is a very significant risk of kids wandering over there, falling in and potentially drowning. So that risk is going to be removed. It's a great upgrade for the local community. It's something that families are going to be able to enjoy even more than they do already, and it's an excellent example, as I say, of the federal government working with local government to provide significant upgrades to key amenities in my beautiful electorate of Sturt.

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