Labor's Mount Barker Plan falls short

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Stuart said while Labor’s Mount Barker Plan will help address some of the priorities outlined in Council’s 2025 Advocacy Plan to fix critical regional infrastructure gaps, there’s still ‘unfinished business’.

“It’s taken 15 years for the State Government to come up with a plan for Mount Barker, and we thank Labor for being the first major political party to announce funding commitments for the district before the March state election,” Mr Stuart said.

“Labor’s pledge to commit $80m to fixing the Adelaide and Hawthorn Road intersection, and its promise to buy land for a second high school and build a new TAFE Trades Workshop in Mount Barker, will go some way to filling regional infrastructure gaps but it hasn’t said when these improvements will be delivered or when they’ll be operational.

“Mount Barker is South Australia’s second largest city, and one of the state’s fastest growing local government areas, with a population projected to reach 65,000 by 2046 but Labor’s plan is missing vital chapters for the district’s story to end well.”

Mr Stuart said the catalyst for the district’s rapid growth was the Labor State Government’s decision to rezone 1,300 hectares of farming land to residential in 2010.

“Less than 30 per cent of the land released by the Labor State Government in 2010 has been developed so far which highlights the scale of growth, and the number people, still to come.”

Mr Stuart said the big-ticket item missing from the Labor State Government’s Mount Barker Plan is a $48m contribution to help fund trunk sewer infrastructure and the new $100m+ Laratinga Water Recovery Plant which commenced construction this month.

“The Labor State Government made a commitment to provide trunk sewer infrastructure when it decided to rezone all that farming land in 2010 – 15 years on and the people of Mount Barker are still waiting,” Mr Stuart said.

“$48m from the State Government is not an unreasonable amount given it triggered the district’s rapid growth by rezoning that land in the first place and has recently contributed funding towards similar water infrastructure projects north of Adelaide.

“Completion of Mount Barker’s new wastewater plant is key to unlocking future housing supply in the state so we’re appealing to the Labor State Government to make good on its promise and fund the infrastructure it should have provided years ago.”

Other infrastructure priorities still requiring State Government funding commitments include the completion of Heysen Boulevard, major enhancements to Hahndorf township, an effective public transport network for Mount Barker and surrounding townships as well as improvements to Wellington Road and the creation of a third freeway interchange and an appropriate functioning ring road for Mount Barker.

Mr Stuart said while Council is meeting its responsibilities to sensibly and sustainably manage the region’s rapid growth, it cannot deliver what the district needs without ongoing support from the State Government.

“Council has been advocating successive State Governments for a plan for Mount Barker district for years - we will continue to take the lead with evidence-backed appeals to secure more commitments before the March election, and I call on the other major parties and independent candidates to now match, and better, Labor’s election promises,” Mr Stuart said.

“Regardless of who ends up being elected, the issues facing Mount Barker district go beyond party politics – South Australia is going places and State Governments need to face the fact you can’t just plonk people in places and leave it at that.

“Mount Barker district residents deserve infrastructure and services ahead of growth and we look forward to this being achieved by whoever is elected to govern the state in March.”