$40M in budget measures secured by Centre Alliance

6 Oct 2020
Cherry Gardens Tower 35eca2cce1485e5a8fe545d81909f4b9

Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie has delivered $40 million worth of road, sporting and health projects for her electorate in today’s Federal Budget.

The funding, secured by the Centre Alliance MP and her colleague Senator Stirling Griff, includes $15M for road upgrades near the Verdun interchange; $12M to build additional overtaking lanes on the Victor Harbor Road; $5M towards a Regional Indoor Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Mount Barker; $5M to upgrade the Goolwa Sports Precinct; $1.6M for a full-service headspace centre in Mount Barker; $1.2M for a community nursing service on Kangaroo Island and $200,000 for a telecommunication upgrade in Cherry Gardens.

“All seven funding commitments are high priority projects for our community so I thank the Government for listening to us, acknowledging my advocacy, and committing this funding to get them done in a timely way,” Rebekha said.

“Since 2016 I have pledged to always put Mayo first and be our community’s independent voice in Canberra.

“Centre Alliance’s balance of power position in the Senate has meant that we can advocate for the best results for South Australia and Mayo in our negotiations with Government.

“The outcomes are now realised in the 2020/21 Budget where we can now look forward to addressing road and sporting infrastructure issues in the Hills and on the Fleurieu as well as improving mental health services for our young people and health outreach services for KI residents and addressing a digital blackspot area at Cherry Gardens.”

The projects negotiated by Centre Alliance in the 2020/21 Budget include:

  • $15 million for road upgrades near the Verdun interchange as part of $200 million set aside for traffic improvement measures in the Hahndorf precinct.
  • $12 million to build additional overtaking lanes on the Victor Harbor Road between Victor Harbor and Mount Compass.
  • $5M towards a $30 million regional Indoor Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Mount Barker. The Federal Government has already committed $10 million.
  • $5M towards the $10 million upgrades of the Goolwa Sports Precinct, including the building of new multi-purpose clubrooms that meet modern standards.
  • $1.6M for a full-service, Mount Barker-based headspace centre to provide youth mental health services across the Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island. (Current headspace services operate from the Murray Bridge headspace centre.)
  • $1.2 million for an outreach Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner to complement the existing public and private health services offered on Kangaroo Island.
  • $200,000 towards a $350,000 Regional Digital Connectivity Infrastructure project at Cherry Gardens. The project will set up 4G equipment on the existing NBN tower on a site near the Blackwood Golf Course to provide better mobile and data services.

Other projects flagged in the Budget for Mayo included $136 million for the Main South Road Duplication Stage 2, Aldinga to Sellicks Beach; $28 million for the South Eastern Freeway Safety Upgrade; $136 million for the Princes Highway Corridor; $12 million for the Heysen Tunnels refit; and $700,000 for additional residential aged care services at the Strathalbyn and District Aged Care Facility.

Other projects already advocated for by Rebekha, announced by the Government and funded in the Budget include $7.3 million for a horticultural environmental covers scheme for Mayo; $2.26 million for the Aldinga Sports Complex; $2 million for the Mount Barker Sporting Hub; $550,000 for the Encounter Bay Sports Complex; $450,000 for a Murray-Darling Basin Authority Regional Engagement Officer based at Goolwa; $220,000 for the Gumeracha Tennis Club; $200,000 for the Craigburn Farm Playground; $130,000 for the Summertown Community Centre; $105,000 for the Birdwood Netball Club; $75,000 for the Woodchester Tennis Club; $60,000 for the Mount Compass Community Sports and Social Club; $85,000 for Trees for Life projects in Mayo; $40,000 for the Willunga Environment Centre; $30,000 for the Clarendon Netball Club; $13,500 for the Aldinga Bay Surf Lifesaving Club; $10,000 for the Yankalilla Men's Shed; $10,000 for the Macclesfield RSL; and $6,000 for the HMAS Hobart Memorial near Normanville.

Photograph: Cherry Gardens resident Don Wotton shows the NBN tower, the potential site for the installation of 4G equipment, to Rebekha and State Member for Davenport Steve Murray.

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