Ian Gilfillan: Australian Democrats in the SA Parliament

	Extract from Hansard Legislative Council 11 April 2001

Ian Gilfillan Australian Democrats Member of the Legislative Council		Parliament Index 2001 Autumn Sitting Index Browse by Subject Search all Democrats material About the SA Parliament Hansard on line

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I indicate the Democrats' support for the second reading of this bill, and I note that the bill is to be referred to a select committee. With that knowledge, we are prepared to support the second reading of this bill, even though it was introduced only yesterday. The bill relates to properties of the now defunct Free Presbyterian Church of South Australia. Many of the properties are in disrepair and have become financial burdens on the churches which have responsibility for them.

I note with interest that one of the properties dealt with in this bill was recently the subject of a front page article in the Southern Times Messenger , this being the old John Knox Church which lies in a ruin on William Street in Morphett Vale. The church was first built in 1856 and was actively used up until the 1960s. However, for many years it has been fenced off and allowed to decay. Notices on the fence warn people not to enter and that the building may collapse.

Over the years, considerable community effort has been put in to attempting to have the church restored or to have the site secured as a safe historic landmark. However, these efforts have been constantly frustrated by a lack of certainty over the actual owners of the property.

The John Knox Church is one of a number of buildings on the same block in the heart of Morphett Vale that formed a hub in the local community in the 1800s. The old courthouse, police station and institute building, as well as a school and an old labourer's cottage, are all still standing in what is a hidden jewel of the past not 100 metres from the Main South Road.

The Hon. IAN GILFILLAN: I must check the background of that. I am sure it would have been a Labor member. I assume that the other properties dealt with in this bill may also be of similar local historic significance, and I hope that this will be taken into consideration in the future uses of these properties. I repeat the Democrats' support for the second reading of the bill.