Selling Off The Glenside Farm

In the midst of record revenues the Rann Government continues to sell off public land to finance projects.

Shadow Mental Health Minister Michelle Lensink said nearly half of the Glenside Hospital Campus will be sold to private investors to fund its redevelopment.

“It is criminal that the Rann Government continues to sell off public assets to fund projects when its budget is literally overflowing with cash,” Ms Lensink said.

“After the Rann Government has flogged off 42 per cent of Glenside, what was a large site will become congested with existing services and new ones lumped together into one building.

“This may be the worst way to deliver services to vulnerable people.

“The Rann Government is holding this redevelopment up as the plan to fix all the problems in the delivering of mental heath services.

“It won’t and I will continue to meet families of people who can’t get hospital or community services and who will fall through the cracks.

“The land that will be sold off is prime real estate and the government is going to make a tidy profit.

“But once that land is gone it’s gone and will no longer be public space.

“The Rann Government has increased taxes payable by families, is collecting record revenues but its infrastructure projects have blown out by multi-millions of dollars and now it is selling off public land to fund the redevelopment of Glenside.

“The redevelopment should be done without the need to sell off public assets.”

Ms Lensink said in addition to 42 per cent of the Glenside site being sold off the Rann Government was also selling drug and alcohol facilities at: Warinilla, Osmond Terrace, Norwood; Elura, Hill Street, North Adelaide and Fourth Avenue, Joslin.

The redeveloped Glenside site will house existing mental health services as well as drug and alcohol detox services that are currently provided elsewhere in the metropolitan area.