Opposition, government in slinging match over unfinished road

The Opposition has renewed its calls for the government to step in the rescue homeowners left in the lurch by the collapse of a building firm.

The Opposition and SA government are slinging muck at each other while 28 victims of the Felmeri Homes collapse face a “mud-pit” road at their partly built O’Halloran Hill premises.

They are unable to finish building their homes because an access road is incomplete.

The company responsible for building the road was run by Felmeri Group and had not completed the work before it was placed into administration in May.

Without the finished road – which has a channel running along it as well as timber and pipes strewn about – the homeowners are unable to continue building their homes.

Edward Gilmore with his unfinished home after the collapse of the Felmeri Group in O'Halloran Hill. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Opposition Leader David Speirs claimed Premier Peter Malinauskas “remains silent” on the issue, a week after speaking about it on ABC Radio where he said the government was looking at options.

“The Felmeri clients at O’Halloran Hill are at the wits end with this whole situation and Peter Malinauskas’ inability – or lack of care – to come up with a solution is devastating,” Mr Speirs said.

Opposition housing spokeswoman Michelle Lensink said Mr Malinauskas needed to get on with the job and fix the road.

“How we got here is irrelevant, Labor must now focus on supporting these homeowners and young families by rectifying this unique wrong,” she said.

“Finishing the road will quickly resolve a lot of the issues for these young families who find themselves in a difficult and distressing situation.”

However a spokesman for Mr Malinauskas said the Premier had made it clear during the ABC interview it would take more than a week to work through the issues.

“Work is underway and we hope to be able to make an announcement soon but we need to work through the options to find the best ones,” he said.