Torrens to Darlington upgrade ‘promoted confusion, anxiety and doubt in the community’ under Liberal government, report says

A damning report into SA’s biggest road project has slammed its management, as displaced locals reveal what they’ll do next.

A crisis accommodation centre at Glandore will close its doors after several months of failed negotiations over a compulsory acquisition price, its operator says.

The South Rd premises of Safe Place SA, which houses 30 people at a time, will be demolished to make way for the Torrens to Darlington project.

Human resource executive Peter Kartabani said he was informed of the acquisition around this time last year, and began making arrangements to relocate the centre.

He found a former nursing home at Berri, in the state’s Riverland region, and paid a deposit for the site but said the sale has fallen through because he has not been able to reach an agreement on the value of the Glandore site.

Mr Kartabani said he refused the department’s offer of $2m for the centre because a valuation he had sourced found the property was worth $3.5m.

He said he has experienced “a complete lack of communication” from the department, had not been supported in efforts to find a replacement site, and the situation had become highly stressful. Two weeks ago, he made the decision not to relocate the centre when it is eventually closed and acquired.

“If it was me on my own, I could handle it,” he said.

Safe Place SA human resource executive Peter Kartabani with Terrie Connole and Virginia Mildren in front of their premises on South Rd, Glandore. Picture: Russell Millard

“But we’re responsible for multiple, many tenants. They’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Current residents Virginia Mildren, 49, and Terrie Connole, 51, who have both been recently homeless, said they were prepared to move to the Berri site.

Ms Mildren said she and her 17-year-old daughter, who is pregnant and also living at Safe Place SA, are on the category one waiting list for public housing.

“This is the only place we’ve got right now. If they shut this place down, we’re on the streets,” she said.

Ms Connole said she had been renting the same property for 15 years before the lease was terminated and, without stable employment, she was unable to find another home.

Her family and their two pets lived in a car for three months — and had to relinquish all of their belongings because they could not afford a storage space — then paid for a hotel for six weeks

“Now I’ve gone through a family separation. I was 51 and I’d never been homeless in my life,” she said.

North South Corridor resident Melanie Reid was happy about her forced sale. Picture: Russell Millard

“I didn’t know where to turn.”

A Infrastructure and Transport Department spokesman said the department does not comment publicly on individual ongoing negotiations, but will work privately with property owners towards a resolution.

“There are processes in place for both parties to continue to work towards a satisfactory agreement when there is an initial difference in values attributed to the property by independent valuers,” he said.

“DIT is committed to working sensitively with every property owner impacted by land acquisition.

“DIT will work hard to find alternative accommodation for anyone residing at this property should that become necessary.”

South Rd upgrade plans blasted

The former state government's handling of the Torrens to Darlington project left some property owners at a financial disadvantage and “promoted confusion, anxiety and doubt in the community”, a new report says.

A document released by parliament’s Public Works Committee found the Transport Department (DIT) “mismanaged their communications” in relation to the project, which has so far required acquisition of 393 properties.

It made 13 recommendations, including an overhaul of departmental communication processes, earlier payment of compensation and an extension of the time stamp duty payments must be made on any new property purchased after acquisition.

But the Opposition has hit back, claiming the report did not factor in Labor’s changes.

Artist impression of part of the Torrens to Darlington section of the North-South Corridor. Picture: Supplied

Opposition transport and infrastructure spokesman Vincent Tarzia said residents were now faced with further uncertainty.

“The reality is this report did not factor in Tom Koutsantonis’ decision to pour fuel on the confusion and anxiety fire by changing the design, meaning more family homes and businesses could be bulldozed,” he said

“Frustratingly people situated along South Road are back to square one and living a life of uncertainty thanks to Tom Koutsantonis’ captain’s call to overhaul the state’s biggest infrastructure project on the back of a report that still isn’t finished.

“The cherry on top is the new $5 billion cost blowout Labor will force South Australians to pay.”

The report, which has been tabled in parliament, also focused on properties not acquired for the project, but positioned close by. Owners of such properties were not eligible for compensation.

“The committee heard that these property owners would struggle to sell their homes for a fair price in areas impacted by major roadworks,” the report said.

A concept image of the Torrens to Darlington project based on the reference design of the previous government. Picture: Supplied

“Submitters were concerned that ugly sound walls, flyovers, lack of greening, noise and dust would reduce the market value of their homes.”

The committee heard some property owners would have preferred to have had their homes acquired rather than keep their property without compensation.

“To address this, the committee recommended that DIT consider whether the Torrens to Darlington project could accommodate acquiring these properties, upon owners making cases to DIT,” the report said.

The process also undermined trust between the public and the state government, the report said.

Residents and business owners received no explanation of why certain properties were required for compulsory acquisition.

For example, the committee heard evidence of situations where one or two homes were left on streets or entire blocks, while all other properties were flagged for acquisition.

Some submissions also questioned why character homes were selected for demolition, while non-heritage properties such as the Telstra Exchange at Glandore were kept.

The deadline for submissions to the inquiry was November 2021 – prior to the change of state government in March this year. It focused largely on the progression of the project while the Liberals were in government.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the inquiry was commissioned last year by the then-Labor Opposition “to investigate serious concerns about the Marshall Liberal government’s mishandling of consultation and planning for compulsory acquisitions in the North-South Corridor project”.

“Since winning the March election, Labor has undertaken a full review of the project. That review, as previously stated, will be completed soon,” he said.

“Since its election, the government has also appointed new leadership at the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.”

The spokesman said the government would take time to properly consider the findings of the report and will provide a considered response “in due course”.

“A number of the recommendations around improved community engagement are already in train, but there are serious lessons to be learned from the former government’s mishandling of this process,” he said

Final members of the committee were Labor MPs Michael Brown, Nadia Clancy and Rhiannon Pearce, and Liberals Vincent Tarzia and Ashton Hurn.

Mr Tarzia and Ms Hurn released a dissenting report that focused on concerns since the election, which were unnecessary delays in the project, unjustified and unnecessary movement of staff, and cost blowouts. The $9.9bn project had initially been slated for completion in 2030, but the timeline has been delayed to 2031 and is expected to cost billions extra.

Melanie Reid bought her property on Grosvenor St, Glandore, 40 years ago, but it will be officially handed over to the government at settlement next week.

She said she was satisfied with the value agreed upon, but the department was unclear on certain aspects of the process.

For example, she said, there had been mixed messaging on arrangements for renting the property back from the government after settlement, and on the effect of the fluctuating property market on the final valuation.

Ms Reid said she first learnt of the acquisition was in a letter from the department that said her property would be “impacted”.

“They didn’t say what that meant,” she said.

“There were tears … it was very upsetting.”