Premier intervenes in SA Water dispute over Wheatfields Residential Care home at Freeling

Elderly residents were at risk of being turfed out of their home amid a bitter stoush – but the Premier and local Liberal MP say they’re determined to fix it.

Resident Des Shanahan and Wheatfields CEO Pam Charnock at the almost completed second building. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Peter Malinauskus has intervened in a technical dispute between SA Water and an engineering firm, which has stalled a $25m aged-care upgrade and left seniors at risk of being rehomed.

Wheatfields Residential Care in Freeling, north of Adelaide, was due in April to move residents into a new 32-bed building, but the plan stalled after SA Water said it could not connect the fire sprinklers to mains water.

Wheatfields chief executive Pam Charnock previously told The Advertiser the disagreement between SA Water and engineering firm Bestec could force out aged-care residents during construction, requiring them to find another home.

On Thursday night, the premier told attendees at Country Cabinet he would form a taskforce to save the Wheatfields project.

Liberal member for Frome Penny Pratt discussed the stalled Wheatfields project with Premier Peter Malinauskus at Country Cabinet on Thursday. Picture: Supplied

Resident Des Shanahan and Wheatfields CEO Pam Charnock at the almost completed second building. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Housing Minister Nick Champion on Friday confirmed the premier’s commitment in a statement.

“The premier has confirmed the state government will look at options to see this project go ahead,” he said.

“Work has already commenced to identify the most appropriate solution.”

Liberal MP for Frome, Penny Pratt, who has helped Wheatfields with the issue, said the premier told her she would be on the taskforce.

“The offer and the gesture (to intervene on the crisis) is welcome,” she said. “This is the first gesture by the government that they’re actively working on a solution.

“The Freeling community are on tenterhooks, hopeful for a solution that guarantees their family members will continue to reside at Wheatfields in walking distance for daily visits.”

An SA Water spokesman previously blamed the mess on Bestec, a major engineering firm hired to carry out the upgrade, alleging its design jeopardised the local water network.

A spokesman for Bestec strongly rejected the claim, saying a flow-and-pressure test by SA Water found abundant water on the street opposite Wheatfields, where the infrastructure is identical.

Amid the technical row, Wheatfields’ chief executive was concerned for her residents’ future.

“We’re in limbo,” Ms Charnock said earlier this month. “We don’t know what to do. Where do I put my residents?”

The stalled $25m upgrade was funded by the federal government.

Originally published as Premier intervenes in SA Water dispute over Wheatfields Residential Care home at Freeling