SA GOV SCRAMBLES TO PREPARE FOR LONG AWAITED WATER

Member for Barker, Tony Pasin MP says the South Australian Premier is completely out of touch with regional communities along the River Murray as he scrambles ahead of the highly anticipated high water event.

“Flying over the Riverland and making a stop in Renmark isn’t listening to the thousands of South Australians who will be impacted by this event. The Premier needs to listen to communities, businesses, and residents across the region who are struggling to prepare because of the lack of Government agency co-ordination,” Mr Pasin said.

“I’ve been on the ground listening, and I’ve heard that communities are feeling let down and left behind,” Mr Pasin said.

“We are in a privileged position of having notice of water volumes coming down from upstream and as such there is time to prepare. But effective preparation requires co-ordination and timely communication to residents and businesses.

“I’m not seeing this happen. I’m seeing a Premier scrambling to get an understanding of the issue and then speaking to a radio audience in Adelaide telling them he’s planning on establishing a recovery coordinator to act after the event.”

“It’s not good enough,” Mr Pasin said.

Member for Barker has called for more coordination to oversee preparations and the communication of information about everything from sandbag availability to power outages and road closures.

“The Premier and his Government are failing communities in Barker from Chowilla to Wellington. Labor’s complacency and contempt for regional communities is simply staggering,” Mr Pasin said.

“We need a State Premier who is more than just number one ticket holder. Golf tournaments, car races and footy festivals are great fun, but we actually need a leader who stands up for communities in times of need,” Mr Pasin said.

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds 8724 7730