Doesn't add up

The State Government decision to hide documents revealing the rationale behind its decision not to expand or build a new high school at Mt Barker is baffling. 

A business case into the need of a new secondary school at the rapidly growing town came about following years of advocacy from the Mt Barker Council.

Mt Barker has been subject to “significant growth” following the 2010 rezoning of 1300ha of farmland by a former Labor State Government, which SA Premier Peter Malinauskas described as a prime example of “planning policy failure”. 

So when Education Minister Blair Boyer promised a business case into the development of a new school for the town, it was assumed progress was finally being made on combating overcrowding at its only public high school.

To date, Mr Boyer has offered no explanation for the State Government’s decision to build a primary and pre-school at Mt Barker instead of a high school, except to claim that the tax-payer funded business case informed the decision.

His department has refused to release that document or reveal any details about its content and blocked an attempt to access it under FOI laws.

It’s perfectly understandable that there are some things that need to be kept out of the public view for either security, safety or commercial in confidence reasons.

However, it’s difficult to understand why the details of this investigation are being locked away. 

Transparency is a key pillar of democracy and when Hills residents next go to the polls, they will want to know that the people they vote for are genuinely interested in the needs of the region.

Member for Kavel Dan Cregan, who says he is still independent despite recently being given a Ministry by the Labor Government, has notably been quiet on the issue.

In fact he has refused to say whether he believes Mt Barker even needs a new high school. 

This is in stark contrast to 12 months ago, when he was not shy about advocating for what he believed the region needed.

If the State Government and the local member want to retain the public’s confidence in their ability to look out for the region’s needs, they’re going to have to be a lot more transparent going forward.