Libs plot new eastern suburbs school in leaked documents
Leaked policy documents reveal the Liberal Party’s plans to build a new high school. The plan was pounced on by Labor to muddy the waters over zoning for two of the most popular schools in Adelaide. While the Libs released its Mount Barker policy.
The South Australian Labor Party has jumped on another leaked internal Liberal policy paper detailing the opposition’s plans to build a new high school in Marden.
The document, seen by InDaily, details the opposition’s $100 million ‘investing in our education future fund’ policy that it hopes will “improve educational outcomes, support population growth, modernise learning environments, and ensure equitable access to public education”.
The leaked document is not dated, and Shadow Treasurer Ben Hood told reporters today at a press conference that the document was “three, four months old”.
When asked it it reflected a campaign announcement expected next week, he said: “To be quite honest, we’re not that stressed about them at all,” he said. “They may reflect some parts of policy, but they are old.”
Education Minister Blair Boyer said he had “absolutely no doubt that this is the plan of the South Australian Liberal Party”, noting Labor received it at 5.52 pm on Tuesday.
It revealed funds would be spent on delivering targeted capital works in public schools and building a new high school in Marden, leveraging the Marden Senior College site to relieve enrolment pressure at Glenunga and Marryatville, which the document says are “already over capacity, with local students being turned away”.
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The leaked document was seized upon by Labor, Boyer calling on the Liberals to explain whether families currently zoned for Glenunga and Marryatville would be re-zoned to another school.
“Ashton Hurn and the Liberals need to provide clarity for families, particularly those living in the Glenunga and Marryatville High School zones – are they going to be re-zoned to a different school?” Education Minister Blair Boyer said.
The document also detailed areas the Liberal party is most concerned with regarding capacity problems: “marginal and high-growth electorates i.e. Dunstan, Bragg, Unley, Hartley, Torrens”.
At a press conference this morning, Boyer said the leaks were undermining Hurn’s leadership.
“A member of Ashton’s team is leaking these documents to very deliberately destabilise her leadership and do everything they can to make sure that Ashton Hurn never becomes a Premier of South Australia,” Boyer said.
Hood said the Liberal Party was a “united team” and “There’s significant discipline in the Liberal Party.”
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Libs announce Mount Barker investment
Meanwhile, the Liberal Party announced yesterday afternoon it would invest $124 million in roads and infrastructure for Mount Barker and the Adelaide Hills if elected in March.
As part of the package, $20 million would be allocated to fixing the Flaxley Road and Hurling Drive bottleneck with a roundabout, while $80 million would go toward widening the Adelaide-Hawthorn Road intersection and installing traffic lights.
A further $15 million would be spent on introducing a third lane on the freeway down track between Hahndorf and Bridgewater, and $8 million on a park and ride facility at Verdun.
Hurn said Mount Barker was “one of the fastest growing regional areas in South Australia and we want to make sure that we invest in the infrastructure needed to keep up with this growth”.
“There are serious economic impacts on families, businesses and the whole community when our roads break down, that’s why investing in these upgrades is vital.”
Opposition transport and infrastructure spokesperson Sam Telfer said Labor had “botched its planning of Mount Barker from the very start”.
Labor has already announced its policy for Mount Barker, promising to spend $200 million on an infrastructure plan should the Malinauskas government be returned to power in March.
The plan included promises to fix the Adelaide and Hawthorn Road intersection, create a new 24/7 pharmacy, $96 million to redevelop Mount Barker High School and to buy land for a second high school, $25.5 million for a new TAFE Trades workshop and a new Mount Barker police station.
It comes after InDaily put a spotlight on development in Mount Barker in 2025, with a 2003 report obtained via a Freedom of Information request showing that Mount Barker’s population would double from 15,000 to 30,000 over the next 20 years if housing demand was met, despite that figure already being exceeded.
InDaily also revealed that only 25 per cent of the farming land that was rezoned for housing in 2010 has been developed as of 2025, according to the Mount Barker council.
