Someone has to Speak Up for This Region
We build the evidence, maintain the relationships, and make sure this region stays on the agenda.
Regional communities don’t automatically command attention from state and federal government. What they do have is evidence – of what’s working, what’s failing, and what investment would change. Our job is to make sure that evidence reaches the right people, in the right form, at the right time.
We attend the panels, lodge the submissions, build the business cases and maintain the relationships that keep the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island on the agenda. We work across a wide range of issues – some that generate headlines, many that don’t but matter just as much to the people who live and work here.
This page is the public record of that work.
Where We Advocate
Every issue we work on, in full.
Our advocacy portfolio spans the full range of challenges and opportunities facing this region. Some are long-running infrastructure campaigns measured in years. Others are responses to emerging policy consultations where the region needs a voice at the table. All of them are grounded in evidence and pursued with persistence.
Tourism infrastructure – Supporting regional tourism organisations and advocating for investment in visitor infrastructure across the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island.
Aged care and healthy ageing – Advocating for appropriate services and workforce capacity in a region with one of the oldest median age profiles in South Australia.
Agricultural infrastructure – Supporting abattoir capacity, supply chain logistics and the infrastructure that underpins the region’s primary production sector.
Aviation – Engagement with federal government aviation policy, including a formal submission to the Aviation White Paper.
Building Better Regions – Ongoing engagement with the federal Building Better Regions Fund to direct investment into the region’s communities and infrastructure.
Childcare – Identifying childcare supply gaps across the region and raising awareness of shortfalls with state and local government stakeholders.
Climate change and drought resilience – Coordinating the Regional Drought Resilience Plan and supporting ongoing climate adaptation across all three sub-regions.
Digital connectivity and telecommunications – Advocating for improved internet infrastructure, including the successful campaign to secure fibre optic connectivity for Kangaroo Island. Formal input to the Australian Government’s Regional Telecommunications Review.
Economic development strategy – Providing evidence-based advice to federal and state government on regional economic priorities, competitive advantages and structural constraints.
Freight and logistics – Progressing the South Coast Freight Route business case and advocating for improved freight routes affecting the region.
Housing and worker accommodation – Working with stakeholders to address housing shortages affecting workforce attraction and retention, particularly on Kangaroo Island.
Infrastructure pipeline – Producing a quarterly Infrastructure Pipeline Report that informs state government of the region’s current and emerging investment priorities.
Leadership development – Advocating for and delivering regional leadership programs that build the next generation of leaders from within the region.
Public transport – Sustained advocacy with state government, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and SAPTA for improved funding and services across the region.
Regional telecommunications – Engagement with the Australian Government’s independent regional telecommunications review to represent the region’s connectivity needs.
Regional university and Study Hubs – Supporting the establishment and operation of Study Hubs in the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, keeping tertiary education accessible to regional students.
Selected Areas in Depth
Four issues where our work has made a measurable difference.
Public Transport
A 2019 study. Real results still flowing from it.
Regional public transport has been chronically underfunded across South Australia for decades. In 2019 we commissioned a comprehensive public transport study across the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula, gathering more than 1,300 community responses. The findings were clear: inadequate frequency, poor network coverage, fare inequities and limited integration between services.
The study didn’t sit on a shelf. It informed sustained advocacy that has since delivered a $19 million government commitment for 590 additional weekly bus services and 15 new buses for Adelaide Hills commuters, an expanded Park n Ride facility at Crafers, and the Keoride on-demand service which has carried more than 220,000 passengers.
We continue to advocate with state government, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and SAPTA for further investment across all three sub-regions.
Freight and Logistics
Getting freight moving efficiently through this region affects every producer and business in it.
We have been working on regional freight challenges for years. A 2018 scoping study examined the case for a Northern Rail Freight Bypass – diverting Melbourne to Adelaide freight around the Adelaide Hills to free up road capacity, reduce fire danger in the Hills and open the existing corridor for public transport. That work laid important groundwork for longer-term infrastructure thinking.
The current active focus is the South Coast Freight Route, particularly the Victor Harbor-Goolwa bypass section. We are progressing the business case with state government and key stakeholders, providing regional intelligence to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and advocating for improved freight routes affecting the region.
Climate Change and Drought Resilience
The plan is built. Now the work of implementing it begins.
The Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island have all faced severe drought conditions – and with temperatures rising and more time spent in drought projected to the end of the century, a reactive approach is no longer enough.
The AHFKI Regional Drought Resilience Plan – jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Government of South Australia – is now complete, approved and launched. Implementation is underway, led by the region’s first dedicated Drought Resilience Lead, Markus Bucy.
Markus works across the region to identify gaps in current drought support and connect councils, community groups and primary producers with relevant funding and programs. If drought is affecting your business or community, he is your first call.
Contact Markus Bucy, Drought Resilience Lead
Call: 0481 369 954
Email: markusb@rdahc.com.au
Digital Connectivity
Infrastructure you can’t see matters as much as infrastructure you can.
In 2020, Kangaroo Island had the lowest rate of NBN connection in regional South Australia – only 41% of businesses connected, with just 11% of those satisfied with their service. The island’s microwave connection to the mainland was weather-sensitive, unreliable and running out of capacity.
We identified fibre optic connectivity as a strategic priority, included it in our Strategic Regional Plan, and worked with SA Power Networks and other stakeholders over several years to make the case for investment. The result: a $7 million commitment to lay 15km of undersea fibre optic cable connecting Kangaroo Island to the mainland via Cape Jervis – delivering faster, more reliable internet to residents, businesses, farmers, students and health providers across the island.
That project is now complete. We continue to monitor digital infrastructure gaps across all three sub-regions and engage with federal government telecommunications reviews to ensure regional connectivity needs are heard.
Our Formal Submission
The written record of our position on policy questions affecting this region.
These submissions represent our official, evidence-based advice to government inquiries and reviews. They are lodged on behalf of the communities, businesses and councils we work alongside.
RDASA Submission – Inquiry into Financial Support for State and Territory Infrastructure Projects [Download]
RDA AHFKI Submission – Regional Public Transport Review [Download]
Submission to the Aviation White Paper – March 2023 [Download]
Submission to the 20-Year State Infrastructure Strategy – August 2019 [Download]
Submission to the South Australian Regional Development Strategy [Download]
Have an Issue that Needs a Regional Voice?
Effective advocacy is built on evidence, relationships and persistence – and it works best when the people affected by an issue are part of shaping the case for change.
If you’re a council, community organisation or industry body with an issue that needs sustained regional representation, we want to hear from you.