SA government hits 'pause' on compulsory acquisition of popular restaurant

South Australia's education minister says the government will "hit pause" on the compulsory acquisition of restaurant Wok The Duck. The Mount Barker restaurant was going to be compulsorily acquired to make way for a new school. What's next? The minister says the pause will allow discussions to occur between SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and government departments. The South Australian government will "hit pause" on its plan to compulsorily acquire a popular Mount Barker restaurant to build a $61.1 million school amid community backlash. The state government last week announced a preschool and primary school would be built on a 5.5-hectare parcel of land in Mount Barker's south-east, including on the site of the Thai restaurant Wok The Duck, to accommodate rapid population growth. The restaurant owners launched a petition and said there had since been a swell of community support. Aston Hills Mount Barker developers Lanser, who said they had been working on a master plan for more than 16 years, said there were more suitable sites for the school. Today, Education Minister Lucy Hood told 891 ABC Adelaide the government would pause the compulsory acquisition following a meeting with the restaurant owners on Tuesday. "We're just going to hit pause while we consider all our options here," she said. "That obviously doesn't guarantee an outcome, but we can see the enormous community impact that Wok the Duck has in that area, so we're just going to look at all those options to make sure we're achieving the best outcome for that community." She said the pause would allow discussions to occur between SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and government departments. Wok the Duck co-owner David Keir said he had spoken with Mr Malinauskas this morning. "It was appreciated getting a phone call from the premier … he just said he's going to investigate, he's going to look into it because something's not right," Mr Keir said. Local MP Matt Schultz welcomed the pause, saying it was "a case of sensible heads prevailing". "I'm really pleased that the government and the department have put pause on this and are looking at alternate options," Mr Schultz said. "I'm very pleased that we are having a school built here, but we don't want to see Wok the Duck impacted in terms of being relocated or shut down." Ms Hood said the department had evaluated 16 other sites in Mount Barker for the new school, but the Wok the Duck site was selected as the best location. Last week, Ms Hood said compensation for the restaurant owners would be considered as part of the compulsory acquisition process.