PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: AUSLINK STRATEGIC REGIONAL PROGRAM (GAWLER-TARLEE)

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (11:32): I move:

That the 316^th report of the committee, on the AusLink Strategic Regional Program (Gawler-Tarlee), be noted.

This is a bit like ancient history now. In May 2007, the Light Regional Council received $6 million from the Australian government under the AusLink Strategic Regional Program for pavement rehabilitation and hazard protection works on Main North Road between Gawler and Tarlee.

Additional funding of $1.5 million has been allocated from the Rural Freight Improvement Program in 2008-09 to deliver a southbound overtaking lane near Templars, which is within the section proposed for pavement rehabilitation.

There are significant areas of poor condition where the sprayed seal pavement is highly distressed with depressions, undulations, rutting and cracking. An assessment of different pavement rehabilitation options recommended a targeted treatment over a 19.83 kilometre length of road to rehabilitate the worst sections of road pavement and improve rideability. Some additional hazard protection in the form of new guard railing will also be provided.

Improving the structural condition of the pavement, providing wider sealed shoulders and improving roadside hazard protection with the introduction of additional guard railing will reduce the potential for particular types of vehicle crashes. As a result, the works will not only improve rideability but will make also a positive contribution to improving road safety along the road.

An economic evaluation has been carried out. The analysis equates the net present value of benefits from reduced vehicle operation and crash cost parameters over a 30 year period to $3 million (2008 dollars) and a benefit cost ratio of 1.6 using a 7 per cent discount rate.

The project area intersects with the flood plains and watercourses of the Gilbert and Light River catchments. These ephemeral water systems contain permanent waterholes which provide valuable habitat and summer refuge for aquatic species. A soil erosion and drainage management plan will be implemented during construction to ensure these ecosystems are not impacted by run-off from the project site.

A small number of isolated remnant vegetation habitats also exist in proximity to the project area. Of particular importance is a patch of eucalyptus mallee woodland which may provide a habitat for the critically endangered yellow throated miner. A project environmental management plan will be developed to ensure the implementation of protection measures for this and other roadside vegetation.

Implementation of both the pavement rehabilitation along Main North Road between Gawler and Tarlee and the new overtaking lane near Templars will be carried out at the same time to minimise disruption to traffic and realise cost efficiency savings. Consequently, the works are anticipated to be carried out by May 2009. Based upon the evidence considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (11:35): I rise to speak on this report and another good project being carried out in South Australia. The Public Works Committee has obviously looked at it and ensured that the benefits will be maximised for South Australians. Having said that, the federal government has given Light Regional Council $6 million to do this work. It has been carried out by the state government, and I understand that the state government charged a management and supervision fee of $350,000. I think that was just for pen-pushers and did not go into the roadworks.

I really have some concerns with the fact that the federal government gave a local government organisation $6 million to do this work and the state government came in and took some of the cream off the top. This state government has form on this: when the federal government was giving to schools in the Investing in Our Schools Program, DAIS (as it was then) charged up to 10 per cent to manage some of those projects. We are seeing the same thing now with the Building the Education Revolution, where a lot of money is being spent quickly on school buildings and the state government is again charging management fees.

Some people would say that is right. This is an AusLink road but, through federal government funding, the cost is being saved to the state government undertaking the road maintenance in South Australia. The federal government is putting billions into this state and saving the taxpayers of South Australia that tax expenditure in a direct fashion. However, what we are seeing here is the state government coming in and creaming a bit off the side, and I think that is unconscionable.

Having said that, this road upgrade is a good piece of infrastructure, and it is well deserved by the people of the area. I look forward to having the opportunity of going up there and looking at this completed roadwork. Last week, I went to Port Augusta and drove on the new Port Wakefield upgrade, and the road is fantastic. Again, it was mainly federal money, and I do not know what the state government put in or what it charged to do it. In that case, I think it was a co-contribution. This work is being funded by the federal government and, in this case, money has been given to local government, and the state government should be laughing all the way and not being the Scrooge it is.

This morning, I went to the guide dog display in Rundle Mall, where I saw a poodle cross. I thought it was a labradoodle (a cross between a labrador and a poodle), but it was a groodle, which is a golden retriever crossed with a poodle. I got that wrong, so I need to ask the member for Norwood what a yellow-throated miner is because she went straight into roadside vegetation. I thought a yellow-throated miner was a bird.

The point I am trying to make is that it is good to see that there is now consideration for not just the road users but also the whole environmental and social impact of these sorts of projects. I commend the report to the house.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (11:38): I will try to be brief. I have been concerned about this section of road for a very long time, as it is partly in my electorate, and I have always considered it to be unsafe. I am pleased that in its report the Public Works Committee has recommended the upgrade of a large section of Main North Road, that is, 19.83 kilometres of the 35.5 kilometre stretch between Gawler and Tarlee. I believe that it is a start, but it should go all the way to Clare because this is a major tourist corridor for South Australia, and it is an absolute disgrace and highly dangerous. Daily, I see people doing stupid things on this road because they get behind a heavy vehicle and there is just nowhere to pass. They do crazy things, and I am just amazed that there are not more fatalities.

The stretch of road in question has many bends and is very undulating in parts. There are sections where the bitumen and is very cracked and uneven, and I am pleased that the committee has found this to be the case in its deliberations.

The road carries a very high volume of traffic, which is acknowledged in the report, with the annual daily average traffic being 2,984 vehicles per day. This route is used by many heavy vehicles, which would, no doubt, have contributed to the poor condition that it is currently in. I note that the committee has stated in the report that the number of heavy vehicle movements on this road is expected to increase, which has caused concerns to arise about the ongoing safety and durability of the road.

I note that the number of reported crashes that have occurred along this stretch of Main North Road are under investigation. For the period of 6 January 1995 to 13 October 2007, there were 224, including seven fatalities. These statistics would not come as a surprise to anyone who has travelled along that road, as I have said, because it is considered to be a very unsafe section of the road.

I draw the attention of the house to an article in today's Advertiser entitled, 'SA trailing nation on investment.' It states:

South Australia has the country's worst record for the amount of money spent on infrastructure over the past 20 years, a report card by the nation's top engineering body has found. Engineers Australia's analysis of roads, bridges, harbours, electricity and gas pipelines, water, sewerage and telecommunications has found the inferior investment is making the state uncompetitive. 'South Australia has grown the least of all the states and territories,' Engineers Australia (SA) president Doug Gillott said...The gap between South Australia and the rest of Australia has widened in the past nine years, even though construction activity increased within the state. While the report does not blame any governments, it shows from 1999-2000, after the Labor government came to power in South Australia, spending on infrastructure lagged...behind the nation and 'there is now the widest ever gap between the two trends.'

We could not have said it better ourselves. This is an independent body saying this, and it is a wake-up call for us all.

I am pleased that the committee's findings are supportive of the upgrade. The improvements to be undertaken include a new overtaking lane. Improvements to the structural condition of the road and the addition of guard rails will definitely improve the safety of the road and improve the ride for motorists travelling along it.

Again, I stress that the road needs a massive upgrade all the way to Clare. We at least need passing lanes urgently. It is dangerous and we see frustrated drivers doing very foolish and dangerous things, such as passing on blind stretches. It is a lovely drive going to a lovely destination, the Clare Valley, second only, of course, to the magnificent Barossa Valley. This road needs urgent attention. I commend the report and I commend the committee.

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (11:42): The member for Morphett commended the committee on looking at environmental issues, and the member for Finniss, who is also a member of the committee, and then the member for Schubert, who was a prior member of the committee, know that we do look at a broad range of issues when we are evaluating projects, it is not just the economic aspect, it is also the heritage and environmental aspects. In response to the member for Schubert, this government has actually spent more on infrastructure than has been spent for many years. With those comments, I move that the report be noted.

Motion carried.