YORKEYS CROSSING

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can you confirm what action has been taken in response to a petition I tabled in the house on 22 June, signed by 3,084 people, regarding the urgent need to upgrade Yorkeys Crossing around Port Augusta?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Energy) (14:58): The member would know that that has been a matter of some discussion between ourselves and your noted mayor, Joy Baluch, and her people. I must say, Joy Baluch is running again and, I hate to say it, but I wish her all the best because she is somewhat of an institution, and a very courageous woman, if sometimes a little intemperate. We have had discussions about this issue and there is no doubt that it is a matter on which very strong views are held by locals. I do not have any happy news for you as yet, but I would point out that we do now have a road investment program in this state that is more than five times larger than that of the previous government.

We have just concluded the building of the Northern Expressway, which you may consider not to be of much assistance to you, but that duplication of the Sturt Highway, the completion of the Northern Expressway joining up to the Port River Expressway with the new bridges, has given enormous benefits to the exporters in the north of the state. It will cut travel times and carbon emissions enormously. So we have put in place an enormous investment program for people.

I drove on the Northern Expressway on Monday night just after it was opened to go up to that champion of the North, Tony Piccolo's sub-branch meeting, where I was told everything we were doing wrong because that's what sub-branch meetings are for. I could not help thinking as I drove up that beautiful new Northern Expressway that this could have been what the Southern Expressway would have been like had we built it instead of the Liberals—a beautiful road going in two directions!

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: A point of order, Madam Speaker: the question was not about the Northern Expressway or the Southern Expressway or any other expressway but Yorkeys Crossing.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I do apologise. I was trying to illustrate the fact that when we make investments in roads we do have to decide between competing priorities. We are investing—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: There go those sticklers for the standing orders. We do have to choose between priorities. I would love to be able to do everything everyone wants in regard to roads in South Australia but we can't. We set our priorities, and I think the investments we have made have been extremely wise.

The SPEAKER: This has been one of the noisiest question times we have had in my time here, and I think it is because it is the first week back and we have an important event coming up and the Treasurer has not even been here, as he says. However, we still have five minutes to go, can we have some order please? I really do not know what the people in the gallery think but I hope you do not think we behave like this all the time. The member for Bragg.