RAIL ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (14:22): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Given the 2013 completion target announced by the Labor Party at the 2010 state election for the Gawler line upgrade, why hadn't contracts for this work been entered into before May 2012? Minister Conlon yesterday advised the house that the government was able to suspend the project because it had not yet entered into contracts. This is despite the government commencing the procurement process in November 2009.

Mr Marshall: Oh!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:23): 'Oh!', the candidate for Dunstan says.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The candidate for Dunstan.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am almost—

An honourable member: You're not like you used to be, Patrick.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I'm not what I used to be—they keep telling me that I used to be good and I'm not anymore, which puts me in front of them, because they never used to be good; they never were and never will be. At least I have something.

The Hon. J.D. Hill: You've got your memories.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Yes, I have my memories.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: It's harrowing, it is. It is truly harrowing; I am harrowed. I am not quite sure what the member for Bragg is referring to in terms of an upgrade. Can I say—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Apparently, the Leader of the Opposition is sure what the member for Bragg meant; I wouldn't be so sure if I were her. Can I say that the Gawler line is continuing as we speak and has undergone a very substantial upgrade, including—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Unley, order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The member for Unley. He's unattractive.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I go into the local shop in the market and there he is with his little thing looking like a bouncer with all the slightly nervous shoppers circling around him at a distance.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: Do children cry when they see him?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: They run away.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Will the minister get back to the question, and will the opposition stop interjecting.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Can I ask, Madam Speaker, that the opposition do cease interjecting. It is very distracting when I am trying to give a simply factual answer.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I can make them laugh at almost anything.

The SPEAKER: Minister!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The Gawler line has undergone an extremely substantial upgrade. The Gawler line has had removed from it, as a result of underinvestment for many years, wooden sleepers that should have been replaced during the Liberal government.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Ha, ha! Very amusing!

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order, Madam Speaker. I know we have gone from shopping trolleys back to trains, and that is a good start, but there is the question of relevance. The project that was cancelled was clearly in relation to the electrification that the minister answered yesterday, and I seek an answer in respect of that.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: With the greatest respect, the member for Bragg referred to a promise to upgrade the Gawler line. Can I say that to replace those wooden sleepers, that had a lifetime of 20 years and which were some 40 years old, was the most significant upgrade you could make. It means—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Well, it may well be that they should have started being replaced under the Bannon government, as the member for—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Can you stop for a moment?

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop will be quiet or leave the chamber. You will not get another warning.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: It might well be the case they should have been replaced by the Bannon government, but it just goes more strongly to the point I make to the member for Davenport, who admits they should have been replaced by the Bannon government, and they, therefore, really should have been replaced in the decade or so that you managed to be the government.

An honourable member: Bannon lost all the money.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Bannon lost all the money. Of course, they are referring to the State Bank. Of course, there are people alive and voting today who were not born when the State Bank failed, but it is still their excuse for everything. We have significantly upgraded the Gawler line. It is now suited for electrification.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: And the poles were put in during that upgrade in order to minimise the disruption to services on the Gawler line.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley will be quiet! Stop shouting.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You do that well—being quiet.

The SPEAKER: And the minister will finish answering the question. You only have 26 seconds left.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The truth is, Madam Speaker, as everyone who rides the line knows, there are no more speed restrictions for heat buckles on the line because the sleepers have been upgraded. There has been a massive upgrade of the Gawler line and, if you do not understand that, ask me another question and I will explain it further.