BLACKWOOD RAIL OVERPASS

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:12): My question is to the Minister for Transport. Why did the government only consult the local community about a new pedestrian overpass at the Blackwood railway station after they had built the overpass and had it stored in a shed ready to install at a cost of $1 million?

The government had a meeting in Blackwood last night to consult the community about a pedestrian overpass at a cost of $1 million, and the community meeting was told that it had already been constructed and was in a shed waiting to be installed.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (15:13): Absolutely delighted to have this question—absolutely delighted because we did make the mistake in our consultation on this project in believing that the local council and the local member were connected to their community. We consulted the local member some time ago. We consulted seven out of 10 of the councillors. We consulted them. We made the mistake of thinking he knew something about his local community!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Because—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I return to the point. The simple process is this—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: He doesn't want to hear it. He was very keen on the question until he started getting an answer. He doesn't want to hear it. The truth is—

Mr Marshall: That was an answer?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The member for Norwood—

Mr Marshall: That was a heart attack!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You wish. The member for Norwood wishes. How quickly the member for Norwood became yet another next big thing, another former next big thing.

Mr Marshall: You're a has-been.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am a has-been and you never were, and never will be. Never were and never will be, my son.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The height of your aspirations now is to become the candidate for Dunstan.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am sorry you respond to interjections but let me tell you—

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is a point of order and I presume it is about debate.

Ms CHAPMAN: Before we have to have a by-election in Elder, can we get an answer?

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, can you conclude your answer?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Can I inform the house that I have a resting heart rate of 50 and if the member for Bragg wants a little walk up Mount Lofty one morning, I will meet her there at six.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, can you please finish your answer.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Let me come back to the answer for this whited sepulchre. Some time ago, on the project at Blackwood, it was drawn to our attention that line of sight issues, because of the shared rail between our rail services and ARTC, required some safety adjustments for those people we look after, that is, the people catching the trains. We went out—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: He does not want to hear it.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. I.F. Evans: Tell the whole story, Pat.

The SPEAKER: Order! That is enough. Okay, you have had your fun, now listen to the answer and we can all go away quietly.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: We went out with a proposal for our passengers—because that is who we look after, the passengers on the trains—to build this piece of infrastructure that he is talking about to make it safer. We consulted the local member and he made no complaint about the proposal. As far as we were concerned, he agreed with it. I am advised that we consulted seven out of 10 local councillors—I will correct it if it is wrong.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: He does not like the answer.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am waiting for you to finish. Subsequent to that time, we assumed, forgive us, that the local member and the councillors were somehow connected with their local community, that would know their views. What we found is that, in the local community, apparently there are people who use that place without using the rail, and they wanted to go through there, and they did not want to go over the thing we were building for rail safety. Now, we take safety very seriously and that is why we built it.

It is not my fault that the member for Davenport and his seven councillors were asleep at the wheel. It is not my fault. We are responsible for safety on our rail. We built infrastructure, we consulted the local council, we consulted the local member. You will forgive us if we are not intimately aware of how the local community travels. I would have thought the people who would know that are the local council. In short, we did the right thing. The member for Davenport and his councillors—utterly asleep at the wheel.