Question Time

SOUTH ROAD UPGRADES

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:09): My question is to the Premier. As the Premier stated yesterday that the government's proposed South Road upgrade is funded from budget contingencies, can he confirm that borrowings will not increase to fund this project?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:10): By definition, because they have been provided for in contingencies, borrowings won't increase to fund the South Road upgrade—the Torrens to Torrens upgrade. The way in which the budget is presented will be a matter for the budget, and I must say that we have been very pleased to anticipate that the commonwealth would engage in a further nation-building set of arrangements.

That's why you do a provision for these things. Because of the rules of that particular funding round—there are fifty-fifty funding rounds for metropolitan road transport projects—the South Australian budget necessarily has to be provisioned in that way for those particular allocations by the commonwealth. So, it was with great pleasure that I welcomed the commonwealth's announcement of the Torrens Road to Torrens River upgrade at South Road. The money is available in the budget and it won't add to borrowings.