Tramlines

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (14:46): Supplementary to the Minister for Transport: given that the report said that total reconciliation of the project would have required digging up King William Street to get what was scoped and what was paid for by the taxpayers, can the minister outline whether or not King William Street will be dug up and full restoration will be made of the project?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning, Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:46): Indeed, it is a good question. I said in my previous answer that the department has given me advice that they anticipate that the rectification works will meet the terms of the contract as originally entered into between the department and the contractor to deliver the rail infrastructure and to facilitate the services on there.

While there may have been a report which advocated particular ways in which redress could be applied to how the rectification works were undertaken, the advice that has been provided to me is that the rectification works that will be provided by the contractor will, very roughly, be conducted in two different ways. There will be some rectification works which will be conducted while tram services are not running, in particular, after the cessation of night-time services and the commencement of morning services. There is the requirement for some disturbance of the line, off the top of my head, in the proximity of the tramline underneath the Morphett Street Bridge, which will require some disturbance to the track.

The tramline itself, as you would expect, has scheduled maintenance. The maintenance can be conducted on a fairly regular periodic basis without interruptions to services. But from time to time some of that regular scheduled maintenance requires a pause in services while more detailed maintenance is undertaken. The item of rectification works which is likely to require the interruption of services is being delayed until the next period of scheduled maintenance, which would have briefly interrupted services in any event.

So, in those two ways, with the balance of the rectification works being conducted so as not to interrupt services, with the exception of that one particular one, I am so advised, interruption to services will be minimised. I am happy, however, to provide any more detail that I can to the member for Mitchell about this matter.