Public Works Committee: Upper Yorke Peninsula Regional Road Network Upgrade

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:27): I move:

That the 569^th report of the committee, entitled Upper Yorke Peninsula Regional Road Network Upgrade, be noted.

As part of the $39 million upgrade program for the road network in the Upper Yorke Peninsula region, three projects were referred to the Public Works Committee for consideration. In no particular order, they are: the upgrade to the Bute to Kulpara road, which will include pavement rehabilitation and the sealing of the shoulder for approximately 10 kilometres; safety improvements on the Copper Coast Highway between Kadina and Paskeville, which includes shoulder widening and sealing, pavement reconstruction and resealing and 17 kilometres of audio tactile line markings; and safety improvements along the Yorke Highway, incorporating hazard reductions, shoulder sealing and intersection upgrades.

These improvements to the Yorke Highway will allow the section of the road between Ardrossan and Port Wakefield to be used by 36.5-metre road trains, which have previously been restricted from using this section of the Yorke Highway. It will allow for efficiencies in transport in exporting goods from Yorke Peninsula. It is understood that these road improvements will address the number of regional road crashes, reducing the number of fatalities and casualties on our roads, as well as reducing the general wear and tear on vehicles.

The committee was informed that local councils, the general community and local MPs impacted by these upgrades have been consulted and that they are generally supportive of these much-needed upgrades. The member for Goyder did raise concerns with the committee regarding the proposal to construct a roundabout at the intersection of the Yorke and Copper Coast highways. I thank the member for his time in presenting to the committee.

The proposed roundabout is an attempt to manage the long queues of traffic trying to enter the Copper Coast Highway from eastern Yorke Peninsula after holiday periods and long weekends. I am sure that many of us are familiar with that particular intersection. The concern is that the solution proposed will divert the problem into the Copper Coast Highway, restricting traffic entry from the western side of the peninsula, hence addressing one issue but creating another.

Although this project was not being considered by the committee at this time, we were grateful that the member raised the matter as it is very important to consider and be aware of the issue, and it was timely to bring it to the attention of the relevant departmental staff who were present at the hearing. The construction work for some of these projects has already commenced. The works will continue over the next 12 months, and there will be ongoing consultation throughout the program of the works.

I thank my fellow committee members: the members for Colton, Torrens, Finniss and Unley, as well as our committee staff for their diligence and assistance with the projects that come before us. Given this, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (11:30): I thank the committee Chair (the member for Elder) for presenting the report, and I was also very grateful for the opportunity to make a presentation to the committee about it. I have stated in this house, and I have put on other forms of public record, my appreciation of the investment that is occurring. It is one that is highly appreciated across the electorate, and it serves more than just Goyder. Indeed, there are some boundary areas where the member for Frome will also benefit from an infrastructure upgrade that is occurring there.

This investment has been needed for many years, and I do not think anyone would deny that, but it is not the end of the investment that needs to occur, and I know others will probably also speak about that. There is a variety of infrastructure areas that need to be upgraded, and this is an important start. It is one for which I am thankful, and it is one which I was grateful to have the opportunity to present to the committee.

At the time of being invited to the committee, the specific projects to be considered were not defined to me, so I went there with the intention to, yes, express my appreciation of the investment, but also to put my concerns about the one particular project at Federation Corner. The committee Chair (the member for Elder) has been good enough to outline that in her presentation this morning.

I still hold those concerns, and they come back to a meeting that the Minister for Transport was good enough to attend here in Parliament House on 19 October last year where the mayors or CEOs in the alliance of Yorke Peninsula councils—being Yorke Peninsula Council, Copper Coast, Barunga West and Wakefield regional councils—met with the minister and me. They put their concerns, particularly about Federation Corner, and the worry that, while the design is an improvement, there is a concern that it will still not cater for that peak travel time. While the project costs nearly $4 million, it is slightly under that threshold figure for projects that the Public Works Committee has to consider, but the committee was good enough to consider my concerns.

I have only just received correspondence from the Minister for Transport earlier this week that responds to the concerns that I put in writing in the follow-up to that meeting from 19 October confirming that, indeed, there will not be a redesign of the roundabout. The request from the alliance of councils and me was for a slip lane, to use another term, that would enable Copper Coast traffic heading south to travel to the east of the roundabout and then join on the southern side of the roundabout.

The concern is that, at the moment, the design principles seem to indicate to those who have looked at it and those who travel through it often that it will take away the current challenge of Yorke Peninsula traffic that attempts to get onto the Copper Coast Highway, because it has to give way to the continuing traffic heading south from the Copper Coast. The challenge will become that the Copper Coast traffic will have to stop and wait for Yorke Peninsula traffic entering the roundabout to go around first, and it will just create the challenge in another direction.

We put this approach quite seriously to the minister in the belief that we want the investment to occur. It is nearly $4 million, but we want the investment to have long-term benefits for the community, and that is what the focus has to be. We do not want there to be a fix that has to occur after this. We do not want it to be a political argument, but it is likely to be that because the concern is that the solution, as proposed, will not fix it.

I can give some practical examples. At peak holiday times—having travelled on it deliberately a couple of times to check how bad the travel issues were—those who are familiar with the area will know that if you are coming from the Yorke Peninsula side, there is an old railway line crossing, which is about two kilometres west of the Federation Corner intersection as it is now. It took me 33 minutes to travel two kilometres and then, joining the Copper Coast traffic heading towards Port Wakefield to the intersection of Highway 1 and the Copper Coast Highway, it took me another 27 minutes to do about eight kilometres and get around that corner. That is an hour or so to do 10 kilometres.

This roundabout is an important component of a fix opportunity, where multiple areas of investment need to occur to improve traffic movement approaching Port Wakefield and through Port Wakefield, but the real concern is that this investment will create problems. I am grateful that the committee listened to it. There were several questions put, and officers confirmed that they were not there to speak about that particular project, which was rather frustrating. I want to put on the record that I have had concerns for some time.

It was probably in August of last year when the community suddenly became aware of the investment. It was not part of the post-budget announcements, which I found particularly interesting. Nearly $36 million was to be spent on road infrastructure, but it was not loudly trumpeted that this investment was to occur: it came out later in a very soft media release. The investment is appropriate, and I want to make sure that we get the best possible bang. The projects that the member for Elder has highlighted, which are part of the report, are fantastic—there is no doubt about that. They will improve the road network and make the travelling community much happier about the conditions they face.

For the permanent residents, it is an issue that they adjust to—they do not like it and they want it to be improved—but my concern has always been that, for a very popular tourist area in particular, we have a potentially fickle travelling public, and I do not want them to be challenged about where they intend to be. That is part of the reason why I want the infrastructure to be the best, to ensure that people who choose to come to our area, or consider coming to the area, have good traffic conditions at all times and good road conditions at all times. If they do not get that, they might choose to go somewhere else, and then the reason I have the opportunity to represent the area will be challenged because we will not get the economic drives that come from tourist visitors.

It is really important to get the investment right. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about it. I still call upon the minister, even at this very late stage, to review what the plans might be to get a better outcome. Part of the response that came back from the minister earlier this week talked about the fact that the slip lane proposal, which I have talked about at length in several forums, is suggested to come at a cost of about $1½ million. There was no detail behind that pricing. The minister enforces again that the traffic model around which the design is based seems to highlight that the maximum wait distance will be about 70 metres from the roundabout for any vehicle approaching at any time. I hope it proves to be that, but I have grave concerns that it will not be. I commend the committee on the report.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Schubert.

Mr KNOLL (Schubert) (11:37): Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Can I say that purple is your colour.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: It will not work, whatever you are going to say.

Mr KNOLL: I rise today to speak to the Upper Yorke Peninsula regional road network upgrade project and wish to do so by saying that, as we consider these reports, sometimes plenty of testosterone flows. In fact, the colour purple is supposed to suppress testosterone.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am taking it off at once. I want you to be yourself, member for Schubert.

Mr KNOLL: As a proud scholarship holder to Christian Brothers, I know that purple was used everywhere, including in the drama theatre where I spent a lot of time away from the cool kids. What I want to do this morning is acknowledge the investment that the government is making into the Upper Yorke Peninsula regional road network around the Bute to Kulpara road and the Copper Coast Highway upgrades on Yorke Peninsula.

What I want to put on the record are some of the local concerns about roads around that area. Next month, I am due to go out and take a firsthand look at that road network. Concerned local citizen and resident of Kadina, Fraser Ellis, has invited me to come up and have a look because it is an issue that he is extremely concerned about. In fact, in every conversation I have had with him when we talk about issues that he has in his local community, this is the issue he raises first and foremost.

We do note in the RAA's recent state of the roads report that seven of the 10 worst roads were in regional South Australia, and that makes this investment all the more important. Issues that have been highlighted to me by Fraser so far, which I hope to look at, are issues between Port Wakefield and Kadina on the Copper Coast Highway, particularly in front of the Paskeville Field Day site, which is a huge showpiece that brings a whole heap of people to the area. This stretch of road is quite embarrassing, as it is around the Port Wakefield corner, which I am told is colloquially known as 'crash corner'. This is really the worst nickname that an intersection can have. I look forward to visiting and understanding the concerns that exist there.

It looks like the issues around the Bute to Kulpara road will be covered as part of this redevelopment, and that is extremely welcome. Another patch we need to consider is the stretch between Arthurton and Minlaton. That is not included as part of this project and is something that is missing. I have travelled through a lot of country South Australia and there are a couple of patches of road in my electorate that I have been fighting for, in particular one on the Stott Highway, which the government has agreed to fund. It has taken a bit of time to get there, but I trust the government when they say it is still going ahead.

I have to concede that the worst roads exist on Yorke Peninsula. It really is a blight and an indictment and needs to be fixed. Certainly, this is a welcome investment, but this cannot be the end. More needs to be invested in that area, especially now. Yorke Peninsula is a huge grain-producing region. We do not have trains anymore; we have trucks and a road network. The largest export out of South Australia, especially in good years, is grain. If we are to look after this huge export industry, we need to make sure that we have an efficient road network that supports that.

If we put aside communications, access to a quality road network is one of the main ways that we can help to keep our communities connected. If we want to help keep regional South Australia vibrant, keep people in our regions and keep our regions productive, then investment in keeping people connected, either through communications or, in this case, through road infrastructure upgrades—or at least maintenance—is extremely important.

I would like to thank Kadina resident Fraser Ellis for continuing to bring these issues to my attention. I look forward to catching up with him to see firsthand the various spots that he has identified, especially the ones that do not relate to this project. I look forward to the current member for Goyder continuing to lobby on behalf of his community and for local residents out there to make sure that their voice is heard and heard more loudly against what are often the deaf ears of a very city-centric government.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (11:43): I have very little to say about these projects. The member for Goyder came into the hearing and had a few words to say and put forward some ideas, which were taken on board by departmental officers who were there, but it was really a no-brainer—we supported the project. It was good, for a change, to see the government spend some money in regional areas.

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (11:44): I thank the members for Goyder, Schubert and Finniss for their contributions to supporting this project. With that, I recommend the project to the house.

Motion carried.