Bills

Infrastructure SA Bill

Second Reading

Debate resumed.

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (12:42): I am pleased to rise today to support the Infrastructure SA Bill 2018, a bill for an act to promote the provision and management of infrastructure for the benefit of the South Australian community and economy to establish Infrastructure SA and for other purposes. A key standout for me is the reform of the management of the infrastructure which will come from this bill which will mean proper, responsible, accountable, efficient, effective and timely coordination, planning, prioritisation, delivery and operation of infrastructure as is necessary for the economic, social and environmental benefit of our state.

It will ensure that a properly planned 20-year state infrastructure strategy is developed by an independent body, not distracted with political pressures, replacing the ad hoc, reactive, short-sighted, expensive and wasteful politically driven decisions which have been occurring in recent years and which have left our state with unnecessary debt and wasted funds from poorly managed, blown out budgets. The establishment of Infrastructure SA will ensure proper risk assessment is undertaken for all projects. It meets this government's mantra for full transparency and accountability, and ensures that every dollar available to this government is used where it is most needed and not where votes are located at the next election.

As a parochial regional MP, I am excited by what this bill means for regional electorates like mine in Narungga, where projects in the past have been easily discarded because the population might be less or because fewer votes are to be gained. This bill ensures advice from Infrastructure SA—and the South Australian Productivity Commission, for which a bill has passed through this house recently—will prevent pork-barrelling and that seats like Narungga get what we need and what we deserve.

In the past, on many occasions worthy projects within Narungga, or Goyder as it used to be called, were ignored because there were not the electoral imperatives to expend resources in our beautiful electorate. The previous government is quite famous in regional South Australia for where it considers its electoral imperatives to be located.

In fact, I have heard some hypothesise that those electoral imperatives may have just been those opposite desperately clinging to power with no regard for what is best for the people of South Australia. That is set to change with this new government, much to the relief of South Australians. Instead of electoral imperatives, we will be using economic imperatives to determine where precious state resources can be best expended for the betterment of the state as a whole so that more jobs can be created for South Australians and so that their lives can become easier.

There are many infrastructure projects within Narungga that have waited long enough, from road shoulders across the width and breadth of the leg and the Adelaide Plains, to pedestrian crossings, road reseals, port developments, passing lanes, bulk-handling facilities, public transport investigations and many other examples we have gone without for long enough.

The establishment of Infrastructure SA may mean that the north coast road at Point Turton is given a better shot at a state government investment contribution, a road which is a council road but promoted by the Tourism Commission and the state government as part of the busy tourist route that is our coastal way, yet that is in an appalling condition.

It is an 11-kilometre stretch of road, which is unsealed, and, with 2,274 vehicle counts on it last Easter as part of the coastal way route, it is an embarrassment as well as causing significant dust problems for local residents. I have heard from those local residents that when a family member comes to visit their homes in what is advertised as a tourism destination, they have to hire a car. Rather than drive their own vehicle to visit relatives, they choose to incur the extra expense of hiring a car so as not to expose their vehicle to the terrible road.

So corrugated is that road that a car's chassis is susceptible to damage and it is easy to lose control. There is evidence of this with a number of crashes that occur on the road. Yes, it is a council road, but, with a shared jurisdiction of co-promotion, it is deserving of a shared funding arrangement, and it is hoped that a state contribution can be made to this sealing project to make it a reality.

The Wallaroo breakwater is another infrastructure project that appears to be in no-one's jurisdiction and is in dire need of maintenance. The big storm of a few years ago did significant damage to the breakwater, and a further storm could render the boat ramp, which is one of the busiest outside Adelaide, unusable. Keeping that boat ramp open is key for the economic, social and environmental benefit of our state—the exact mandate that Infrastructure SA seeks to implement.

The Port Wakefield traffic solution has waited for 30 years. It featured in John Meier's maiden speech in this place in 1982, in Steven Griffiths' maiden speech in this place in 2006 and in mine not that long ago. Hopefully, a solution will surely be found in my time as a member. It is near impossible for large trucks to navigate the Balaklava Road within Port Wakefield, and it is hoped that this will be included in plans for a four-lane dual highway through the town as well as a well-publicised overpass at crash corner.

Local members have been advocating for a solution to this problem for decades and nothing has been done. I know that the previous government did not show any interest in fixing the intersection that has claimed multiple lives over the past years. In fact, I believe—and I am happy to stand corrected—that you have to go back to the Olsen government to see the last time an attempt was made to alleviate the problem at crash corner. Never mind the social and economic implications: the previous government just did not see the electoral imperatives that justified providing a solution that would have saved lives at that intersection.

Thankfully, the Liberal Party have already announced a solution to crash corner that will make it safer, and I will continue to lobby the new transport minister for a solution to the logjam through the town. It is my hope that Infrastructure SA, should they be engaged in reporting on this potential project, would see the benefit in providing a more timely carriage of the many tonnes of grain from Yorke Peninsula on its way to port and providing an economic boost to our state coffers.

It is my hope that Infrastructure SA would see the benefit of getting tourists through the town more quickly so that they can get to their YP or EP tourism destination sooner and start contributing to the local economy by enjoying the services on offer in regional South Australia. Similarly, the Maitland to Minlaton road, the Arthurton to Maitland road, and the Kulpara to Arthurton road all need urgent—at the very least—widening with shoulders, but probably much more.

I was visited by a constituent in my electorate office recently who used to work within the highway department prior to his retirement. He claimed that, to the best of his knowledge (admittedly, I have not double-checked for myself), the Kulpara to Arthurton road was built in the early 1930s and has been scarcely touched since. That much is evident when you drive along that road. It is my hope that if Infrastructure SA were asked to provide a report on this road and the economic and societal benefits of fixing it up, they would see the benefits the improvements would provide and recommend that change to the government.

Similarly, for years Hardwicke Bay residents have feared a fatal accident at their town entry junction, off the Yorke Highway. They have been waiting for investment in a mere slip lane. I have met with members of the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association and believe that their concerns are valid and backed by a 2014 safety audit. Indeed, a member of DPTI visited the town relatively recently and a report was conducted, but no further action was taken—a simple, cheap solution that was not deemed necessary by the former government.

Similarly, there are infrastructure needs in terms of hospitals, particularly within Wallaroo. The Wallaroo hospital is struggling to cope with population growth in excess of 26 per cent since 2011. There is definitely a need to upgrade the emergency department so that it can better handle the influx of patients who arrive, especially during holiday periods. That should be at the top of the list for any Infrastructure SA submissions.

So much more is possible from proper, long-term, forward-thinking strategic management of the estimated $1 billion that the state has to spend on all sorts of projects each year that lead to improved quality of life for all of us who live here. Be it via ports, roads or other infrastructure, our businesses need to get products to market, and cutting out waste from poorly managed projects frees up more money to be spent efficiently and wisely.

The importance of statewide infrastructure, such as major roads, hospitals and schools, cannot be underestimated. I also like the fact that an annual report will be provided to parliament every year and will include full disclosure of strategies, plans and progress reports of projects. This will result in better efficiency and dollar management and prevent unexpected major cost blowouts, which have been wasteful in recent years.

This is all part of the Marshall government's commitment to be an open, transparent government. In requesting feedback from Infrastructure SA, we might not get the answer we are looking for, but it is important that the government is performing its role for the betterment of the people of South Australia as a whole. Ascertaining this information is an important step in delivering the infrastructure that we need. Rather than concealing this report and spending money where we think it could best ensure our grip on power, as had become the practice of the former government, the report will be published and made available, and our decision-making will be open to scrutiny.

That is the bare minimum expected by the people of South Australia and a welcome change, I am sure. After all, we are spending their hard-earned money and they want to know that it is being spent effectively and efficiently. If the government is not spending that money for the betterment of the whole state, with information and decision-making publicly available for scrutiny, then they have every right to question our decisions.

Working in tandem with the new South Australian Productivity Commission, Infrastructure SA is about providing better quality goods and services for more people using the resources available. I am particularly excited that this bill means that infrastructure planning will benefit all South Australians, no matter where they live, by lifting productivity and quality of life. The state Liberals are proudly committed to delivering infrastructure where local communities need it most because the right infrastructure in the right areas builds confidence, strengthens our economy, improves quality of life and drives our state forward.

The state Liberals believe in the importance of community infrastructure. Councils, community groups and residents have continually called for the renewal of local facilities, including roads, bridges and sporting and recreational infrastructure. This bill is a commitment to regional infrastructure, which further cements this new government's recognition of the valuable and vital role regions play in our state's economy. It puts the regions on equal footing for project allocation, and this is exciting. The bill means that South Australia gets the infrastructure it needs where it needs it most, and the bottom line is that taxpayer funds are used sensibly and efficiently to deliver much-needed projects and get our economy moving.

I wonder how some of the projects over the past 16 years, and those mooted by members opposite during the election campaign, would have fared during a review by Infrastructure SA. I am particularly interested in the $160 million investment in the O-Bahn extension, when it was claimed that there was no money in the budget for regional roads and that the speed limit needed to be lowered on roads that were not safe enough for travel at 110 km/h. We will never know how this decision, and the plethora of other questionable ones, would have been adjudicated on by an independent advisory body, but we know, going forward, that it will be of benefit to all South Australians when it comes to public scrutiny and decision-making.

The bill means better infrastructure planning to support long-term economic growth, more jobs and better and more affordable services, which is exactly what is needed in South Australia at the moment. I congratulate all who worked to prepare this important piece of legislation. I commend the bill and I gladly support its passage.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (12:55): I start by indicating that all of us, regardless of where we sit in this chamber, believe that we need to effectively plan for our infrastructure needs as a state. Over the years, I have been exposed to a whole range of variables and uncertainties when it comes to making the best decisions about allocating resources to support the development of infrastructure in this state.

When the Liberal government was last in power in South Australia, I was on the Economic Development Board in Whyalla and on the Whyalla city council. At that time, I formed the view that one of the pervasive things about South Australia, when it comes to the culture of this state, and to a degree irrespective of the government of the day, is that we are a very metro-centric state. There is a pervasive metro-centric culture that at times influences decision-making, both by the last Liberal government and the Labor government. Having said that, when it came to infrastructure, decisions were made that did benefit both regional South Australia and the metropolitan area.

One of the difficulties is finding the balance when you are faced with a relatively concentrated population of 1.3 million, even though there is a degree of spread. The challenges that creates invariably lead to a whole range of investments to address some of the day-to-day struggles that people have in the metropolitan area.

I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate to live in a regional community. I get up in the morning and, if I choose to, I can ride a bike to my place of work and it would take 20 minutes. I have to admit that I do that far less often these days, but once upon a time. To drive a car from one end of Whyalla to the other takes five to 10 minutes. I do not face the sorts of challenges that some people face in the metropolitan area. So you can see why sometimes the investment is, some people would argue, skewed to the metropolitan area.

When it comes to major infrastructure in South Australia, the infrastructure that has gone to facilitate economic development and regional growth, the government has always played an incredibly important role. I come from a community that would not exist in its current shape, or the shape it has for decades, if it were not for a whole range of decisions made by past governments. Going back to Thomas Playford and others, often decisions were made with incredibly strong bipartisan support to invest in the infrastructure that was necessary to generate growth in regional communities.

Whether in an industrial community like Whyalla, Port Augusta, or Port Pirie, a lot was done in decades past to set up the foundations for regional economic development. That was at a time when governments believed that they had both a muscular and an interventionalist need to play a very strong role in the state's economy. Given the nature of our economy, it sometimes worries me when I hear some members opposite talk about radical deregulation and government getting out of the way. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:02.