Regional Roads and Infrastructure Fund

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:11): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Why has the government reduced regional road funding this year? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain my question.

Leave granted.

Mr HUGHES: Last financial year, more than $94 million was spent on regional road maintenance works, while the current state budget papers outline that under the new Regional Roads Maintenance Fund this will be reduced to $71.5 million this financial year.

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Premier is called to order.

The Hon. T.J. Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Primary Industries is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (15:12): As the Regional Roads and Infrastructure Fund falls under my portfolio, I am happy to take this question.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is on two warnings.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Can I say that members opposite have been pushing around this figure of $94 million, or whatever it is. I have actually tried to get to the bottom of what this figure is, but nobody has been able to tell me what that figure relates to. Nobody has been able to tell me what that figure relates to.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: It may be that they have just plucked it out of the sky, 'Well, this figure sounds good. This sounds like more than what they were doing. Let's just put it into the public sphere.'

I tell you what we have been able to deliver in our first budget: duplication of Port Wakefield Road and the overpass, $200 million towards the Joy Baluch Bridge and the Penola bypass. These are all fantastic regional road and infrastructure projects that we are delivering for the people of South Australia. We took them to the election, we delivered them in the 2018-19 budget and we are actually going to deliver better regional road funding, more regional road funding, for the people of South Australia.