Road Upgrades

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:20): I rise today to speak about the depth of feeling within the Narungga electorate regarding the condition of local roads and the impact of decision-making by tiers of government around where and when investment in maintenance and upgrades is to occur. Such decisions are often made by individuals who do not live within the electorate and who do not experience daily the conditions and perceived hazards of roads which are being advocated by many communities as blackspots requiring investment.

Today, I specifically commend the efforts of the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association, which has presented to me and the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, the Hon. Stephan Knoll, a petition of 143 signatures from ratepayers, residents and visitors to Hardwicke Bay concerning a dangerous intersection on the entry to that township. The call to action of the petition is the following:

The intersection of Yorke Highway and Beach Road is extremely dangerous and requires a slip lane and appropriate lighting to be installed urgently and we, the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association demand that the government hear our request so as a serious accident and possible fatality can be avoided.

Unfortunately, the preamble to the petition did not meet the strict criteria for the formal tabling of this petition to parliament. Today, I formally support its intent and acknowledge that its non-tabling does not diminish the strength of the call to action or the voice of the people who took the time to develop this petition and collect the signatures for it.

I first met with the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association members at the site of the intersection in question prior to the election and I believe that their concerns are valid. I confirm that I have corresponded a number of times with the new Minister for Transport and Infrastructure about this issue, and I am also aware that my predecessor, Mr Steven Griffiths, also highlighted the issue with the past minister for transport and infrastructure within the previous Labor government.

The Hardwicke Bay Progress Association has been lobbying for some time for a slip lane to be constructed to improve safety at this town entrance such is the conviction that a fatal accident will inevitably occur. I also note the former government sent a department representative to investigate the intersection a couple of years ago. They were able to identify a cheap solution but investment was declined. We await that fix to this day.

As indicated to the community-minded members of the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association, it is my intention to continue to fight for a solution as a part of the Regional Roads and Infrastructure Fund that this new government has set up to improve the condition of country roads in South Australia. I commend the group for their commitment to securing improvements at the intersection, as evidenced by their continued lobbying over the past few years. Roads, and the extensive backlog of maintenance, are a major topic constituents bring regularly to me and I encourage them to continue to do so. I am happy to take as many calls as I can possibly manage on the health of our regional roads.

I have spoken in this place before about the experiences of travelling on undulating roads in the back of an ambulance, of time lost and hazards experienced by our busy primary producers and truck drivers navigating too narrow roads without appropriate shoulders, of locals and tourists forced off the road to allow B-doubles to pass, of frustrations that crash statistics appear to have to be tallied in order to warrant investment in solutions and that tourism thoroughfares are not upgraded in a timely manner to ensure they meet the demand of welcome increased tourism visitation that is currently being experienced.

That is no more evident than on North Coast Road on Southern Yorke Peninsula, which is a major tourism hot spot. It has not had the appropriate investment by the local council for some time, and I will continue to advocate that that be the subject of a co-contribution by the state government as part of the Regional Roads and Infrastructure Fund as well. I would like to commend the action group that gets together to organise and advocate for a solution for that part of the road. The feedback I receive from constituents is very valuable, as I am able to ensure decision-makers are armed with up-to-date information as they plan and prioritise future spending.

I would like to thank the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association and outgoing president, Geoff Hampel, and all like-minded community members across the Narungga electorate who care for their communities and continue to advocate for improvements to be made. I say to them: your efforts serve to improve the lives of locals and the increasing number of tourists to the Yorke region and the Lower Mid North and improve transport efficiencies for the primary producers and local industry who are the backbone of this state's economy and our local economy in the electorate of Narungga. Thank you very much to the Hardwicke Bay Progress Association for the petition they put together.