Horrocks Highway

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Can the minister give us an indication or an update on the commencement and the tendering of the Horrocks Highway?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (15:02): I thank the member for Frome for his question. It gives me the chance to highlight the fact that, in his electorate, we are getting on with work on the Blyth Plains Road at the moment, shoulder sealing work that he and I had a look at. There is also work going on on the Goyder Highway, between Crystal Brook and Gulnare, again to be able to improve the speed limit back up to 110 km/h that we promised at the last election.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: But wait, Mr Speaker, there's more: $55 million to fix the Horrocks Highway. After taking an invitation from the member for Stuart to talk to some locals in his electorate up in Port Augusta, I took the opportunity to drive back the entirety of length of the Horrocks Highway, and it is fair to say that there are issues the length and breadth of that highway. Down at the bottom end, it's fair to say that with the level of traffic some overtaking lanes might be in order and also some pavement correction.

In engineer parlance, not only do we need to correct potentially some of the horizontal curves but also I understand we also need to correct some of the vertical curves, and that is also on the plan. Further north, though, there is a large amount of shoulder sealing work that needs to be done south of a little town called Wilmington and for about the good 300 to 350 residents who live in the town of Wilmington.

There is work that is in the final stages of planning along all of that corridor. What is interesting about the member's question is that what I am speaking about now is the $55 million bucket that we were able to secure in last year's budget—80:20 funding with the federal government. It would be remiss of me in this answer and the previous answer not to mention our good friends Rohan Ramsay and Tony Pasin, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, who have been massive supporters to help us secure this money.

We have actually spent money on the Horrocks Highway even over and above this $55 million, including works around pavement correction around Roseworthy, and that Roseworthy-Templers section that was undertaken last year, as well as other works further north in relation to bridge connections. As a government, we have put the money on the table. It is there in the budget. The member for Frome does not have long at all to wait for works under the $55 million package to get underway.

But I think it is fair to say, for the people in the electorate of Frome, especially for the people in and around the Clare and Gilbert valleys, they have already seen more work being undertaken by this government, putting paid to our commitment to regional South Australia, fixing country roads so that people stop dying on them and we can actually get on and deliver the road network that the most productive part of our economy has been promised for decades.