Rail Funding

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Why did South Australia receive no funding out of last week's federal budget's $5.6 billion National Rail Program?

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:01): I thank the member for his question and note the projects that we are partnering with the federal government on when it comes to rail projects. That would be the Gawler electrification rail project, with some significant investment and spend. We are getting to work on that straightaway and generating jobs. I have mentioned the Flinders Link project—again, another fifty-fifty project to extend that. That's a $141 million project. Then, of course, we have our grade separations that we have talked about at Ovingham and also at Hove.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: He wouldn't know. Trust me. He would not know. Of course, as part of the Flinders Link project, we got the infrastructure—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on both sides!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —spend there to improve the new Tonsley station as well to build a whole new station on that train line—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —which I know people will be very happy with. We will always continue to work with the federal government and get more money where we can. We have a very constructive relationship with the federal government. We have, over the next four years, $12.9 billion to spend on infrastructure. It's a sum that those opposite could only dream of when they were in government, but it is very exciting to be delivering these projects and making sure we are getting them out the door.

We will keep working. Again, those opposite never did when they were in government, but we will keep working with that. What we did get through the most recent federal budget was a $7.5 billion spend on transport infrastructure. We got $625 million of that, which we are very grateful for. There are some wonderful projects that we will get moving as quickly as possible. We are also looking at our road safety projects and making sure that we can get ours out the door, stimulus projects, to deliver what I was talking about earlier, more of these road safety projects in the regions where our roads have been neglected for so long.