Adelaide Hills, Expanded Boundary Services

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can the minister please update the house on how the Marshall government is making the Adelaide Hills and the Mount Barker region more accessible to South Australians and visitors?

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:00): I thank the member for Kavel for his question. I know how excited he is about the better services that are going up to the Adelaide Hills and the more jobs that we are creating in the Adelaide Hills and in Mount Barker. The question you ask is: how? Well, we are extending the metropolitan boundary for point-to-point transport services to include the entirety of the Adelaide Hills Council and the Mount Barker District Council as well.

The state government has been listening to Hills locals, Hills business owners, the member for Kavel and you, sir, for advocating for better point-to-point transport services, including rideshare, taxis and chauffeur-driven vehicles. Locals have been calling for rideshare options and taxi options to be expanded, and we have listened.

Many people love a day exploring the amazing food and wine that this region has to offer, but they want to do so safely and responsibly. We know the current metropolitan boundary for point-to-point services has remained largely unchanged since it was set almost 30 years ago, which can result in a lack of services at times, particularly during busy periods like tourism events and festivals and during summer holidays when you want to go to the Adelaide Hills.

These changes will mean that metropolitan-based point-to-point operators will now be able to choose to be able to provide services to the outer urban and regional customers with this expanded boundary. In other words, people in the Adelaide Hills will get the same service as people in the city, and so they should. This will mean that locals and tourists will be able to enjoy a glass of vino or two if they go to Paracombe or graze away on a long lunch at Woodside, explore the shops and the atmosphere of Hahndorf and then comfortably travel back to Adelaide. The choice is now theirs, thanks to the increased access to transport options the Marshall Liberal government's changes will provide.

I had a chance to speak to some small businesses and tourist operators in the Adelaide Hills who will benefit from this metropolitan boundary change. One of the business operators I spoke with was Milly from Inglewood Inn—and what a wonderful establishment it is too. Her business currently lies only a couple of kilometres outside the existing boundary, and she has plenty of frustrations with that.

After the member for Newland reached out, and with his assistance as well, these transport options will become available. It will help promote her business and it will help create more jobs for South Australians, which is so very important. I know the people of the broader Adelaide Hills community and Mount Barker council are looking forward to us delivering, again for the people of South Australia, better services.