Majors Road Upgrade

Mr SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:38): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier find it acceptable that the current design for the Southern Expressway on/off ramps at Majors Road run through Glenthorne National Park and will see the loss of potentially thousands of trees?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:38): I think Glenthorne Farm, the national park, also had a BMX track put on it by—

An honourable member: And a soccer pitch.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: And a soccer pitch.

Mr Speirs: Empty areas.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Empty areas. It is true to say that the design members opposite had endorsed at the last election did take out significant trees. I understand that there is significant work being undertaken by the department to minimise that and substantially cut back the loss of amenity. I will consult with the Leader of the Opposition about his love for the trees of Glenthorne Farm and that national park and show him what the previous government had planned to take out, despite his advocacy, his strong advocacy for that bypass, and make sure that we can minimise those impacts.

We want to make sure that the amenity of the area remains. Majors Road really is a tale of two types of use. Monday to Friday it's a very different type of use from the weekends. I think on weekends there are a lot more people using the areas in and around where the interchange is proposed. We have to make sure that we can interface that appropriately in making sure we are not taking out trees unnecessarily. When the opposition leader says 'thousands of trees', remember that some shrubs are classified as trees.

I will be making sure that we minimise the impact on the natural environment, making sure that we can maintain the Patrick Jonker Veloway, making sure that we can minimise the impact on what I think is a very good investment in soccer facilities and, of course, access to the BMX facility. But I do note that when the Leader of the Opposition and the federal Leader of the Opposition—now Premier and the current leader of the Labor Party, Mr Anthony Albanese—were there, we were in the local community before the announcement and after the announcement. I have to say it was an overwhelmingly well-received announcement.

Mr Speirs: You're talking to the sub-branch.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No, it wasn't the sub-branch. Again, the same reasons that the member for Black had endorsed this project are the reasons we are doing it: because it's the right thing to do. The capitulation is hard to understand. Potentially, he knew of leaks coming out, so he thought he would try to divert issues because the leaks were quite embarrassing. I am not sure who is trying to undermine his leadership so early and so quickly. Perhaps this is a way of trying to divert from that leak. Who else could be a young, ambitious shadow minister looking for a promotion?

Mr GARDNER: Point of order: standing order 98, sir.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, do you have anything else to add? No.