House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Majors Road Upgrade Majors Road Upgrade The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS House of Assembly Black Leader of the Opposition Majors Road Upgrade The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:27): My question is for the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water. Does the minister find it acceptable that the current design for the Southern Expressway on/off ramps at Majors Road cuts through Glenthorne National Park? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:28): I am a friend of the environment: I closed a coal-fired power station that members opposite wanted me to keep open. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The leader is called to order. The minister has the call. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It didn't seem to bother the Leader of the Opposition when he was advocating the on/off ramps at Majors Road. All of a sudden— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Perhaps, it was like a Saint Paul of Damascus moment when he is on the road and he sees probably Majors Road and says, 'Wow, what a great idea. Hang on, no, I can't get the funding out of Treasury— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The leader is called to order. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —therefore, I will change my mind.' The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta! The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: 'I can't get the money out of Treasury because, for whatever reason— The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is warned. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —the former Treasurer wouldn't support this election commitment.' The Hon. D.J. Speirs House of Assembly The Hon. D.J. Speirs: Because he wanted to protect the echidnas. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No-one said ever about Rob Lucas. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: We are very conscious of making sure that we have the lightest possible touch for this, but it is also important that we minimise emissions from vehicles and the Majors Road on/off ramp will minimise traffic travel and will stop the extended travel distance people in that cohort of suburbs have to travel to get into the city. It will actually shorten routes. I think members opposite are probably not really going to fight this battle that hard because, when this intersection is built and it is operational, given the results of the most recent election campaign federally and the polling booth results within the members of the opposition's own electorates, the endorsement of this project is pretty overwhelming. I suspect members of parliament who ignore their constituents' wishes do so at their peril.