Grievance Debate

Hahndorf Bypass

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:02): Today is a signal day for the community of Hahndorf and the areas surrounding it in the Hills. When I say 'those areas surrounding it', we extend significantly to the south and in all directions around the community. Not only that, there are also so many who visit Hahndorf every day. Hahndorf is among the most popular attractions in our state.

It is for that reason that I am so proud to stand here today, as the representative of that community, having seen tabled in this house the expression of the will of more than 2,600 of those residents—2,636 loud, strong and emphatic voices calling on this government to deliver a proper bypass for Hahndorf. It has been decades in the argument, it has been a long time coming, and it is high time it was delivered fully and properly.

One might say that standing here at this time in 2023 would be the occasion to celebrate the achievement, because this time last year $200 million of federal money and $50 million of state money was committed to the delivery of a proper, thoroughgoing bypass for Hahndorf. So it was that my electors, and those in the broader community around Hahndorf, let alone the rest of the state, were so terribly disappointed by the minister's announcement late last year that, 'Oh no, it's actually all a bit too hard. So what we are going to do is we will deliver one component, one end of it, and we will do a couple of the extra bits,' but when it comes to delivering the solution that is required, a responsibility of government to see through, the minister has decided that it is all too hard and 'By the way, we might pocket a bit of the extra proceeds because we are not delivering the outcome in full.'

I am particularly proud to be standing here in the context of the petition having been tabled, because the Hahndorf Community Association has played a leading role in this work and its Chair, Greg Lomax, and his wife, Monique, are present in the chamber to make good that delivery. So it is not just me here speaking up for the electors of Hahndorf. I thank so much all of those, in particular Greg, who have come together with commitment and sincerity and dedication to see this through.

Greg and the Hahndorf Community Association have participated in briefing and in advocacy over the period since that very disappointing announcement, so I am going to call it an opportunity for a reset. This is a very loud, clear signal to the government that it has just got this wrong. Government is hard, and you do not always get things right the first time you announce them, and so I want to work with the minister to bring the appropriate light to the error that he has made, and the government has made, in what has been announced so far, and I call on all members here, on both sides, to bring the minister along to what is so necessary.

We know that approximately 11,000 vehicles use the main street of Hahndorf, including—and this is where the real problem lies—500 heavy vehicles. As anyone who has gone through Hahndorf on a weekend, let alone a regular day, can attest, as soon as you get a bus and a truck and perhaps a vehicle towing a caravan, let alone an emergency services vehicle, trying to traverse that main street, then the whole show slows down and a two-minute trip from one end of Main Street to the other becomes up to a half hour crawl along that main street.

There is a bit of passion and emphasis in my voice here. I am urged on by those many petitioners, and I expect there will be more over the journey to come. I want to particularly recognise that the Mount Barker council is sincere and engaged in this process, and I pay tribute to the new mayor and the longstanding CE, who are engaged in this process. I also want to thank my federal colleagues, including in particular Senator Kerrynne Liddle, who has kept up the advocacy on the federal side to make sure that that federal money is there so that this important work can be delivered. We must ensure that there is a proper bypass for Hahndorf.