House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Hahndorf Bypass Hahndorf Bypass Mr TEAGUE House of Assembly Heysen Hahndorf Bypass Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (14:41): My question is for the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Has the government undertaken any environmental impact assessment work in relation to roadworks near Onkaparinga River and, if so, what? The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining Hahndorf Bypass The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:41): Not that I am aware of, but any maintenance work that we do on that road will go through the appropriate planning approvals. We are not attempting to shortcut anything, but if the member has any opinions or advice about River Road I would like to know what it is. He has not spoken to me about it. I have not heard from the member for Heysen at all. I understand he is now at the point where he would rather have the trucks stay on the main street of Hahndorf rather than divert them to River Road. Members interjecting: The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: True? So the member for Heysen, to his credit, is at least, unlike other members, honest enough to say he wants the trucks to stay on the main street of Hahndorf; he wants to keep them there. We do not because— Members interjecting: The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Perhaps he should have spoken to the former Minister for Transport, the Hon. Corey Wingard, when he was in office. I quote the former Minister for Transport, who didn't have to resign in disgrace; he stayed right to the end. On ABC radio on 29 April 2021, he said: A full interchange at River Road, a half interchange at River Road in one of the options and a full interchange at Verdun so there's three options that the community will be able to look over and see which one they think will work best for them. That there says first and foremost that members opposite were planning a full interchange at Verdun. Mount Barker was always included as part of the original Hahndorf project, so members opposite were trying to spend the same money twice. Members in the Adelaide Hills are getting a bit sick and tired of members opposite turning up and saying, 'Vote for us—GlobeLink: we will move a freight line and build an airport at Murray Bridge,' and now they are trying to sell that they were going to build on interchange at Hahndorf. Well, why didn't they announce it? Why didn't they announce their plan? Members interjecting: The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Here we go. I know that the final plans were finalised well before the state election. Why weren't they announced? Do you know why they weren't announced? They weren't announced because they knew that whatever option they chose there would be disquiet. We have made a decision. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Chaffey, order! Member for Florey! The member for Heysen on a point of order. Mr TEAGUE House of Assembly Heysen Mr TEAGUE: A point of order, sir: standing order 98. It is a pretty specific question. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Minister, I bring you to the question. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Thank you, sir. What I can confirm is that any works to be done on the road will require the appropriate native veg assessments and approval. We will undertake, of course, all of our— Members interjecting: The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Members opposite are talking about the river. We are not planning a full bypass like members opposite were planning. This is part of the myth-making of members opposite— 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: —who were planning a full bypass of River Road, were planning to acquire 70 properties, and were planning to spend over $100 million. I have to say, if we wanted a full bypass at River Road we would do it. We are not, we are not planning a full bypass on River Road. What we are doing is banning trucks on the main street of Hahndorf, when members opposite are trying to tell members of the community that we are planning to introduce— 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: —their bypass plan by stealth. We are not, sir. I rule it out completely. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!