Keolis Downer

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (14:57): My question again is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can the minister confirm to the house that passengers will experience no changes to services during the transition back into government control? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: On 2 April 2023, The Advertiser quoted the minister as stating that 'passengers would experience no changes during the transition of operations'.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:57): I got that wrong. There will be changes: it will be a better service. Do you know why? It will be public—a public service for the public. What will be better about it? It will have complete control of our passenger transport fleet on rail. That means we can integrate it. I can have better conversations with the Minister for Education about when exactly schoolchildren need to use our rail service, I can have better conversations with the tourism minister about events and I can have better conversations with the police minister about how we conduct public safety on our rail and tram events. The state can coordinate this.

One of the most important aspects of our economy is moving labour to where they need to work, and the public transport system is essential. The more control state governments have over that the better the results, not only for our people but for our economy. One example of that is a policy we took to the last election about giving people free public transport if they are on the Seniors Card.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: This has gone down under you.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No, they have not gone down.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No, my young friend again misunderstands the nature of his objections—

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —and his complaints about public services. What he has consistently said—and I will help him here—is that we have not yet rebounded to pre-COVID numbers. That is true, but we have increased each and every year from COVID. So he has to get his arguments right. We're going up, not going down. We're going up. We still haven't reached where we were. The decline, just for the benefit of members opposite, was when there was a certain other government in charge, when we saw a dramatic decrease in public transport patronage. What we have seen are increases, but we have not, unfortunately, reached those pre-COVID numbers.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hartley!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I tell my friend: I look forward to our trams and trains being back in public hands. I look forward to our train drivers proudly wearing the piping shrike again. I look forward to the train drivers and tram drivers once again being public servants. I look forward to the public again getting the full access of a public service run in the public interest for the public good and all the profits of that service going back into public hands for the public good, as opposed to what members did when they privatised this service for the benefit of foreign shareholders.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Hartley.