House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Upper Yorke Road Upper Yorke Road Mr ELLIS House of Assembly Narungga Upper Yorke Road Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can the minister advise whether roadworks have started on the Arthurton to Kulpara road and how long he expects they will take? The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining Upper Yorke Road The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:46): It's an excellent question and I thank the member for his advocacy on behalf of regional communities. He is someone who cares passionately about his patch. He is constantly on the phone to me on weekends when he is driving along a road and says, 'Just went down this road, don't like the look of it,' and he will give me his views in an unfiltered way. I can let the member know that we released the program as part of the 2023-24 Australian government budget which was $168 million which is funded on a fifty-fifty basis with the state government over a two-year period. We got a 12-month extension to that program, which was provided in the 2024-25 Australian government budget, and the program is now expected to end mid-2026. The program includes upgrades to regional roads to a 3-star rating. What we are attempting to do is take roads that have a low road safety rating and lift them. On regional roads like the Arthurton to Kulpara road, what we would like to do is try to lift these roads up by giving them shoulder sealing, some road widening, audio tactile line marking, safety barriers and curve easing on appropriate parts. Work has started and is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of 2025 on the Upper Yorke Road, Bute to Port Broughton and Kulpara to Arthurton. So that is welcome news for the member's constituents. Again, I preface that answer with, of course, the impacts of weather. We are hearing there is going to be a lot of rain in spring and early summer, so late spring/early summer is going to be very, very wet for us. I am prefacing all of that in that vein. It is important to note the importance of lifting these roads up in their star ratings. This road particularly is a very, very bad road. I remember the former Minister for Regional Roads asking me to drive it about six months ago, I think. I drove on that road and, indeed, the member for Stuart was absolutely right; it was a road that needed to be fixed. He was a champion of getting money from this program towards that piece of road, along with the member for Narungga. Both of these members have advocated long and hard for regional roads and regional road funding. A lot of that advocacy was missing during the previous government. This Labor government, despite having a majority of members here in— Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: What was that? Have you been in office for 20 years? Well done. Congratulations. What a vote of confidence from Two-votes Texas. Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That's right: leak on your colleague, tear down your leader, but I'm playing the man. Right. Okay. Is that how it works? Well done, Texas. Thank you very much. Any more cues? No? Okay. These two members of parliament, along with the member for MacKillop— Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, can you stop with the interjections? I think the minister is doing a very good job dealing with you, but— Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: He is not going to respond if you don't interject, so either you stop interjecting or you can take a break for the rest of question time. The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I think the crossbench does an exceptional job on advocating. The point I was trying to make is that despite the majority of the members here, not all of them, but the majority—the member for Giles, the member for Kavel is in the ministry, obviously representing regional communities, and the member for Light as well—represent metropolitan Adelaide. Of course, to have regional members advocate takes— Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, you will leave the chamber until the end of question time. 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: Sir, reflecting on the personal appearance of any member is completely out of order, and I ask the member, before he leaves the chamber, to withdraw and apologise. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, you have been asked to withdraw and apologise. Mr WHETSTONE House of Assembly Chaffey Mr WHETSTONE: Sir, a point of clarification: I was complimenting the Minister for Housing on her new hairdo. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, withdraw and apologise, and then withdraw from the chamber. Mr WHETSTONE House of Assembly Chaffey Mr WHETSTONE: I will apologise, and I won't send any more compliments. The honourable member for Chaffey having withdrawn from the chamber: Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Members on my right! The member for Torrens has the call.