Infrastructure Projects

Mr DIGHTON (Black) (15:08): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can the minister inform the house on the progress of the Malinauskas government's infrastructure build?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:08): It was three years ago today that the Malinauskas government was elected in a remarkable feat of defeating a one-term government. We progressed on a massive infrastructure spend, and that infrastructure spend has been daunting. Just in the last budget, over the next four years this government will spend $25.9 billion on infrastructure across South Australia, whether it is building new tech colleges, upgrading schools, building a new Women's and Children's Hospital or getting the tunnels in the north-south corridor right the first time rather than having to go backwards and forwards. So what we are seeing is a lot of infrastructure being spent, and it is difficult work but it is employing thousands and thousands of South Australians.

The member for Black would be very keen on one piece of infrastructure that is on track to be delivered by the end of the year, and that's the Majors Road on/off ramps.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is a key priority. This is a project that was, of course, championed by the former member for Black, and then abandoned and then argued against, but I think what we are seeing now is the community understanding the importance of the Majors Road upgrade. The duplication of Main South Road is an important piece of infrastructure that you fought very, very hard to get done, and get done properly—not with roundabouts, but with proper grade separations throughout the entire length all the way through to Aldinga. The Speaker fought hard for those and we are delivering that work.

But there's more to be done, and I want to thank the Department for Infrastructure and Transport for the work that they are doing. We just opened up the part of the Augusta Highway duplication to Lochiel. That was an exceptional piece of work initiated by the previous government, and it is a good piece of work. We want to see that work continue because the resilience in our regions and the resilience with our infrastructure helps our economy grow.

The important part about making sure that we get all this infrastructure right feels like the tram grade separations. We are not just doing the South Road grade separation: we are doing Marion and Cross, and of course we are doing Morphett Road as well, to try to decongest those left-hand turns on Anzac Highway and ease traffic congestion on Morphett Road in the morning—projects that were ignored by the previous government and were never even talked about under the previous government. But there were two projects that they did champion, that they worked very, very hard to get delivered, and they were the intersection upgrades on Fullarton and Cross road and Magill and Portrush road.

Congratulations to the member for Hartley who fought very hard to upgrade the Magill Road-Portrush Road intersection. Do you know why? Better freight efficiency to get more trucks along Portrush Road. That was in their business case to the commonwealth government. The other person who championed the upgrade of Fullarton and Cross roads was Nicolle Flint. She worked exceptionally hard, even to the point of razing the Waite Gatehouse. Remember they wanted to demolish that?—and why did they want to expand Fullarton and Cross? Better freight access: their secret plan to get more freight onto Cross Road.

In fact, we discovered that they had a plan to grade separate Unley, Belair and Cross roads and Goodwood and Cross roads, demolishing 190 homes and businesses along Cross Road to make Cross Road a freight corridor. We ruled that out. Across there is the guilty party.