STURT HIGHWAY

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Road Safety a question about road safety on the Sturt Highway.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: The Yamba fruit fly road block was established east of Renmark over 50 years ago for the purpose of inspecting fruit for the Mediterranean fruit fly from Queensland and northern New South Wales. It has now evolved into not only a fruit fly inspection point but also a place for drug and alcohol inspection, and RBT units are placed there at certain times of the year.

The Sturt Highway traffic has grown, and the weight of vehicles has increased, while the levels of grape and wine cartage have also significantly grown over the past five years. For some years, a weighbridge has been proposed to be erected adjacent to the Yamba road block. The need for a weighbridge in that locality is overdue, as the Merbein turnoff in Victoria is the last weighbridge between New South Wales and Adelaide on the southern side of the highway. So, a large gap is there to be filled.

The weighbridges at Spring Cart Gully and Blanchetown are on the opposite side of the highway; in other words, they deal with traffic heading out of the state. As a result, very few trucks heading into Adelaide are pulled over and inspected for weight provisions. There is significant concern in the Riverland, and other communities through which the Sturt Highway traverses, that the lack of an inspection weighbridge on the southern side of the highway is allowing a significant potential threat to local road safety to develop.

My understanding is that Primary Industries and Resources SA, SAPOL and the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure have worked together over a period of several years to facilitate the construction of the weighbridge. However, the funding needed to build the weighbridge has not been forthcoming in several budget periods. My questions to the minister are:

1. What action will she take to ensure that community road safety concerns about overloading are addressed by the construction of the weighbridge at Yamba?

2. Will construction commence this financial year?

3. Will she indicate what sort of protection from the elements will be provided to the staff manning the weighbridge?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his question in relation to the construction of a weighbridge on the Sturt Highway. The responsibility for heavy vehicle maintenance and inspection is that of my colleague the Hon. Patrick Conlon in the other place; but, clearly, we do work very closely together in relation to transport and road safety issues. I will undertake to raise the issue with him and bring back a response for the honourable member.