MANNUM FERRY

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services a question regarding the Mannum ferry and emergency services vehicles.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: The opposition has been advised that the government has calculated a figure of $500,000 to make the necessary modifications to the upstream ferry at Mannum to facilitate its prompt return to service, a figure that we believe the government is balking at. I am also informed that the local council believes that the ferry can be brought back into service for $200,000. With the current low river level this must be the optimum time for any modifications to be made. My questions to the minister are:

1. Will the government undertake to immediately make modifications to the upstream ferry at Mannum to facilitate its prompt return to service?

2. Given the impact that this ferry's inoperability has on emergency services vehicles, what risk is the community currently suffering that they should not be?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for his question. In relation to the Mannum ferry, clearly this is an issue for my colleague in the other place the Minister for Transport (Hon. Patrick Conlon). So, I will refer that particular aspect of the question to him and bring back a response.

In relation to emergency services, clearly this is something that is part of my jurisdiction. Whenever we have any issue with transport, as part of any smart contingency plan, the CFS always looks at alternatives. Whilst I do not have that plan before me here today, clearly there would be one to ensure that our community is always kept safe and not exposed to any extra risk.

I am quite happy, as I said, to say that there would be a contingency plan in place, as indeed there was, I think, when somebody else asked a question about the Port River at the time. It is part of our normal routine planning that there are contingency plans in place should anything ever go wrong, or if there should there be some sort of transport that we cannot use there would always be an alternative.