SOUTH ROAD

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about planning for South Road.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Broadcast on the afternoon of Monday 22 November and also yesterday morning on ABC radio was information about an accident that occurred on South Road between Torrens Road and Port Road near Ridleyton. Many constituents mentioned that this section of South Road has Stobie poles that lean into the road, where signs tell trucks to travel on the inside lane to avoid collisions. The Executive Director of the Road Transport Association, Mr Steve Shearer, stated on ABC radio yesterday that 'it is a major freight route and it has been our number one priority for infrastructure improvements for the better part of the last decade'. Minister Conlon sent in a statement to the ABC on 22 November confirming that 'approximately 4,500 trucks use this particular section of South Road’. My questions to the minister are:

1. What recent consultations has the government had with the Road Transport Association regarding the problems?

2. Does the government believe it is an adequate and safe measure to use signage to warn the 4,500 truck drivers of hazardous sections of South Road?

3. In 2006 the government released a policy that announced $47 million to be spent to widen South Road between Port Road and Torrens Road. Can the minister outline whether the government still intends to implement that policy for that section of South Road?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:13): As the honourable member said in her question, South Road has been recognised as a major freight road for a decade. Of course, that encapsulates the time in which the Rann government has been in office.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The sorts of roads that members opposite like are one-way roads—

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The South Road that we had from members opposite was a one-lane road that went one way in morning and the other way in the afternoon.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Lee is one of the very well behaved members in this chamber, and she has the right to hear the minister's answer in silence.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: South Road is, of course, a major freight route for this state, and I know that my colleague the Minister for Transport is in regular contact with the major freight providers in relation to that road. This government intends to upgrade South Road, and it has been doing that progressively: we have the Gallipoli Underpass, there is planning for the Sturt Road intersection that the government recently released, and we are duplicating the Southern Expressway and building a proper overpass at the junction of that road.

Of course, with commonwealth support we are building the superway, which will be a very busy section for traffic in the future with the opening of the Northern Expressway. There will be lots of heavy traffic around the northern part of South Road, so that South Road Expressway is being built. There are still a number of other sections that need improvement and, of course, the section of road the honourable member refers to is one of the problem areas, but it is not the only part of South Road. The other piece of major infrastructure on South Road that I have not mentioned is the tram overpass.

During the term of this government, we have spent a lot of money on improving South Road, but there are still a number of other hiccups occurring on that road, not only the section of road the honourable member refers to. You could also look at the area around Castle Plaza through Edwardstown which is also a heavily constricted section of road. It is going to take a number of years. Even if one were to start tomorrow, as my colleague the Minister for Transport has pointed out, it will take a significant amount of time to actually do the physical work, because you have to keep the road operating at the same time. However, with the section of South Road in question, it is not as though those Stobie poles have got there recently. They have been there for as long as I can remember, probably going back to at least the 1960s.

An honourable member: It's always somebody else's fault.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Well, what about you? If it was such a big issue, what did you do during the eight years the Liberals were in government? Was it a priority for you? I can tell you those Stobie poles have not moved in that time: they have not shifted or bent a bit closer to the road. I think the honourable member is correct: yes, there is a hazard on that section of road, as there are hazards, unfortunately, on many other roads, but the rate at which we can improve them is somewhat limited.

I again make the point that this government has spent a lot of money on improving South Road. It will continue to spend significant amounts of money in the near future, and we will continue to upgrade it. Unfortunately, the practical reality is that we cannot do it all at once. If there are any other specifics to the question in relation to how often, or when the minister most recently met the freight providers, if the Minister for Transport has anything further to add, I will invite him to do so.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Finnigan.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: They ought to cut you down rather than the forest.

The PRESIDENT: Order!