Tramline Extension

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:59): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport on the topic of tram extensions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: In 2018, when Labor was last in government, they announced a plan to extend the tram to Norwood and to North Adelaide's O'Connell Street. That plan was abandoned by the Marshall government and, under this term of government, Labor have not put forward any plans to extend the tram network. Late last month, the Greens announced a plan to get the trams back on track: a fully costed plan to extend the tram network to North Adelaide and to Norwood. My question to the minister, therefore, is:

1. Will the Labor government support extending the trams to Norwood and North Adelaide or will we see more of the same from the Labor government under her ministership?

2. Will we finally see public transport getting some attention and love from the Malinauskas government?

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: We will see public transport in public hands; that's a big difference.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Autism) (15:01): The honourable member, you took my opening line.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, do you want to answer the question, because you seem to have a lot to say?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I will defer to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport on this occasion.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: Growing the track record of public transport that this government has been able to achieve is a really proud thing to be a part of, because we have brought it back into public hands for our trams and trains. It's a significant outcome which enables us to have, I guess, an ability to invest back into it, and that is what we are doing with investments like the new tram separation to the Bay. That is a massive change—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: —a massive change—to be able to take out the boom gates and make sure that we can have not only a safer journey for people and motorists but also a faster and more connected journey for our Bay residents and also people coming into the city and along that corridor. These are investments that we are able to make because we do believe in public transport. We will continue to look at the options that are available to us, because we know how important it is to invest in public transport.