Hahndorf Bypass

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:

That the Environment, Resources and Development Committee inquire into and report on the diversion of heavy vehicles along River Road and Strathalbyn Road, with particular reference to:

1. The consultation and decision-making processes that led to the decision to divert traffic along River Road and Strathalbyn Road;

2. The impacts of the diversion on local amenity, community safety and the environment;

3. The impacts of the diversion on traffic in Hahndorf, Mount Barker and other Adelaide Hills communities;

4. Alternative solutions for freight transport through the Adelaide Hills;

5. Any other relevant matters.

(Continued from 12 November 2025.)

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (12:20): The decision taken by the Labor government to restrict trucks over 15 metres in length from the Hahndorf main street was announced in August 2023. Residents and businesses have consistently said over many years that they wanted fewer heavy vehicles on the Hahndorf main street. It is important to them for amenity, for safety and to protect the town's unique heritage, and it took a Labor government to step in and get it done.

Significant investment is already being delivered to support infrastructure and freight transport throughout the Adelaide Hills, including upgrades to the Adelaide Road roundabout, the Mount Barker interchange and the Verdun interchange; other South Eastern Freeway upgrades; and a broader Adelaide Hills productivity and road safety package.

In 2024, the federal and South Australian governments jointly committed $150 million towards Mount Barker and Verdun interchange upgrades in the 2024-25 respective budgets. Modelling previously undertaken for the Verdun and Mount Barker interchange solutions suggests that these interchange upgrades would remove a further 990 cars and trucks each day from the main street.

The state government is spending about $40 million to upgrade the Mount Barker roundabout at the intersection of Adelaide Road, Alexandrina Road, Wellington Road and Flaxley Road. The upgrade includes dual-lane approaches on all roads and a new dedicated right-turn access into Mount Barker High.

We have also committed $19 million on upgrades to public transport in the Adelaide Hills, providing 590 more trips each week in total, a 42 per cent increase in trips between the city and the Hills. This commitment also includes a new Go Zone from Mount Barker, express buses running via the freeway at least every 15 minutes from 7am to 7pm on weekdays, buses every six minutes in peak periods and half hourly at night and on weekends, and 15 new hybrid diesel buses.

The government has continued to listen to residents in this area. Minister Bourke met with councillor Anne Fordham on River Road on Monday 17 November, and a further meeting with a wider representation is locked in for early December. I would like to thank the member for bringing this motion to the chamber. However, in regard to the amendment that has been proposed, I do need to inform the chamber that the government will not support the amendment.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (12:23): I rise today to speak in support of this motion moved by the Hon. Robert Simms. The Liberal opposition have been long-time supporters of the need for well-thought-out and well-planned traffic management solutions throughout the Adelaide Hills. A full bypass project was planned for Hahndorf under the former Liberal Marshall government, which committed funds to the project and secured funds also from the federal government. This plan was later scrapped under the Malinauskas government.

What is worse is that the former Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon. Tom Koutsantonis, then determined by regulation that from 30 October 2023 non-local semitrailers and pig and dog trailers over 15 metres in length would be banned from the Hahndorf main street and redirected down River and Strathalbyn roads. Residents of River and Strathalbyn roads have borne the brunt of the diversion, with large trucks using the rural but residential road as what locals would determine a rat race.

The petition that has prompted this motion before us today was organised by local River Road residents, with the assistance of the member for Heysen, Josh Teague MP, and has now received over 10,000 signatures calling for action to resolve the dangers created by diversions of heavy trucks onto River Road and Strathalbyn Road.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport says that the $250 million upgrades to the Mount Barker and Verdun interchanges, funded 80:20 by the Australian and state governments, will complement the current truck diversions in helping to ease traffic congestion through Hahndorf and other towns, although this seems not to be the case. The Adelaide Hills need further road investment. The residents who live on River and Strathalbyn roads deserve to feel and be safe, hence why they have been able to collect a significant number of signatures: 10,000.

An elected Liberal government will commit to delivering two significant transport infrastructure investments for the Adelaide Hills, easing congestion, improving safety and providing a much-needed public transport boost. These projects include a fully funded park-and-ride and transport hub at Verdun as well as delivering a stage of the South Eastern Freeway upgrades, adding a third lane on the city-bound track between Hahndorf and Bridgewater, some 2.4 kilometres, which at a kilometre per lane cost would be about $15 million—not that I am going to ask questions of the Hon. Emily Bourke right now, but I would be interested to see what her advice is on the per lane kilometre for adding additional lanes to freeways.

I also move an amendment to this motion, which I understand the Hon. Rob Simms does support. I move:

Insert 'be tabled' and 'by 30 June 2026' as indicated below:

That the Environment, Resources and Development Committee inquire into and report be tabled by 30 June 2026, on the diversion of heavy vehicles along River Road and Strathalbyn Road, with particular reference to:

Then the motion will continue. With that, we commend the motion.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (12:26): I thank members for their support of this motion. As I indicated previously, this is a significant issue for the community in the Adelaide Hills and in particular the community in Heysen. I want to acknowledge the work of community campaigner Anne Fordham in particular, who has been working very hard. She gathered 10,000 signatures in relation to this.

I also want to acknowledge the work of the Greens candidate for Heysen, Genevieve Dawson-Scott, who has really been championing this issue. She raised it with me on multiple occasions and pushed to make this a focus for the parliament. Should the upper house back this referral to the Environment, Resources and Development Committee, I think that will really be testament to the advocacy skills of Genevieve, because she has been pushing this hard. I thank her for that.

This is an opportunity to really examine what has gone on here and to look at what alternatives there are, because it is clear that this approach is causing some really terrible outcomes for people who live along that road and also some terrible outcomes for our environment as well and impact on the local habitat. I thank members for their support for this referral.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.