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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-01 Daily Xml
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DROUGHT

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (17:10): Unfortunately, the drought is showing no sign of breaking, apart from a low which is currently heading towards South Australia. It is expected that there will be no improvement in our weather pattern forecast for the next five years. If this is the case, it is clear that the people of South Australia need a government that will act in order to enable communities to survive the drought with as little disruption as possible.

The people of Mannum and other riverside communities are absolutely disgusted that they continue to struggle with weight restrictions being imposed on some ferries. One of the upstream ferries at Mannum remains suspended indefinitely due to the length of the ramp. We all wish the drought would break—it would be an absolutely enormous relief for many—but, regrettably, it does not appear to be showing signs of breaking soon. The government must upgrade the ferries now so that they can cope with the current situation and be prepared for the future.

According to the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, the reason that the government refuses to undertake upgrading of the Mannum ferry ramp in order to make it operational is that 'lengthening concrete ramps would require extensive design work, dredging of the river as well as applications for environmental and Aboriginal clearances. It would be a major project that may take up to six months to complete.' I disagree with that. I cannot believe a small job such as that would involve so much work.

If the government had started planning in November last year when the upstream ferry service at Mannum began experiencing rolling closures prior to its indefinite suspension in December, then the upgrading project would have been completed by now and the ferry would be operational. But that did not happen. Four months after the ferry service was closed, traders have reported losses of 15 per cent to businesses. Rumours suggest that the Rann government does not want to spend an estimated $500,000 to fix the ramps. I have to ask: if this is the truth, how can the government justify such wastage in its public relations outfits? It cannot seem to find the money to help thousands of people gain essential access across the river.

The closure of the Mannum upstream ferry service is not the only problem being experienced by riverside towns in relation to the ferries. The weight restrictions which have been imposed are also causing problems. Recently, I spoke with a person who owns a transport company in the Riverland. He has experienced sharp increases in his running costs due to the load limit imposed last week on the Swan Reach ferry. Due to the weight restriction, he has to go all the way to Murray Bridge to cross the river, resulting in huge inconvenience to his business and increased costs which he must pass onto his customers.

His case is not isolated. Many freight companies, particularly those coming from the Mallee region, rely on the major transport routes. The weight restriction imposed on the Swan Reach ferry means that one of the major routes is unavailable. Surely the government sees this situation as totally unacceptable.

As a result of the information provided about load limits on the Department of Transport's website, some curious questions arise. The website states:

Options to keep unrestricted vehicle access to ferries are being investigated. At Tailem Bend, Purnong, Walker Flat and Swan Reach modified landings have already been installed...It is planned that modified landings will be installed at Mannum downstream services, as well as Swan Reach and Walker Flat.

That blatantly contradicts the department's earlier statement. I wonder what the truth is? I have drafted a question to the minister about this matter and I hope to get the chance ask it in the house this week in order to clarify the situation. I have to say that, if the government does not have any plans to modify the landings so that the weight restrictions can be lifted, then it should. Only two ferries below Lock 1 are operating unrestricted—the downstream ferry at Mannum and the Wellington ferry. Just two of the seven ferries are operating, not counting the upstream service at Mannum which is out of action indefinitely.

People who live in these riverside towns need to be able to cross the Murray unrestricted at any time for emergency reasons, for business, to get their children to school and to go about their daily lives as they always have. Premier Rann must stop thinking that South Australia stops at Gepps Cross and stop referring to securing Adelaide's water supply. There is much more to this state. People living in the regions and rural areas deserve the same amount of attention as those residing in the inner city. They deserve to have their ferries operational and available for unrestricted use. It is commonsense. The government's inaction on this issue is unbelievable.

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