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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-03-06 Daily Xml
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TRAMLINE

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Transport. Has the minister received advice from TransAdelaide and Coleman Rail Contractors that unless the tram track between South Terrace and Brighton Road is urgently re-tamped there is a significant risk of a tram derailing due to track instability?

The opposition has been told that the minister is ignoring advice from both TransAdelaide and Colemans that unless the tram track is urgently re-tamped there is a significant risk of trams that are travelling at speed developing a rocky motion due to track movement. This rocking motion may cause a tram to derail, possibly toppling over and resulting in severe injury to passengers and staff.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Energy) (14:56): Yesterday it was that I had misled the parliament, breached the ministerial code of conduct—have you noticed they have not been back on that today?

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: No, they have not been back on that.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: They have not been back on that today, because members opposite knew that was wrong.

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The Leader of the Opposition says wait until April, he will get me then. Maybe we should have a little bet, because he has got a heart like a lentil. He said that I should go because his allegation was that the actual report was not the same as the report that I tabled here—a very serious matter. Here is a bet: I will resign if that is the case, if he will resign if his allegation is wrong. How are you feeling there? Come on. I suspect he will not be back in April. Maybe we can give it to an independent third party to look at. I am assuming Randall Barry would give advice on it.

Mr Hamilton-Smith: You are an idiot.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Oh, I am an idiot, and you have got a heart like a split pea. No wonder you attack when the enemy is safely out of sight.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr McFETRIDGE: I rise on a point of order—relevance.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I agree, sir, he has no relevance. That will become apparent to people over time. The suggestion is that I have been told that a tram is going to topple over and I am ignoring it, because of course I like tram derailments, they are such fun! It is just great. I just love it when you are watching the Melbourne Cup and somebody rings and says, 'A tram has derailed.' it is the best part of the race by a long way. So, yes, that would make a lot of sense, would it not?

I have no idea what the member for Morphett is talking about. I will check, but he has got me on one thing: I am not sure what 'tamping' is. I know that there was a boat called the Tampa. I will check that advice on this matter, but I assure the member for Morphett that, if somebody comes to me and says, 'If you ignore this the tram is going to rock backwards and forwards until it falls off the rails,' I probably would not ignore that. I do not have an exact memory but I am prepared to say that I probably would not ignore that. Knowing how I have behaved in the past, I would probably say something like, 'Oh,' and go and tamp it myself.

The Hon. K.O. Foley: Once you worked out what it was.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Once I worked out what that was. So—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Bye, Marty. Charge! I will check what the member for Morphett has said, but I can assure him that if somebody said, 'You can't do that or the tram will fall off,' I do not want a tram them to fall off again, and I would do something about it.

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