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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-14 Daily Xml
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TRAMS

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Transport. Which trams have been hired to help alleviate the 'tram cram', and when will they arrive? The opposition has been advised that the government is intending to hire 20 year old trams from Budapest, a claim that the government has not denied.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Energy) (15:05): You have to be very careful with the member for Morphett because he often gets things wrong. He is one of the senior drips of Mr Drip! We are in a process of examining some options for trams at the moment in negotiation with some people—

Mr Williams: In Budapest?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I do not think so. I think we are looking at some other options. Can I say that you must always be very careful with the member for Morphett and the information he provides. I noted that, just two weeks ago in his Address in Reply, he told the house there was a solar generator in the APY lands which was rated at 300 megawatts but which was dispatching only 200 megawatts.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order.

Ms CHAPMAN: My point of order is that the question was about the purchase of trams, nothing to do with generators in the APY lands or previous speeches—absolutely nothing to do with it.

The SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. The Minister for Transport.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I make the analogy, sir, that you must be very careful about some of the information provided, because, can I say, if there is a 300-megawatt generator in the APY lands someone must have a big, secret aluminium smelter.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms CHAPMAN: Mr Speaker, you made a very clear ruling.

The SPEAKER: Order! The deputy leader will take her seat. The Minister for Transport must answer the question.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I simply make the point that the member for Morphett is often a little careless about facts. I would ask him simply—

Dr McFetridge: It was a solar farm we were talking about, anyway, Pat.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: It was a solar farm, that is right; and can I assure you, since you have given me the interjection, that 300 megs is enough to run a giant aluminium smelter, not a handful of homes. It would be a solar farm that you could see from the moon! I mean, you have got to be a little more careful. There is a difference between a megawatt and a kilowatt—a very substantial difference. Can I say, please, to the member for Morphett, let us wait and see. We are going through a process. I am sure of two things: first, that we will get a very satisfactory outcome as far as we are concerned; and, secondly, no matter what it is, it will be wrong, according to the member for Morphett.

It will probably cause Legionnaires disease. That was one of his previous claims. We will poison people with carbon. They are too thin, our trams. The trams we bought are too thin. I am advised that 2.4 metres—which is what at least 80 per cent of the world's trams are—is apparently too thin for Adelaide. Can I say, wait for the end of the process. I am very confident that we will get a good outcome, but, please do not make up stories in the meantime.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Sorry? Adelaide is different from the rest of the world, is that your—

Mr Williams: We have a big, wide corridor.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: We have a big, wide corridor.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: He's good. The member for failed independence—what is his seat?

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: MacKillop.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The member for MacKillop—who is very happy to be a failure and we are very happy to keep him happy; we will keep him happy for a very long time—has said, basically, that we should not have bought the trams. If we had not bought those, of course, we would still be running the H class. Do not forget that it was us who bought new rolling stock. It was a previous Labor government that bought new rolling stock. The last new rolling stock before Trish White bought these trams were bought by the previous Labor government. It is only Labor that renews infrastructure. If they had their way they would still be riding in the H-class trams. They have absolutely no credibility. Labor is rebuilding the infrastructure of this state in trying circumstances.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I do not know whether people know this, but there were originally two cities, Buda and Pest, on each side of the river. I will check, but I am pretty sure that we are not getting 20 year old trams from Budapest. Just wait and we will see.

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