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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-18 Daily Xml
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:43): I want to put on the record my support for Mrs Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, the lady. Today's announcement by the Rann Labor government that her name will be removed from the government's new hospital project is no slur on her. I respect her greatly, and I am sorry that her name was used to try to promote a controversial Rann Labor government project. The people of South Australia want the RAH upgraded where it is, and this project is a dud.

I have spoken ad nauseam in this place about the lack of public transport available in the Barossa region, but today I want to focus on an aspect of the Barossa's transport that I have not previously raised in depth: the high cost that residents of the Barossa region incur to use the existing transport.

Currently, to catch the bus from Angaston via Lyndoch to Gawler costs $12.10 for a full fare and $6.05 for a concession fare. From Angaston via Lyndoch to Adelaide the cost is $19.80 for a full fare and $9.90 for a concession fare. People living in the Barossa have to pay, on average, an additional $4.60 per one-way trip to access government services or a Metro ticketing service. It is approximately $100 per week more for people in the Barossa to use so-called public transport than it is for those who reside in, say, Mount Barker.

The exorbitant cost of transport in the Barossa region causes a catch 22 situation with regard to proving patronage for public transport in the Barossa Valley. At the moment, the cost of public transport is prohibitive so not many people use the services making it nearly impossible to improve patronage. The region is, therefore, doubly disadvantaged with no government services, such as Services SA, etc., located in the region and the highest passenger transport cost in the state, due to the lack of underwritten transport services.

Surely the government must provide some sort of subsidy for the current bus services and implement a system such as a bus/train combo ticket to make commuting to the city or metropolitan areas more affordable. The bus services that exist in the Barossa are too expensive for many and this causes many people to be transport disadvantaged. There are those who cannot drive due to age, illness or because they do not own a car. How do they get around? The Barossa, as we know, has a high proportion of aged people. As Peter Goers puts it, it is one of God's waiting rooms, or more respectfully, a retirement community.

Thankfully, the Barossa has a fantastic community passenger network coordinated by Mrs Ellie Milne and run by a small army of volunteer drivers. The scheme provides over 14,000 passenger trips a year for transport-disadvantaged residents of the region. The service provision is currently funded by client contributions. Luckily, everyone in the Barossa is very community minded so client contributions make up about $78,000 per year.

During the past year the volunteer drivers donated 12,000 hours to the community and provided 14,164 passenger trips. The state government has stopped all additional funding for community passenger network services. It provides ongoing funding for the coordination of the scheme but no additional funding is provided. Unfortunately, the state Rann Labor government will not fund the Dial-a-Ride service, similar to that which exists in Gawler and Mount Barker. For example, in Mount Barker, a ride costs $2.50 but in the Barossa it is $5 concession or $10 full fare, as no state government support is provided to subsidise the cost.

The current growing demand for the Barossa regional community transport scheme reflects a real need and demand for a sustainable, affordable transport provision for the Barossa region. The Barossa region is a major contributor to both state and federal GDP with very little return by way of a service provision. The region is transport disadvantaged and, currently, there are no state government policies in place to try to address the situation. If it were not for the fantastic community passenger network scheme, many residents of the Barossa and surrounding regions would not be at to get around at all.

I think it is about time that the state Rann Labor government started contributing to transport in the Barossa, just as the dedicated volunteers who drive over 14,000 passengers a year do. As the member for Light would know (and he is in the chamber), if people can get to Gawler and get on the train they can get a Metro ticket—but how do they get there? It costs a lot more to get to Gawler than it does to get from Gawler to Adelaide. I do not know why it does not at least provide a bus to pick up the people at the Gawler station.

The Hon. R.J. McEwen: Why didn't you?

Mr VENNING: We had a train running, remember? Why do the railways not provide a bus to pick up people from the Gawler Railway Station and take them to a town in the Barossa and call it part of a Metro ticket? Why does it not do that? That would solve a lot of problems that we are going on about. These people do not have an option; it is expensive—and the member for Light will know fully what I am talking about. I hope that the Minister for Transport will pick this up, look at it and address it. There is a big demand for this. All I can do is congratulate all the volunteers and say thank you to them. They provide a fantastic service and we appreciate it.

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