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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-08 Daily Xml
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KANGAROO ISLAND, INFRASTRUCTURE

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (17:00): Last week, the Kangaroo Island Council sent out a cry for help—an absolute plea for assistance—which was, to a large extent, as a result of years of frustration over its incapacity to service its area with the funds available to the extent it should be furnished. The council commissioned a report by Access Economics into the possibility of a traveller's levy/tax for Kangaroo Island. This received some coverage in the media, and I have been listening with interest to the public debate that has taken place since the announcement, and I will follow with interest the public debate over the next few weeks.

As I said, this was a plea for help. Over 40 per cent of Kangaroo Island's ratepayers do not live on the island. Kangaroo Island has a resident population of 4,500 and a limited rate base. Of course, over the past 12 months or so, the council has been trying to accommodate about 185,000 visitors with limited resources and a lack of both state and federal government funding to assist it.

It is simply not feasible for this council to look after its 1,300-odd kilometres of road. Given that under 200 are state arterial roads and looked after by the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, it is impossible for the council to look after those other roads, many of which are over 50 years old and, in some cases, much older than 50 years. The gravel roads (ironstone gravel and some limestone) are deteriorating rapidly, particularly the ironstone roads.

This all goes back many years and the history of it is long and arduous. When the Brown government came to power in the early 1990s, premier Brown put in place the Premier's Infrastructure Fund which sealed the South Coast Road, the West End Highway, and put in a desalination plant at Penneshaw (the first one in the state) and did things at the hospital and so on. Unfortunately, the Rann government on coming to office failed to top up this fund and, accordingly, little or no money has been spent since. Therefore, things have only deteriorated further.

In addition to that, the sea passage between the island and the mainland from any two points still has not been declared an extension of the national highway which also adds to the cost of doing business on the island, and it is just getting more difficult. I am concerned where this may lead. We are yet to see anything come from the government on where it may or may not go, bearing in mind that it would require special legislation. I am not sure where the government is up to with that and, quite frankly, until such time as something comes before the house, it will be difficult for this side of the house to formulate an opinion on it.

The reality is that—and the Mayor of Kangaroo Island Council, Jayne Bates, made some comments during the course of her media interviews on this—it may be necessary for the council to start shutting down roads, which will be a dreadful thing for both residents and visitors alike. It urgently needs a reintroduction of a major fund to fund this infrastructure. Roads such as the North Coast Road in its entirety—and I point out that I have a property along there and therefore a conflict of interest, I guess—also the Cape Willoughby Road along the Dudley Peninsula are two major tourist roads that are inhibiting the safe passage of both residents and visitors. It is also inhibiting the potential for small businesses to start up and put in place better and more regular facilities for food, wine, dining and accommodation.

I say to the house that they are facing a very difficult time on Kangaroo Island. We still have, as I have mentioned before in this place, these layers of bureaucracy with numbers of CEOs and all these other things that go with it. My view is that this still has not been rectified. We need to revisit that, but first and foremost the government has to have a very serious look at where the council is at financially.

Time expired.

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