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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-12 Daily Xml
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ROAD TOLL

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:25): The most recent statistics available on the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure website show that 13 people were killed in September, making it the deadliest month of the year. It is strange that most of the speeches today have been all on the same issues, that is, roads and road fatalities. So, it must be a serious issue, as it is in this case.

As at 30 September, the road toll was 73, with 43 lives being lost on country roads. Three fatalities occurred on the Dukes Highway in September. Last year, the late Allan Scott called for a major overhaul of the highway to reduce carnage, and the RAA joined him in calling for the highway to be duplicated from Tailem Bend to the Victorian border, which is something I have been calling for for many years. The RAA has predicted that road freight along the Dukes Highway will double by 2020.

The condition of Outback roads also needs to be vastly improved to prevent lives being lost and injuries from occurring. A former worker, a grader driver for the department of transport, said in a radio interview with the ABC:

There were two gangs and there were only four of us in the two gangs and we had to do the road from Coober Pedy to William Creek and up to Oodnadatta, and from Mount Dare and across to Marla and Mintabie and all the station roads as well [in between].

When asked what he thought was the main problem with how the department had gone about fixing the Outback roads, he said:

They took one of the gangs away and there was nothing—no maintenance, no resheeting or reconstruction of roads in that area after that—and that is some time ago now.

According to one local, five rollovers occurred in the Oodnadatta area during a three-week period in September, which he believes was the result of the rough conditions on the roads. The member for Giles recently acknowledged, when referring to the roads up north, that 'some of them are very bad'.

The RAA has said that there is a $200 million backlog of critical road maintenance work that needs to be carried out. This has increased from $160 million in 2001. The RAA rated the worst performing or the roughest roads to be the Mallee Highway, the Stuart Highway and the Barrier Highway. South Australia's roads are measured as having the worst surface conditions of all mainland states.

The Committee for Adelaide Roads, in its response to this year's state government budget, stated:

Our road assets are going to continue to deteriorate and the community is paying the price through wear and tear on vehicles, reduced travel speeds and increased safety risks.

This year's state budget will see South Australia invest around $2.1 billion in infrastructure in the coming year. This compares with Queensland spending $17 billion. No wonder our assets are falling behind and falling into disrepair.

The Adelaide to Clare road is in an extremely bad condition, and the road from Balaclava to Tarlee needs to be sealed. I travel the Clare road regularly, and I am amazed that more people are not killed on that road. The bends are way under standard now, and it is becoming the highest priority. I see some pretty dangerous driving practices. People cannot pass other vehicles because the roads are so bendy and risks are taken. I am amazed that there are not more fatalities on that road, particularly from Tarlee to Clare, more particularly Auburn to Clare. It is disgraceful, and it ought to have been dealt with many years ago.

I appreciate the work done by councils, especially in the Mid North. Wakefield Plains has sealed the Nantawarra to Whitwater Road, completing a very valuable new road corridor. The state Rann Labor government must invest more money into our road infrastructure to save lives.

Also, in the Port Pirie Regional Council area, the Redhill to Koolunga run, and, in the Wakefield Plains area, the Brinkworth to Koolunga road, are now sealed. This is really appreciated by country communities, but I think it is high time the government did its bit and joined them. Also, in the Port Pirie area, Redhill to Crystal Brook, an alternative route, is currently being constructed, and the locals certainly appreciate that.

I commend the work undertaken by all the other councils for upgrading and carrying out ongoing maintenance work on their roads. I urge the state government, with or without federal government funding, to go out there and address the needs. I particularly highlight today that the Clare road, which is a valuable tourism road, is highly dangerous. Before there are any more fatalities on these roads, the government has to address at least putting in some passing lanes on that dangerous and busy road—two would be very handy between Auburn and Clare. I hope the government will address these problems on these roads.

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