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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-29 Daily Xml
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YAMBA

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:34): I rise to speak on quite an iconic institution in the north-east of the Riverland: Yamba. Many people here today would have heard me speak on several occasions about the quarantine station at Yamba. It is good to see that minister O'Brien is here, and I congratulate him for seeing the sense in continuing the 24/7 operation out at Yamba.

First, I would like to speak about Yamba in its entirety. Yamba is an iconic symbol of the gateway into South Australia, represented by the big tyre. As people come into South Australia from Victoria and New South Wales they go under that tyre. It really is a welcoming into the Riverland. It was erected many years ago by a local engineer, Neil Webber. It really did symbolise those people, to give them a bit of a feeling of coming into South Australia, coming into a fruit fly free region, but also coming into one of the nation's capital motorsport states.

Those of you who have come into South Australia through Yamba of late would have noticed that the new $6 million quarantine station is up and running. It is a great piece of infrastructure that is long overdue, considering that the permanent road block has been in place since 1957. This is the first real piece of redevelopment or upgrade that we have seen there. I consider that quarantine station as almost a safety lens on South Australia's food-growing region in the Riverland.

I visited the other day and met with the staff and with the Road Traffic Authority. The quarantine station is now complemented by a weighbridge, so that both cars and trucks are inspected for the carrying of fruit and vegetables, and diseased weeds, etc. The trucks also have to conform to the weight standards and obviously their logbooks are checked.

But in saying that, today I presented a petition of over 900 signatures directly to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, minister Conlon, with a real concern for what the upgrade at Yamba has presented to a very iconic business that complements the road block, and that is the Yamba roadhouse. The proprietor of the Yamba roadhouse, John Rowley, is very concerned that the beautification of the highway and the extra parking bays on the other side of the highway are hindering his business. Unfortunately they are having a detrimental effect because the beautification of the highway, the gardens and the kerbing hinder trucks from pulling in to the service station to refuel.

As many members would know, the pressure on heavy vehicle drivers is immense. If those drivers pull into Yamba they know that they have a good safe place to rest, and they have even better facilities with good showers and good food. The Yamba roadhouse is renowned for its famous roadkill burger, and those members who have tried a roadkill burger would know it is a sensational piece of cuisine. It is something that really has to be experienced to be appreciated.

I spoke to the truck drivers and to the people signing the petition when I visited about a week ago, and the truck drivers said that it is just too hard to get into the facility. Now they think, 'We'll just continue to drive on and find another truck stop.' It is having a significant impact on a business which has been there for decades and which has provided an outlet for the young to go to and have a hamburger at midnight. More importantly, it is about a safe truck stop that provides a great service to the federal highway, truck-driving fraternity.

Many truck drivers I have spoken to over time have said that Yamba is probably the iconic place to stop for quality food and quality showers, and I would like to think the minister will consider changing the gardens and the kerbing so that the trucks can stop.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. I look forward to one of those roadkill hamburgers.

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