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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-01 Daily Xml
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SOUTH ROAD UPGRADES

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:24): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and happy May Day. My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.

Mr Pisoni: Comrade.

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is called to order. Member for Mitchell.

Mr SIBBONS: Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your protection. Can the minister inform the house about factors it considers when determining upgrades on South Road and the state government's response to the proposal by the federal opposition?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:24): Thank you for the question, member for Mitchell. It is this Labor government that has put up the north-south corridor as a priority. It is this government, together with industry groups like SARTA, the South Australian Freight Council, Business SA and the RAA, that lobbied the commonwealth to ensure that all of South Road was on the national network.

Right now, we are constructing the biggest road project in the history of South Australia—the $842 million South Road Superway. We are building this because it helps reduce freight times for the part of South Road that has the largest number of trucks on it. Last Saturday, Mr Abbott proposed a $500 million contribution and demanded a state contribution of $250 million for works on South Road at Darlington.

Mr Abbott and the Leader of the Opposition announced a $750 million project—the Leader of the Opposition and Mr Abbott standing shoulder to shoulder on the side of the road. The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure has advised my office that the half of the Darlington transport plan, which is what Mr Abbott promised—that is, just the cost of the road component—is just over a billion dollars. They have got it wrong; the project cost is wrong.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Would the Minister for Transport please be seated? The leader is warned for the first time. The member for Heysen is warned for the second time and there will be no further warnings. The minister will be heard in silence. Minister for Transport.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is not enough, and under this proposal Mr Abbott needs to contribute more or the state needs to contribute more, but it gets better. Under the proposal of Mr Abbott, which is already underfunded, he conveniently decided to ignore the public transport component—

Mr PISONI: Point of order—this is clearly a debate about the cost of a road.

The SPEAKER: No, it is germane to the question and, accordingly, I warn you for a frivolous and vexatious point of order that obstructs the business of the house. The Minister for Transport.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Darlington transport plan was all about integration of rail connecting Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University to the city. DPTI has advised my office that the rail component is estimated to cost in the order of $800 million. To do this project properly in Nation Building 2, the projected future cost is approximately $1.82 billion. This would mean that the state government would have to contribute $1.3 billion.

Mr Abbott has either proposed a scheme that is massively underfunded or he intends to build a cheap and nasty version. His contribution might even jeopardise any chance of a rail extension in the future. To build only parts of the Darlington transport project is like building another one-way expressway.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Would the Minister for Transport be seated? The member for Chaffey is called to order. The Minister for Transport.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: True to form, the Liberal Party has released a half-baked policy with costings done on the back of a postage stamp again.

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order, sir—this is clearly debate.

The SPEAKER: No, it is a reply to the question that was asked, which I listened to carefully. I do think government ministers are responsible to the house for the assessment of policy proposals at the federal level. They are not responsible to the house for the state opposition's policies but they are responsible for assessments made of proposals originating at another level of government. The Minister for Transport.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Available publicly is a Darlington Transport Study of the north-south corridor which is online, and hopefully members opposite can use a computer. The DTS—a study which calls for the upgrade of the Darlington interchange—proposes the following. It calls for duplicating and extending the Tonsley rail line to a new terminus at Flinders University with new stations also servicing the Sturt Triangle and Flinders Medical Centre—not included in their proposal; providing a 15-minute frequency weekday tram/train service on the Tonsley rail line; providing a park-and-ride facility and new public transport interchange within Sturt Triangle for bus, tram and train services; and establishing a greenway (bicycle and pedestrian paths) adjacent to the Tonsley rail line to connect to the Seaford rail line at Woodlands Park Station and to the Patrick Jonker Veloway adjacent to the Southern Expressway.

None of that was included in that weekend announcement. They have not included enough money to make this project work. They have announced a dud, and either the opposition needs to stack up more money to make this work or it means that we have to pick up the slack that the federal opposition has not included in the funding. It is a dud deal.

The SPEAKER: A supplementary.

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