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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-05-15 Daily Xml
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Public Transport

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:43): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. When did the minister first contemplate outsourcing, leasing or selling the South Australian tram and train network?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:43): I must admit that I didn't—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —write it down in my diary.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Again, the hypocrisy here does get to me a bit because for South Australians 70 per cent of our network has been franchised for two decades. South Australians are well aware of how that system operates.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Duluk interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Waite is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: And the answer is: if any decision is to be made, it's not going to be my decision; it's going to be cabinet's decision.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: I didn't realise that the concept of cabinet government was so much of a surprise.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: I don't know what else is supposed to happen on a Monday morning. We certainly don't get together for the coffee. We get together to make decisions in a cabinet government on ways we can improve our state.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: It's a very robust system that we have put in place and it is something the Premier is to be commended for. We don't meet just once a week; we meet twice a week because we want to get the benefit of a whole cabinet working together to deliver good outcomes for the people of South Australia. It is something that the Premier should be commended for.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: When we have made more decisions, and when the advisory board to the South Australian Public Transport Authority (SAPTA) is set up, there will be processes in place for us to be able to roll out the next stages. We are also in tender at the moment for our bus services contract. We are in tender at the moment for our bus supply contract. There is a whole series of moving parts here that all need to come together under the banner of one authority to deliver a better, more integrated service that increases patronage and drives growth across our public transport network.

This sort of root-and-branch reform takes time. It means that you spend a lot of time talking, chewing the fat and talking about ideas, some of them more benign and some of them potentially more outrageous. Nevertheless, there has to be a forum for governments to have a conversation to drive reform. We are not scared to do that. We are certainly not scared to have that conversation with the South Australian people—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —to take them on a journey of reform. As much as those opposite really did enjoy the status quo that saw the gentle decline of PT—in fact, you saw the gentle decline of our state across a whole variety of areas—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: But we on this side of the house will continue to talk about new ideas and new things, and we are proud to do it.

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