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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Regional Roads

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister inform the house how the Marshall government is investing in our regional roads?

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: Closed the railway lines on the West Coast.

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is warned for a second and final time. The minister has the call.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:45): Don't let hypocrisy and irony get in the way of a good story. Can I say that what this budget does—

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order: use of the terms 'hypocrisy' or 'hypocrite' has previously been ruled as unparliamentary. I would ask—

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order on a point of order.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The member is incorrect. By my knowledge, previous Speakers have ruled that specifically calling somebody a hypocrite would be unparliamentary or inappropriate. That is not what the minister did: he gave good advice to everybody, in my view.

The SPEAKER: The minister certainly hasn't assisted with the decorum of the house with those comments. I believe that the Minister for Education is right. I respect the member for Lee's point of order. I ask the minister to get on with the answer.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Yes, sir. Can I say that there may be those—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —who believe that investing in country roads is not a good idea. Apart from what I will outline to the house now, the reason that it is a good idea over and above the benefits of those projects delivered is that there has never been a better time to invest in infrastructure in South Australia. At a time when cost escalation on projects is ranging between 4 and 5 per cent yet the cost of borrowing is 1.66 per cent, evidenced by the $500 million that the state government was able to refinance last week, the longer we delay in building infrastructure projects the more expensive it is going to be to deliver.

There has never been a better time for us to invest in infrastructure, and that is precisely what this government is doing. In fact, some may even call this budget the Oprah Winfrey of road safety for South Australia: every single electorate across regional South Australia gets to take home a prize. That is fantastic news for those regional South Australians who have been looking forward to road safety improvements that are going to keep regional communities alive.

Mr Hughes: Port Augusta highway?

The SPEAKER: The member for Giles is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: In fact, the member for Giles would like to know that, leading up to his electorate, as part of this budget of a $143 million road safety package there are not one, not two but three overtaking lanes for the Augusta Highway that are going to help the people of his electorate get home more safely. Apart from that, there are also some shoulder sealing works happening within the member's electorate along the Lincoln Highway, which is going to do huge amounts—a 40 per cent reduction in the number of casualty accidents along that stretch of road, once that work is completed in that member's electorate.

Mr Hughes: The continuation of the good work we started.

The SPEAKER: The member for Giles is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: In fact, we have done more for his electorate than anybody has done in a long period of time. The least he could do is be grateful. But wait, there is more—there is so much more. For the member for Flinders, there is also some upgrade to the shoulder sealing on the Lincoln Highway through his electorate. Apart from the $32 million for EP roads we have put on the table as part of the $125 million Port Augusta to Perth corridor, the $125 million for the Eyre Highway, we have also put in place upgrades to two overtaking lanes within his electorate on the Lincoln Highway to make it easier to get down to the port and shuck a few Coffin Bay oysters.

We head down south. The member for Mount Gambier and the member for MacKillop are going to be excited that there are three overtaking lanes on the Riddoch Highway, especially heading down a lot closer to Mount Gambier in the member for Mount Gambier's electorate, that are again going to help keep people safe, as well as some shoulder sealing on the Princes and Riddoch highways. This is in addition to the $250 million that is in the budget to upgrade the Princes Highway corridor.

There are projects right across South Australia in our regions that are going to keep people alive. For the member for Mawson, who would like to know what is in this budget for the people of his electorate, he can look forward to shoulder sealing upgrades on the Playford Highway, on Aldinga Road, Tatachilla Road and Hog Bay Road as well as $92 million towards the duplication of the Victor Harbor Road—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: A bicentennial project that's going to be finished in 2036.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —down to his electorate, down to McLaren Vale. It seems that it is not enough. For the member for Finniss, who would be grateful for $92 million to duplicate that part of the road, we have added some steak knives on top of that as well as an overtaking lane on the road down to Victor Harbor on one of those very difficult stretches past McLaren Vale on the way to Victor. This budget delivers life-saving infrastructure for the people of South Australia. It will never be a better time to build than right now and this government is investing in our regions.

The SPEAKER: I remind the member for Mawson that he is on two warnings. Member for Lee.

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