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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-17 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Government Policies

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens) (15:02): It is pretty obvious that there are some internal differences within the government over policy direction, and I am attempting to be generous. However, it seems pretty clear that everything the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure touches turns into some sort of political disaster.

It was not me who spoke to InDaily saying that the government's changes are putting the government's chances of re-election at peril. It was not me who held a Facebook video before the election decrying the regularity or the time it takes to go from Aberfoyle Park into the city only to see that entire service cut altogether. It was not me who went and saw the Premier and the transport minister to complain about cuts in Elder, in King, in Newland, in marginal Liberal seats, and to complain about the transport minister being, and I quote, 'the best Labor MP possible'.

What that means when government members say that, Mr Speaker—not that I need to educate you on this—is that they mean it as an insult. Unfortunate as it is for us, it is an insult because they know that we are working towards their demise for the benefit of the people of South Australia. Therefore, when their own members of a government say that about one of their most senior members, what does that say about the way that minister is handling their portfolio? They are maladministering that portfolio to within an inch of its life.

What has happened here is the greatest con on backbenchers since the emergency services levy was introduced by the Olsen government; since they built the one-way expressway.

Fancy being told that moving bus stops and closing routes would be good for you. Fancy being told by your minister, your Premier and your government that less is more, that your constituents will thank you for cutting their services, that somehow they will not remember that you promised better services and lower costs, despite constituents now being forced to walk, in some cases, over a kilometre to a bus stop, or now being forced to get into their car and drive and park their car in car parks, let alone the convenience that people have lost.

This will fundamentally change the way people commute in Adelaide forever. This is the game change that members of the government did not want. This is the moment when they all realised that it is now two years to the election and that their futures are not guaranteed, that they will be answerable for the decisions they have taken, that the member for King will be held to account by her constituents who can now no longer use the amenity they once had taken for granted under a Labor government, or that the member for Newland, despite promising so much to so many, delivered so little to the people of Newland, will be held to account for that.

The minister who sat in cabinet in Adelaide, the member for Adelaide, sat there and agreed and defends these decisions to the Premier, who is like some sun god sitting on a throne, not listening to the concerns of those out there in the fields, thinking 'No, you'll be fine.' He uses public transport every day: it pulls up in front of his house, picks him up and brings him to Parliament House. What are you all complaining about? You have never had it so good. It is the equivalent of 'Let them eat cake.'

In two short years, ministers are so out of touch with the aspirations of ordinary suburban South Australians who just want to see their children go to university safely and efficiently, who just want to get to work and get home safely and efficiently and who are trying to save some money by catching public transport.

The former minister for transport, the member for Lee, did a body of work showing that people who caught public transport regularly could pay off their mortgages faster, save money on insurance costs and save money on car costs and fuel costs. It does not help just their pockets; it helps our pockets too. This is besides the other drivers on the roads who have to drive to work who, all of a sudden, are going to be inundated with a whole group of people who normally catch public transport and who are now going to start driving to work.

There is no utopian world where there are five people per car driving to work. Our roads will be congested, and when they are congested I will be blaming the member for King, the member for Newland, the member for Adelaide, the member for Elder, the member for Davenport and every Liberal MP who does not have the courage to speak up against these cuts.

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