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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-22 Daily Xml
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Torrens to Darlington Project

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Transport. Will part or all of either Black Forest Primary School or Richmond Primary School be compulsorily acquired for the Torrens to Darlington project? With your leave, and that of the house, sir, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms STINSON: A map published on the Department for Infrastructure and Transport website indicates the route of the upgraded South Road will require widening in sections on top of Black Forest and Richmond primary schools.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:03): I thank the member for her interest in our $17.9 billion infrastructure spend and one of the key projects, which of course is the north-south corridor. We have the toughest part of the north-south corridor left to do, the most important part, the most expensive part, but the most vital part for South Australia to unlock that 70-plus kilometre stretch and give us a nonstop corridor. Of course, it is going through that region, and we have talked about this at length and we have communicated this extensively with the people of that local area.

The fact is that the reference design is being done, and it will be done in the second half of this year. As soon as we know that detail, we will take it to the public and we will communicate it with them. We have made it excessively clear here because what we don't want to do, and what I fear might be happening from some, is fearmongering and scaring people about what might happen and what could happen without actually knowing the detail. I have talked at length about that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —and how important it is to make sure that we get that information. The north-south corridor is a ladder of opportunity for us here in South Australia, and it gives us the opportunity to reach for the top shelf as far as infrastructure is concerned. The member for Badcoe would be keen to know about those opportunities, especially in the local area. We are very keen to step it up and make sure that we are getting what is important for the people of South Australia. This piece of infrastructure is vitally important.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Playford!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: We will continue to do that reference design, continue to do that detailed work and we will communicate with the people in that region as we have a concrete piece of information, but we will not be out there scaring people. We will not be out there suggesting their house may be acquired when it might not.

Ms Stinson: Well, you obviously have.

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe is warned for a second time.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: We will do the work, we will get the detail and we will communicate with the people accordingly. We have had a number of good reference groups. We have a had a number of—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —good engagements with the community, and we ask that wider community to continue to be involved with that. You can go onto the website and get all the information you need. That planning work is being done. We know it's a two-tunnel solution, of course. This has never been done in South Australia before, and we know that our solution will save—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —hundreds and hundreds of homes.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Deputy Premier!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: Under Labor's plan, it was an open-cut chasm, which would have put a cavity right through the middle of the north-south corridor, right through the middle of a number of communities. We want to make sure we get this planning right. We know it's going to improve productivity for the distribution of goods along that corridor and of course give access to the airport as well, but we will be working with that community all the way along.

What I can say is that, by coming up with the hybrid plus solution, which we have done, we have saved quite a number of homes. I know the member for West Torrens is very keen on that because he was going to destroy the Thebarton Theatre with the open-cut design model they were going for, but we have saved the Thebarton Theatre and we are very, very keen about that. We have saved a number of businesses. Those who are in the vicinity of the tunnel know exactly that they won't need to be acquired, and what this gives us going forward as well is a great opportunity to—

Ms Stinson: Why won't you tell parents what is happening to their local schools?

The SPEAKER: Member for Badcoe!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —make sure that we have east-west connectivity and that we can get back to more community-orientated living across that corridor because we know the north-south corridor as it stands had been neglected for so long through this section by those opposite. We are upgrading it and when we know that detail—

Ms Stinson: What's happening to Black Forest and Richmond Primary schools? That was the question.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: The member for Badcoe keeps yelling. The more she yells is not going to quicken up the reference design.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: The work is being done—

The SPEAKER: The minister will not respond to interjection.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: You can't just yell at people you work with, you're right. That's a very good point you make. You can't just yell at them and yell at them and insist that they do what you say. What you need to do is listen to what they have to say.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: So, again, to be really clear—

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Premier!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will resume his seat for a moment.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned. The Premier is called to order. The member for Playford is warned for a second time. The minister has the call.

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: To the point of the question—and that was: when will people know what properties will be acquired and what won't—it is when the reference design is done. I can't be any clearer. We have made it really, really clear that—

Mr Odenwalder: That wasn't the question.

The SPEAKER: Member for Elizabeth!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: —those schools and those properties that need to be acquired will be informed when the reference design is complete. What houses and properties and where the tunnel is going to be, they know and they know that certainly. I mentioned, of course, the Thebarton Theatre and the prominent church that's also in the member for West Torrens' electorate, and as we get that detail we will be taking it to the community.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Kaurna, the member for Badcoe will leave for 10 minutes in accordance with standing order 137A.

The honourable member for Badcoe having withdrawn from the chamber:

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