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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-17 Daily Xml
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Majors Road Upgrade

Mr SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My supplementary question is to the Premier. Given that he is unaware of advice from the Department for Infrastructure and Transport that traffic might be increased on Brighton Road, will he commission—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: the opposition leader is inserting facts into his question. He can't do that, so, sir, I ask that you rule that question out of order and ask him to rephrase.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order. I will give the leader a chance to rephrase the question or move on to another question.

Mr SPEIRS: Thank you for your patience, Mr Deputy Speaker. My supplementary question is to the Premier. Will the Premier commission advice with regard to potential increases in traffic flows along Brighton Road as a consequence of the development of an on/off ramp for the Southern Expressway at Majors Road?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:31): The former government did commission a report into the Majors Road on/off ramp, and they received that in February of 2020. Their report concluded that there would be a reduction in overall travel distances for a reasonably significant number of trips but that that would not certainly justify the cost, and the government then abandoned the project. That was in February 2020.

But that didn't deter one young ambitious minister. He kept on fighting for this. He kept on fighting for this project. He didn't capitulate. Oh, no, he fought on. He fought on because on 13 July of that same year, after having received that report—

Mr GARDNER: Point of order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —he still supported the project.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is a point of order.

Mr GARDNER: Debate.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Does the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport have anything else to add?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I have plenty to add, sir.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can you also ensure that it's closer to the question.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I am, sir. I think the premise of the argument made by the Leader of the Opposition is that his government received a report that didn't justify this expenditure; therefore, why are we. He received that report in February 2020. I just gave the house an explanation about why the former government didn't proceed. What I am saying is that didn't stop a young ambitious minister fighting for his community, because in July of that same year, after having received that report, what was he doing? He was still fighting for that interchange. He wouldn't capitulate. River Murray, capitulate? Yes. Majors Road, capitulate? No.

The Hon. C.J. Picton: Who are you talking about?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I'm talking about the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Black.

Mr TARZIA: Point of order: this is debate, 98.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Gibson.

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