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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-01 Daily Xml
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North-South Corridor

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Why did the minister justify making a decision to delay the Torrens to Darlington project on a departmental report that he has not yet received? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TARZIA: A three-page briefing note that the minister tabled yesterday stated, and I quote, 'We will return to you with a report once the review is finalised.'

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:53): This is that $9.9 billion project covering over 10 kilometres of road in Adelaide, finalising the last section of the nonstop north-south corridor. It is, without a doubt, one of the largest infrastructure programs in the state's history. After having completed the Northern Connector, the South Road Superway, Regency to Pym, Torrens to Torrens and Darlington, this is the last section.

The people who built those other projects were excluded from the tunnel projects by the former government. So all the expertise that we had to do the rest of the north-south corridor was not involved in the detailed planning and design of this project, including Mr Jon Whelan. Mr Jon Whelan, who I think is an exceptional CE—acknowledged by the shadow minister—is doing his work appropriately because we have a budget. The Treasurer is delivering his first budget tomorrow, on 2 June, to outline our government's program for the next four years.

Over the next four years a large part of that program is the north-south corridor, so the premise of the question then is that we should have nothing in the budget at all until the review is finished, or we put numbers in the budget that we are not going to realise because the review is not finished, or do we actually listen to the experts—

Mr Tarzia: Infrastructure SA.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Hang your hat on Infrastructure SA as much as you like—dig up.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Let's just go through some of the changes already announced—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley!

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is on three warnings.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: At the Public Works Committee in June 2021 in terms of procurement, the former government said that they would be ready to award the stage 1 contract in mid-2023. Then they changed that in February 2022 to a request of information in April 2022, then an expression of interest in August 2022, then an RFT by November 2022 and then award the contract at December 2023—already slipped six months under their own procurement, under their own time lines.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That is now changed for the final part to award the contract in the second half of 2024. It was not ready to go. If it was—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —ready to go, it would be going.

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The terms of the southern enabling works—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley!

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley, so close to the cliff!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: With respect to the southern enabling works, the former government told us, told Public Works, told parliament, that service relocation works would begin mid-2021 to early 2023. Then we were told that service relocation—they have added demolitions—was starting August 2021 to June 2024.

I am advised that they were not feasible, just not feasible. Then design and tunnel boring machine establishment: members opposite were trying to tell us that they would have two—not one but two—tunnel boring machines in Adelaide by January 2024. That is just ridiculous, just ridiculous. Members opposite are a laughing stock and they should reflect on their position, and perhaps—

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is a point of order from the member for Morialta, which I will hear under 134.

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hartley, so close to the abyss!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Sir, this sort of abuse is outside the standing orders, and it is certainly outside 98.

The SPEAKER: I certainly draw the minister's attention to the standing orders, but it may be that the minister has concluded his answer.

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