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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-14 Daily Xml
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Schubert Electorate

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:19): I rise to speak today on a number of matters concerning my electorate, but in particular I would like to point out that regional South Australia and its success are matters of high importance to those on this side of the house. As I look around on this side of the house, I am very proud to be a part of a team with many strong advocates for their regional communities.

Of course, we recognise that strong, vibrant regions deliver a strong and vibrant state. That is why this budget in particular is disappointing. It fails to deliver for our farmers, for our country communities and for the industries that uphold our regions. It is an unfortunate return to standard practice, where the Labor Party has had a history of neglecting our regions and governing only as far as Gepps Cross. Let's look at regional roads as an example, the lifeblood of regional communities and our businesses in the country.

The former Liberal government made enormous inroads repairing more than a decade of Labor's neglect, upgrading more than 4,800 kilometres of country roads right across the state. But it is clear in this budget that Labor are leaving our regional roads to crumble and shunning rural investment. In particular, I was very pleased to hear the comments made by our shadow minister for regional roads, the member for Hammond, Mr Adrian Pederick. He pointed out very starkly that, whilst 30 per cent of South Australians live in country areas, just 6 per cent of roads, of spending in this budget, is going towards the regions.

There is lots to be done locally in my electorate of Schubert. I was disappointed in particular that the Labor government missed the opportunity to match funding to deliver a solution for an intersection which is notoriously difficult to navigate. It is serendipitous that the member for Light should walk in at this time because he knows full well that I am referring to the intersection of Greenock Road, Moppa Road South and Samuel Road in Nuriootpa, known by many as Linke's Corner. It is notoriously difficult to navigate.

The Hon. A. Piccolo interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Light is called to order.

Mrs HURN: We were making very practical steps—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is called to order. The member for Light is called to order.

Mrs HURN: The former government made very practical steps to improve this intersection.

The Hon. A. Piccolo: You put stop signs up. Yes, they made some stop signs.

The SPEAKER: Member for Light!

Mrs HURN: I note the interjection of the member for Light. I can only assume that he himself is embarrassed about this new government's approach—

The Hon. A. Piccolo: I am not embarrassed, not at all.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs HURN: —to this intersection after being out and about in the community harping on and carping about the former government's approach to this intersection. I actually wrote a letter to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport seeking a commitment from them to match the funding made by the federal Liberal government. Under the former federal government, we had $1.95 million committed to this intersection under the Black Spot funding program. I was surprised; I turned straight to the page where I would have seen it and, lo and behold, there was no commitment made. Despite the advocacy, apparently, from the member for Light, the member for Light was—

The Hon. A. Piccolo interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs HURN: —more than happy to stand at this intersection and have his photograph taken—

The Hon. A. Piccolo interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Light is called to order.

Mrs HURN: It is unfortunate, however, that this has not been delivered upon in this budget. I can only imagine that this is standard practice for the Labor Party, where they are more than happy to pose for photo opportunities in the regions but they fail to deliver. They have absolutely failed to deliver for regional South Australia. I am afraid that this is just a sign of more to come, which is really concerning. We know, for instance, that the roundabout will cost closer to $4 million. As I mentioned, I urged the now Minister for Infrastructure and Transport to match this funding, but it has fallen on deaf ears.

There is road surfacing to be done in main streets right across my electorate, from Mount Pleasant to Birdwood, not to mention in Gumeracha, just to name a few. There is Humbug Scrub Road, Torrens Valley Road, Gomersol Road and countless others that require urgent attention. There are intersections to be fixed and road safety measures to be implemented. I am committed to working with locals, truckies and businesses alike to see the state of our roads improved. I look forward to working with all of my regional colleagues to fight for more funding to flow to the regions, including in my electorate of Schubert.

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