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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-07 Daily Xml
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Schubert Electorate

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:25): I rise today to speak on several issues in relation to my local community, particularly regional roads. We have an enormous road network across South Australia. Locals in the regions tend to know their network like the back of their hand, so when they raise an issue with you about road safety you listen. I would like to recognise and commend in particular the persistence, the passion and the patience shown by two proud locals, Ron and Vivien Tomlinson of Humbug Scrub.

Like many locals who live along Humbug Scrub Road, they have been fighting tirelessly over a long period of time to see their road-safety concerns addressed. After countless letters, emails and meetings they have finally received confirmation that they have been waiting for: a change in the speed limit in a bid to reduce and improve road safety. I have to say that, as the Liberal candidate, I invited the former Minister for Transport, Corey Wingard, to visit and to see the condition of this road firsthand. On the back of that, we made a commitment to see this road improved, to see it resolved.

It is safe to say that locals along this particular stretch of Humbug Scrub Road were playing Russian roulette with their lives every single time they left their driveway. Locals were scared to put their bins out. They were scared to leave their driveway with kids or grandkids in their back seat as motorists screamed past their driveways doing 100 clicks an hour, not to mention the terrible vision. They could not see cars coming from either side.

They received confirmation of this decision yesterday from the department, and to say that they are ecstatic is a complete understatement. I would also like to acknowledge councillor David Kerrison from the Playford city council for his work and his advocacy when it comes to seeing the speed limit reduced along this stretch. He and I have been working very closely together, and it is so pleasing that we have got a result for the locals there.

I think it is important to reflect on the enormous progress that the former Marshall Liberal government made when it came to regional roads. We forged ahead with road maintenance as a result of the significant backlog that the Labor Party left behind. We upgraded roads right across South Australia, including in my electorate of Schubert, and there is still more work to be done, which is why it is all the more disappointing that funding for regional roads in the Labor government's first budget has fallen so spectacularly short.

Of the $7.83 billion budgeted for roads over the next four years, just $467.4 million is going towards roads in the regions. That is just 6 per cent allocated to our regional roads, but I will keep fighting for my community. There is road surfacing to be done in main streets right across my electorate, including in Mount Pleasant, in Birdwood and not to mention in Gumeracha.

Last year, I fought to receive a commitment from the former government to resurface Albert Street, which is the main street in Gumeracha. I was so pleased to hear from Gumeracha's very own lead lingerer in Libby Barber that progress is already being made. This is an important project for infrastructure investment in Gumeracha for the locals, for the businesses, and I am so pleased to see it progressing.

Another concern within my electorate is the T-junction of Gorge Road and Redden Drive in Cudlee Creek near the fantastic Cudlee Creek Tavern. This junction is notoriously difficult to navigate. There is low visibility, and vision is so impaired that people are coming out into the middle of the road just to make a run for their lives. Traffic in this area is, pleasingly, increasing as business opportunities expand—likewise for Gorge Road and Tippett Road in Cudlee Creek, which needs to be addressed. I have written to the minister. I look forward to his response.

I could go on, Mr Speaker. There is Linke's Corner in Nuri that needs to be fixed. There is tree trimming that needs to be done from Mount Pleasant to Angaston along critical livestock routes. There is Torrens Valley Road that needs to be dealt with. I am so committed to working with locals and businesses alike to ensure we get our fair share in the regions and our fair share in Schubert.

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