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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-08-31 Daily Xml
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Hahndorf Bypass

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (14:28): Thank you very much, sir. You are doing an outstanding job today. My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Can the minister advise if any trees, including trees of significance, will need to be removed along Strathalbyn Road or River Road?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:29): My advice is no. There will be some tree trimming, which people in the Adelaide Hills are well aware of, especially around powerlines and roads. Some tree trimming will need to be done. I'm not advised of any significant trees. There will need to be some junction upgrades. There will be no compulsory acquisition of properties, as members opposite are proposing, in Paechtown. There will be no compulsory acquisition of pristine farmland, like members opposite are proposing.

It is important to note that the government is planning to use the Hahndorf investment from the commonwealth government and the state government to upgrade the interchanges at Mount Barker and Verdun, which are vital pieces of infrastructure that are vital to the people of the Adelaide Hills. They are something that is long overdue and weren't planned by the previous government. Despite calls from members opposite to upgrade infrastructure at Mount Barker, those calls were ignored by members opposite.

We are answering those calls. We are doing our very best to try to make a limited amount of infrastructure money go a long way. Yes, it is an interim measure, but it's more than members opposite did in the entire four years they were there. The member for regional roads, who never once sat on a Treasury bench in his life, knows—

An honourable member: That's fine.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That's fine? Good, tick, a great career achievement, knows this: those plans were ready to go. The former Minister for Infrastructure and Transport—I have forgotten his name; Corey Wingard—had those plans ready to go and—

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Point of order, sir: 98. This is now debate.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: If anything, the minister was partly out of order for responding to interjections, which brings me back to the interjections on my left. It gives me an opportunity to warn the member for Flinders for a second time, the member for Hammond for a second time and the member for Chaffey for a second time. I think the clock has broken down.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Does that mean, sir, I have three minutes in perpetuity? What a happy coincidence. I might buy a Powerball ticket tonight.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Knowing that I have 33 minutes left in my answer—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, you don't have 33 minutes.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I know that this is not the permanent solution that the people of Hahndorf would want, but it does go a long way to solving the solution that they have been calling out for from the very beginning. Hahndorf receives over a million visitors per year, and the long trucks and livestock trucks that are using the main street as access to the rest of the Hills or the freeway are inconsistent with the feel of the town and the amenity of the town, and we are acting to deal with it. Why members opposite are not supportive of this is a mystery. It is a mystery. Could it be one of the core reasons that they are perpetually a one-term government?

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