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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-26 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Hahndorf Truck Diversion

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:07): If it was not enough that there was not any consultation before the announcement on 24 August by this government that there would be long and heavy trucks diverted down River Road, if it was not enough that there was no consultation about that proposal, and if it was not enough that there was then no notice, subsequently, to residents of River Road and we are left to hear it on social media about what is going on, in this ad hoc way—social media as recently as moments and hours ago saying, 'It looks like the corner of River Road and Strath Road is going to be widened into three lanes, judging by the white marks'—we have just heard from the minister in question time now in response to questions about the nature of the works and the cost of those works, 'Oh, well, I think we're doing some trimming,' and, tellingly, the minister says, 'I think they might come in around $2 million.'

Remember, folks, we were told a few weeks ago, 'This is going to be the diversion, the interim diversion for Hahndorf traffic, and it's going to cost about $30 million or $40 million and it's going to be the interim solution,' and the minister was caught out because he was not able to reconcile the point about, 'Well, if the road is safe, why are you spending $30 million or $40 million on it?'

But the question that is now to be asked of the minister is: why are you weaselling around with numbers like $2 million, if not to avoid the necessary scrutiny that comes with a project, project funding and, as those members who have participated in the Public Works Committee know, the necessary scrutiny of that committee over works that are to be done in an orderly way by government?

What we have seen over a period of weeks is that the minister has gone from one announcement, one thought bubble, to another, plucking a dollar figure out of the air and contrary to a report, to a reference to works having been addressed in previous documents when they have not been, to now just weaselling around on the nature of works that are to be done on River Road.

This leaves the sincere and serious residents of River Road and the local community dismayed. We hear from those who resort to Facebook about works that are being observed one day to the next. A local veterinarian has been moved to write to the Deputy Premier about the environmental impact, based on her professional opinion that this road is not safe for vehicle movements of vehicles carrying livestock, as recently as recent days. Dr Walter copies the Premier, copies the minister, copies the department in a plaintive cry to add to the voices of those who now for more than a month have been saying, 'Stop this right now.'

It took me about 30 seconds in a truck for it to become immediately obvious that this was a wrong decision and for me to call on the Premier to step in and to call it off. I maintain the call. I took the unusual step of contacting the Premier directly as a courtesy and saying, 'You have this responsibility. You have been let down by your minister, and it is incumbent on you as the Leader of the Government to step in where a wrong decision has been made.' So far, the Premier has not done it. I call on the Premier to do that today.

We hear it from residents who really need to be celebrated for their heroism. It takes great courage and stamina to speak truth to power. We have seen it in Emma Smith, who so boldly went to find the Premier when the Premier failed to accept the invitation of local residents to come and see what riding in a truck on River Road was all about. Let me tell the house that this is real, that this is sincere.

Emma Smith is as about as capable an advocate as you can get, but she writes to me as recently as today to say, 'Here I am, sitting here holding back on the very real emotion of what it feels like to be a resident violated in these circumstances and feeling physically sick about the capacity of the government to make a call like this, absent any evidence, and then refuse to respond to the rational, meaningful and orderly response of the local community.' I urge the government to step up, cancel the proposed plan and start listening to the evidence and start listening to the residents.

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