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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-10-31 Daily Xml
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Hahndorf Bypass

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (14:23): What longer-term infrastructure solutions is the minister considering for River Road? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

The SPEAKER: I assume this is a question to the Minister for Transport?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Yes.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: Morning radio this morning reported that a diversion is temporary and the government is considering longer-term infrastructure solutions for River Road.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:23): Not for River Road, no, but a group of residents from River Road and other groups have come to the government seeking an alternative bypass solution. There so far have been five bypass solutions that have been offered to the people of Hahndorf: options 1, 2, 3, 4A and 4B, and now residents have come to me with a fifth option.

It's fair to say that in each and every option that has been considered by the previous government and our government there is one section or another within that greater area that finds it unacceptable. If we had gone with, for example, the Paechtown option, I think you may have seen Paechtown residents out the front campaigning against the government's plan to carve up Beerenberg and the strawberry farms, and the town of Paechtown, to build the bypass. Three of the options that were proposed and developed by the previous government all included River Road, and they concluded, in fact, up to 70 property acquisitions throughout that district.

What we are attempting to do is work with the community about what an alternative bypass could look like and could be, although some of the local residents have taken it upon themselves to doorknock impacted landowners on their proposed fifth bypass option, and those landowners are now contacting me and saying, 'We do not support this option.' The Premier and I undertook to cost and scope these new alternative plans that residents put to us. That work is underway. Residents have since come back to us again, with more ideas and more plans for the bypass, which we are now putting back into the system.

But this all goes back to the premise of: do log trucks and livestock trucks belong in the main street of Hahndorf? Up until recently there was no-one who supported those trucks remaining in the main street of Hahndorf. Why? Those trucks are dangerous, local businesses want them out, Hahndorf is an important economic contributor to the state's economy, and it is one of our best tourist attractions. I might get this wrong, but over a million vehicles or over a million people per year visit Hahndorf—this is not through-traffic; this is people going there to visit as a destination. Car parking is a major issue that was ignored by the previous government.

There needs to be a considered plan about how we deal with this, because having logs and livestock go through the middle of Hahndorf doesn't exactly add to the amenity of a German historic township that we want people to visit, nor to the amenity of the area. I am also very concerned about the previous government's plan for the upgrade of the main street of Hahndorf. I have been in parliament now for 26 years, and I have seen what upgrades can do to main streets. Just go to King William Road and ask those traders about what happened to their businesses.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: They love it. They love it at King William Road.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: They love it, do they?

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: They have never been busier.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: The restaurants are full day and night since that work was done.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, I remember the retailers talking about nearly going broke. I remember the landlords saying that they couldn't receive any rent. I remember the constant complaints from businesses saying that they were given no assistance to get through the works being done. But now, of course, those that survived, in typical Liberal Party ideology—the survival of the strongest, the fittest—those that survived—

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —those that passed, well, you know—

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for West Torrens, there is a point of order.

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Unley! Your colleague is seeking to raise—

The Hon. D.G. Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned. The member for Morialta on a point of order: 134.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Thank you, sir. The member for West Torrens is clearly in breach of standing order 98.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully. The minister is very close to concluding his remarks because his time is about to expire.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I am, sir. As I was saying, there is no perfect solution here, because every time the government has a proposal there is one group or another—I can't find a consensus. I am working with residents to try to come up with a consensus approach.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: Eighteen months they have had.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, my young friend interjects, 'Eighteen months.' I will give you an answer in a moment.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop.

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