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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-28 Daily Xml
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Hahndorf Bypass

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (16:28): Well, 16 November 2023 is a date that will now loom large as a date of ignominy for federal Labor and state Labor governments alike. It was the day when the federal infrastructure minister, Catherine King, announced that the federal Labor government would be cutting federal funding, including to five key infrastructure projects in South Australia, the largest of which was the fully funded—by previous state and federal Liberal governments—bypass of the Hahndorf township. This was a project that the communities in not only Hahndorf but the surrounding Hills districts have been calling for for decades and know is a matter of the keenest priority for the local area of the Hills.

It was the largest of those projects that was cut by federal Labor on that day. The state Labor response was to say, 'Funds that were associated with that, that the former Liberal government had applied to make sure that those projects could be achieved—well, who knows? They're off somewhere in the ether.' This is a moment when the people of South Australia—and, indeed, the people all throughout Australia—will see the difference between walking the walk and simply talking the talk. It will loom large as a day of ignominy for Labor, both state and federal, in the Hills.

The federal government's so-called 90-day review made a determination that the Hahndorf bypass project, and I will quote here:

…[does] not demonstrate merit, [lacks] any national strategic rationale and [does] not meet the Australian Government's national investment priorities.

Well, try telling that to the people of Hahndorf. Try telling that to the people of Echunga. Try telling that to the people of Mylor. Try telling that to the people of Maccy or Meadows or Strathalbyn or surrounding districts who know very well just how necessary and meritorious that work is to ensure safety and productivity for the Hills more broadly and in the most visited town in the state, no less.

State and federal Labor have walked away entirely, and what are we left with? What does state Labor have to show for it now we head towards two years of this state Labor government? What do they have to show for it? Just the disaster of the River Road diversion. River Road locals have spoken up every day since 24 August this year to say, 'Do not do this. Whatever else you do, do not do this. You are doing something that is unsafe, that has no expert grounding in recommendation or feasibility, and you will be making a sore and urgent problem worse.'

What are they left with? The Hahndorf community and those surrounding districts are left with the disaster of River Road and, more than that, they are left with a minister and a state government whose response to their concerns is to say, 'Oh, well, you go ahead and do the work. You go ahead and chart a course. You go ahead and work your way through this and maybe we'll listen to you.' I can tell you the message that has come through loud and clear to my community: it is that state Labor has never been listening to them, and what they now know since 16 November is that federal Labor is certainly not listening to them. The result has been $200 million in federal money withdrawn and the accompanying $50 million of state Liberal money now off into the ether.

I say thank you to my federal colleague the shadow assistant minister for infrastructure and transport, Tony Pasin, member for Barker, for coming to Hahndorf last week and for spending the time to talk to the locals with me, to walk up and down the street, to highlight just how important this project is and remains to state and federal Liberal colleagues. We call on Labor to recommit this important money to Hahndorf and the district and to make sure that this project comes to fruition.

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