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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-02 Daily Xml
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Train and Tram Services

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on the return of train and tram services into public hands, and is he aware of any alternate views?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:24): I want to thank the member for Badcoe for her question. The member for Badcoe probably knows better than most just how important our train and tram services are. I know that, in the member for Badcoe's electorate, there are I think eight different tram stops and eight different train stops. The reason why I know that is she never misses an opportunity to advocate for improved services or an upgrade to one of those stations, as she well should, because the member for Badcoe appreciates the value of public transport—public transport operating for the interests of people as distinct from overseas profits.

Therein lies a very substantial point of difference between those on this side of the house and those opposite, of course, because those opposite, including the Leader of the Opposition—who has passionately defended their decision to break an election commitment and privatise tram and train services—along with, presumably, many of his colleagues, remain committed to a privatisation agenda when it comes to those types of public services. On this side of the house, we want to see improvements to public transport, and we are already delivering. We have improved the infrastructure, and we have made public transport a lot cheaper for South Australians to be able to access, making it free for all of our seniors, not just for a few hours a day but all day, every day.

Mr Whetstone: That's taxpayers' money.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The member for Chaffey interjects saying, 'Well, that's taxpayers' money.' You bet it is. It's taxpayers' money being invested in taxpayers' services—services to be able to participate in our society and our economy. If the member for Chaffey wants to interject again I would very much welcome him to do so, because it again highlights the distinction between us and them when it comes to the commitment to public transport.

On price, we have also invested in making sure that the Metrocard is particularly accessible for families with students, because we want to make sure that young people get the opportunity to catch a train, a tram or a bus to experience the virtue of public transport and develop good habits. Of course, as we all know—especially on this side of the house anyway—when you catch public transport that means less congestion on our roads, it means a better outcome for our environment but also, critically, it means that someone is likely to get from A to B in a safe set of circumstances in a way that should only be more accessible, more accessible and more affordable, which is why we choose to make these investments.

But there's another element, and that goes to control. Every time a government, of any political persuasion, privatises a critical frontline service delivery agency, like public transport, you also lose control, and it's the control that matters most. When you are in government, you should seek to be in control of the services that people rely upon to be able to go about their daily life. We believe in that virtue. So we made a clear commitment. We said that we would roll back and reverse the privatisation made by those opposite if we were given the opportunity to do so. They all said it was impossible, they all said it would create risk, it couldn't be done, yet here we are—at 3am on Sunday morning tram services came back into the control of South Australians, and on the back of train services earlier this year. Promise made, promise kept and South Australian commuters are the beneficiaries of it.

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