Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Can I say from the very outset that I certainly welcome the $646 million investment in the three major public transport projects that were part of the Rudd government’s $22 billion investment in road, rail and ports around this country. Those three projects that went to South Australia cover the three major corridors into the suburban parts of metropolitan Adelaide. Two of them in fact will have direct benefits for the people of Makin, whom I represent—those are, firstly, the $294 million Gawler rail line re-sleepering and electrification and, secondly, the $61 million towards the O-Bahn bus service that was just talked about by the member for Wide Bay. I will come to that in just a moment.

The Gawler railway line is a project that will assist not only the people in Makin but also those people who are moving into the fastest-growing part of the metropolitan area of Adelaide. Already we have a railway line that is very heavily used. In respect to the people of Makin, it is used because, whilst it does not pass through the electorate of Makin, it passes very close to it. People from Makin in fact use the interchange both at Mawson Lakes and at Salisbury, where they can assess the rail service and within about 15 minutes get into the CBD of Adelaide. In fact that service is being used so much that there is now a need to expand the car park at Mawson Lakes because of all the people who go down and use it before getting on the train. So I know that is one service that is very much appreciated by the people whom I represent.

The second matter is the one dealing with the O-Bahn bus service. The O-Bahn bus service reminds me very much of the Southern Expressway in Adelaide, which goes through to the electorate of Kingston. Some years ago the Southern Expressway was built and initiated by the previous state Liberal government. It is a typical example of a road that was only ever half built. It goes in one direction for half of the time and then you reverse the order and you get the reverse direction for the other half of the day. The O-Bahn was the same. It was a bus carriageway that was built in about 1980 and initiated by the state Liberal government. Regrettably, the job was never finished. It stopped short of the Adelaide CBD by about two kilometres. It is that last two kilometres where you get the real traffic congestion and where people are delayed for 10 minutes at least, and usually longer, in getting to their workplace. So the commitment of $61 million towards the completion of that last two kilometres is going to be of huge benefit to those people. Something like 20,000 people or more a day use the O-Bahn bus service—in fact about 27,000 people a day use the O-Bahn bus service. We are talking about saving 10 minutes on the inward bound trip and 10 minutes on the outward bound trip at the very least. When you are a working mum or dad that extra 20 minutes or perhaps half an hour with your children makes a lot of difference.

In respect to the criticism by the member for Wide Bay, I can say this: this was a project that I raised with my state government colleagues on several occasions, including with the minister’s office. It was not an election promise; it was one of those projects that I had taken up since being elected as the member for Makin on behalf of the people I represent. I certainly have no regrets about doing that whatsoever. It is interesting however that this project also services the people of the electorate of Sturt. I wonder whether the member for Sturt is also opposed to and concerned about the fact that we have committed funds to making this service even better. It will be interesting to hear his comments because I have heard other South Australian federal members criticise this commitment. I really wonder whether the people they represent would be pleased. They would want to know exactly what their position on this issue is.

I can tell members of this chamber that on only Saturday I again discussed this particular project with the state member for Newland, Mr Tom Kenyon. We were talking about the benefits it will bring to those residents of the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide. It is a project that is well and truly overdue. This should have been done almost 30 years ago when the project was first conceived. This project is one that I certainly welcome and one that will be welcomed by the people whom I represent.

The last point I want to make very quickly is this: I notice that $1 million was committed to the widening of Montague Road at Clovercrest. Again, this is a project that is well and truly overdue. This should have been done 20 years ago. It is a project that will hopefully open up a bottleneck that exists at the junction of Montague Road and Kelly Road which during peak hour becomes a nightmare for all those people who use it. To the minister I say: thank you.

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