Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In case you missed it, the federal Labor government, in partnership with the South Australian Labor government, is fixing the dangerous intersection of Curtis Road and Heaslip Road just outside Angle Vale, with a brand-new dual lane roundabout.

Our community has spoken and we have listened. Now we're getting a game-changing outcome. But that doesn't I'm going to stop listening. I say that because many members of my community, upon hearing this announcement last week, wanted to know why we can't fix the rest of Curtis Road. They're asking that because, at certain times, the entire road can become impossible to navigate due to congestion.

I agree that they should know why this is the case and I'll gladly answer their question. In order to fix Curtis Road, the city of Playford, who are the local government exclusively responsible for maintaining it, need to come to the table and apply for relevant funding to get that work started. Other levels of government can't do it for them. I point this out because a few people have said to me—including some Playford council members—that either the state or federal government need to take the first step fix Curtis Road.

This simply isn't true. That can't happen because Curtis Road is a local government road. More importantly still, this blame game needs to stop altogether. Curtis Road won't get fixed if council continue trying to pass the buck to the state or federal governments for a road change that they're in charge of. We need to collaborate, and we can do that already through grant opportunities like the federal government's Housing Support Program.

The Heaslip Road and Curtis Road roundabout, for example, is being funded through that program, with the federal government providing 50 per cent of the cost through one of these grants. That's because the state government, who are covering the other half of the cost, did actively pursue a solution to a dangerous intersection that they maintain. Good on them, too. This same grant was available to council, but they chose not to improve Curtis Road with it; instead, they applied for federal money to spend on an ice arena in Elizabeth.

I'm not suggesting that every grant Playford have applied for which doesn't improve Curtis Road is a waste of money. Throughout my term, Playford have applied for federal funding for a variety of projects that benefit my community, and I acknowledge that wholeheartedly. But I do want Curtis Road to be the City of Playford's highest priority. I also want the City of Playford to actively approach and work with other levels of government to fix it, rather than suggest that a road which is their responsibility is for someone else to look at. I want these things because they're the only way we're going to fix Curtis Road. That is something I will never stop working towards until it's done.

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