Nicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks to the federal Liberal government we are solving two of the biggest road infrastructure problems in my electorate of Boothby. The first is the Oaklands rail crossing where, for the past 40 years, residents have had to suffer lengthy delays and bottlenecks on a daily basis. I was delighted to join the Prime Minister during the election campaign to announce that our government would be the first ever to provide funding to fix the Oaklands crossing permanently by pledging $40 million for the upgrade. The Turnbull government recently agreed to provide an additional $55 million, bringing the total federal commitment to $95 million, so that this vital road and rail separation can commence.

We have also provided 80 per cent of the funding for the Darlington interchange project. This $496 million upgrade will separate two of Adelaide's biggest intersections: Shepherds Hill and Ayliffes roads, which sees 73,000 cars pass through every day; and the Main South Road and Sturt Road intersection, which sees a traffic jam of 98,000 cars a day.

During the 2016 election campaign, I also worked hard to secure the related Flinders Link rail project, which will extend the Tonsley rail line up to Flinders University and the medical centre. The Turnbull government committed $43 million to this rail overpass, which will finally connect the Flinders precinct with the city. It will connect Flinders University's Tonsley campus innovation hub with the main campus at Bedford Park. It will also unlock some $2 billion worth of economic growth as Flinders University builds new student accommodation and a health and retail precinct.

As my residents in Boothby know, parking at the Flinders Medical Centre and university can be an absolute nightmare. The rail extension will provide an excellent public transport option for students, academics, doctors, nurses and patients and their families to easily get to where they need to be. It will take parking pressure off surrounding streets in Bellevue Heights and it will give residents there and in surrounding suburbs, like Eden Hills, Bedford Park, Aberfoyle Park, Happy Valley and Flagstaff Hill, a brand-new public transport option. Just as importantly, the Flinders Link rail project will also unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in private sector investment, creating much-needed jobs in my electorate of Boothby and also in Adelaide's south.

None of this would have been possible without the half a billion-plus dollars of investment from the federal Liberal government. This funding will transform the area in terms of public transport and ongoing jobs. The Tonsley, Darlington and Oaklands projects are precisely the sorts of projects that the government should invest in to improve public transport and to unlock private sector investment and jobs in our economy. I fought hard to secure funding for these projects. I am so proud to be making a real difference to the lives of people in my community.