Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 2021, the former coalition government committed to funding the first step of the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass. Under the former state Liberal and coalition government South Australia was put on a trajectory to improve productivity and safety by building the Truro freight route, while a number of strategic planning and business cases got underway towards developing a high-productivity freight network. Since 2022, those opposite have cut, cancelled or delayed almost $30 billion in infrastructure funding, including funding for the critical Truro freight route, just months before shovels were set to hit the ground.

For my community in Barker, the Truro freight route is incredibly important. It's important for safety along the Sturt Highway corridor and instrumental in working towards the duplication of the Sturt Highway, which carries vehicles between New South Wales and Adelaide or further west to Perth. This work at Truro is also vital for plans to get heavy vehicles off the South Eastern Freeway and out of the suburbs of Adelaide.

If we want to grow this nation's economy, improve productivity and safety on our freight routes, and address the road safety crisis that is unfolding under Labor, we need those opposite to stop playing politics with roads. Those opposite have wasted a full term in government with no plans for South Australia's wider freight network. All I've seen from those opposite over 2½ years is putting votes in front of road safety and road investment decisions.