Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

As I indicated to the member for Mayo, I would be very happy to meet with her and discuss any specific infrastructure issues of concern following the storms in South Australia. As I indicated, the local councils have received assistance through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements. They also receive ongoing assistance through the $3.2 billion in the Roads to Recovery Program.

I also note that the Australian government made some commitments in the member's electorate during the election campaign. We were very pleased to announce, during the election campaign, in the order of $14 million for the upgrade of the Thomas Foods connecting route. I am sure the member supports that project, and I can assure her the Turnbull-Joyce government, which is committed to delivering every one of its promises made in the election campaign, will be delivering on that project in the seat of Mayo. This investment will allow for the upgrade of roads between Mount Barker and Lobethal to allow for B-double access and will improve the safety and efficiency of the heavy vehicle sector.

The member would be interested to know that this is a government which has committed in the order of $3 billion until 2020 in infrastructure in South Australia. We will continue to invest in the future of South Australia. In closing, I would like to acknowledge that the work we are doing between Darlington and Torrens, from Torrens to Torrens and on the Northern Connector will end up creating about 1,300 jobs in the South Australian community. So I look forward to working with the member for Mayo on her specific infrastructure needs and commend the— (Time expired)

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