Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I'm pleased to announce much-needed changes to public transport in my electorate of Mayo. Following months of community consultation, and then negotiations with the South Australian government, we finally have much-needed new services for the south coast towns of Goolwa, Victor Harbor, Port Elliot and the community of Mount Compass, 25 kilometres inland. The lack of adequate public transport was one of the biggest issues raised with me when I campaigned for Mayo. I heard stories of young people turning their back on further education because of the tyranny of distance, city commuters spending a fortune on parking and petrol and running the gauntlet of daily travel on one of South Australia's most dangerous roads and patients being unable to access specialist services in Adelaide. This part of our Mayo community is home to 27,000 people, and it is rapidly growing, and yet for years there was no will from the current but soon-to-be-retired state member to do anything at all about public transport.

I promised to take this on and advocate for my community. It wasn't easy, but together the community and I and the state government and LinkSA worked on a compromise that will make our towns more connected and help residents reach education and medical facilities and jobs, all within a budget. The new service will allow early morning commuters from the south coast to reach Adelaide by 8.30 am for work. The service will terminate at Marion, not Noarlunga as originally planned. It will allow students and patients easier access to Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University. Thanks to feedback from the community, the current weekday midmorning direct bus service to Adelaide will remain, and as a bonus there will be more weekend services between Victor Harbor and Goolwa. I'm excited about what these changes will mean for our whole community, particularly for young people.

In the 2016 census, we recorded just under 2,000 young people aged between 15 and 24 on the south coast and in Mount Compass. Should these young people choose to pursue a tertiary education, I want to ensure I have removed as many barriers as I can. It is a 71-kilometre journey to the nearest university, which is Flinders. Until now there was no way a student could get there by public transport. Instead, they had to access a car and drive and park, or move to the city—and many of them were doing that. With these new changes, students attending Flinders will be able get from Goolwa, Victor Harbor or Mount Compass to Marion and then a simple bus change will see them arrive for 9 am lectures. Similarly, students attending either Adelaide University or the University of South Australia will also be able to transfer to Noarlunga interchange and catch an early train to the city. The changes will also benefit those who need to attend appointments at Flinders Medical Centre. The current route does not run early enough to allow patients to get there by 9 am. Under the changes, patients will be able to transfer to Marion, as they do now, but they will have the great freedom to book an early morning appointment. I strongly believe the early morning commuter service will provide a huge benefit to our south coast community. Many of our families moving south have jobs in Adelaide, and being able to access public transport will relieve the huge cost burden of having to drive for sometimes 90 minutes a day each way.

I acknowledge that this is a first step, but I think at the moment this is the best of both worlds. The south coast community is growing rapidly, and essential services such as public transport need to catch up. I hope that in the future I'm able to work with the South Australian government to get Metro buses running to Victor Harbor with metropolitan ticket prices. I would like to thank the south coast community for being so willing to engage with me about the proposed changes. There was lots of work done and lots of community consultation, but I think we've got there. I also want to thank the South Australian government for being willing to discuss and negotiate this issue and ensure the best positive outcome for as many people as possible. I'm glad that together we've been able to deliver this important community service for our whole community on the south coast and in Mount Compass.

Question agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 12:15