James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's an exciting time in the electorate of Sturt for three major congestion-busting infrastructure projects that've being jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the state government of South Australia: the Magill Portrush intersection right in the heart of the electorate, the Fullarton Glen Osmond intersection and the Fullarton Cross Road intersection—which is on the boundary of my electorate, the electorate of Adelaide and the electorate of Boothby. With that one in particular, I informed the House earlier today we have had a breakthrough on one of the issues regarding a heritage issue to do with the demolition of a historic gatehouse, which has been resolved. I won't recap on my comments about that. That puts us in a position now, with that project, and frankly all three projects, to be moving ahead to the tendering phase.

My understanding from the state department is that the two southern intersections, the Cross Road Fullarton and the Glen Osmond Fullarton, will be awarded as one single tender and the Magill Portrush will be awarded as a separate tender. I understand that one will be done in the next few weeks, which is very exciting because we've been waiting to get to this point. We've undertaken all of the land acquisition on the Magill Portrush intersection. That's now concluded.

We've undertaken the relocation of the big 66 kilovolt lines from the substation that need to be relocated for the new footprint of that intersection. So now we can proceed to awarding the tender and getting the actual surface works undertaken and get that project completed. It is going to be transformative for that intersection, which carries around 65,000 vehicles a day. I can tell you, not just as the local member but as someone who lives within a few hundred metres of that intersection, it's going to be a real change to the lives of families in the area, getting us home from work quicker and safer and to where we need to be with our families during the week and on weekends.

It's the same case for the Fullarton Glen Osmond and the Fullarton Cross Road intersections. I mentioned before that that's on the boundary of my electorate. That will have an enormous benefit not just to my electorate but particularly to the electorate of Boothby. I commend the member for Boothby for the work that she has done with me in working with the state and federal governments to see that achieved and see the resolution of some of the heritage sensitivities on those projects. It is a great example of two excellent Liberal governments working together to deliver for the people of South Australia. It is an excellent partnership.

There are a number of these projects, these congestion-busting projects, going on around the city of Adelaide. I'm very grateful that three of them are in my electorate of Sturt. This is what good governments do: work together and solve practical problems on the ground for people. There's nothing better than reducing traffic congestion. In my electorate those three projects are going to be transformative for those neighbourhoods. They're also going to bring about massive safety outcomes for families and businesses in my electorate. I thank both governments for their support of those projects.