Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was great to have the shadow minister for infrastructure and transport, Senator McKenzie, in South Australia over the winter break because it gave us the opportunity to meet with the Hahndorf community group to discuss the promised Hahndorf bypass, which now, very disappointingly, appears to be under risk from this Labor government. It was one of four key election commitments in the Mayo area and should be a priority of this government. The $250 million Hahndorf Road upgrade was meant to get heavy vehicles off the streets of Hahndorf, a historic town with a very busy main street.

Local community members have made it clear that this project should go ahead as an absolute priority. This is a matter of road safety. Every day, heavy vehicle after heavy vehicle thunders down the narrow streets of the historic town which has the honour of being South Australia's No. 1 tourist destination. Those on this side of chamber understand that axing this project ignores the very real risk of a serious accident happening, which is the No. 1 reason why the people of the community of Hahndorf have been asking for this for a very long time.

The coalition invested $200 million in the project to make it happen in its last budget. But it's not just the residents of Hahndorf who are paying the price of the Labor cuts to critical infrastructure investment; all South Australians are being significantly impacted, with the number of projects across regional and metropolitan areas being delayed and cut. It includes $20 million to the Main South Road upgrade. It also risks the $200 million coalition funded upgrade to the Onkaparinga Valley Road intersection at Nairne Road and Tiers Road, as well as the final section of the Fleurieu connections project.

These infrastructure projects for the Mayo electorate are absolutely critical for improving the safety of the local road network. They should be a priority of the Albanese Labor government but, clearly, this government is only interested in announcing important projects at election campaigns, not in delivering them in government.