South Australian Freight Council praises first Liberal government budget
South Australian transport operators have welcomed the first budget to be delivered by a state Liberal government in 17 years.
Released last night, the 2018-19 state budget includes funding for a series of road and freight infrastructure projects, with $3.1 billion scheduled to be spent on infrastructure projects that year alone.
Of that total, the government will spend $2.3 billion on roads, allocating $519.1 million to upgrade work on the North-South corridor – a 78 kilometre freight vehicle route stretching between Gawler and Old Noarlunga.
The government has also committed $199.7 million for the duplication of the Joy Baluch AM Bridge outside Port Augusta and $15 million for the installation of new safety screens on 10 bridges along the Southern Expressway.
The commitments have been welcomed by the state’s peak transport lobby group the South Australian Freight Council (SAFC) – with executive officer Evan Knapp saying he was grateful that the Commonwealth had also committed some funding to the projects.
“In particular, completion of the Joy Baluch Bridge duplication by June 2021 is a fantastic outcome for the local community and freight concerns, with the Regency Road to Pym Street project [on the North-South corridor] to be completed one year after,” he says.
“The $5.5 million for planning the remaining sections of the North-South Corridor is also welcomed and we now look forward to construction funding commitments in next year’s state and Commonwealth budgets – including the $1.2 billion of Commonwealth money that has been promised but not yet delivered.”
He also welcomed the introduction of a $315 million Regional Roads and Infrastructure Fund over the next four years to be funded under a Royalties for Regions program similar to that previously enacted in Western Australia, but asked for transparency about how the funds were spent.
The scheme will see 30 per cent of SA’s mining royalties quarantined for the fund, to be used both for targeted road upgrades (including the state’s contribution to the Port Wakefield works) and maintenance activities.
Overall, Knapp says the budget was a “good first budget for the transport and logistics industry,” but nonetheless notes that the amount of road maintenance funding had been reduced, to $127.1 million in 2018-19 from $136 million in 2017-18.
“We trust that the budget surpluses outlined by the Treasurer for future years will be able to be accessed to maintain and improve road asset conditions over the long term,” he says.
The budget statement comes days after the Federal Government announced it would allocate $72 million to building a single-lane overpass for the Port Wakefield Road over the intersection of the Augusta and Copper Coast highways, as well as duplicating the Port Wakefield Road through the town of the same name.
The South Australian government will provide the remaining $18 million for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2022.
Further to this, the South Australian government has committed $20 million over the next four years to developing a masterplan for its GlobeLink proposal that will look into developing an alternative non-stop corridor connecting Port Adelaide to the state’s south east.
The government says that corridor, which may be rail or road, would provide safer and more efficient movement of freight, as well as avoiding more heavily populated areas.
The study will also investigate options for a 24-hour freight only airport near Murray Bridge to increase access to international markets, an intermodal export park near Murray Bridge to attract major logistics business, and other associated freight services, it says.