SA Election 2018: Premier Jay Weatherill launches Labor’s state election campaign, with $2b plan for new infrastructure

PREMIER Jay Weatherill has promised to eliminate seven dangerous level crossings and build new tram lines as part of a $2 billion infrastructure plan to create jobs.

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PREMIER Jay Weatherill has promised to eliminate seven dangerous level crossings and build new tram lines as part of a $2 billion infrastructure plan to create jobs.

Labor on Sunday officially launched its state election campaign, with a keynote address from Federal Labor Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek.

The central new announcement for Mr Weatherill was a jobs package he said would create 1700 jobs a year between now and 2022.

.@JayWeatherill will make South Australian jobs his number one priority, if re-elected.

MORE: https://t.co/j2bVVwvtTI pic.twitter.com/gy3KoQz92o

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 18, 2018

The total package costs $2 billion, but he would not reveal how much was going to each of its three parts — a new deep sea port, level crossing upgrades and tram extensions.

The port plan includes state taxpayer money being used to leverage private investment.

Mr Weatherill has not said how much taxpayer funds would be involved, or the partner investor.

The new tram lines to be funded under the policy have also not been confirmed.

The seven level crossings to be upgraded are:

■ Torrens Rd at Ovingham

■ Park Tce at Salisbury

■ Tapleys Hill Rd and Trimmer Parade at Seaton

■ Brighton Rd at Hove

■ Cross Rd at Westbourne Park

■ Goodwood Rd at Goodwood and Marion and

■ Cross Rd at Plympton Park.

Premier Jay Weatherill and Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan. Picture: Tom Huntley

At the launch, Ms Plibersek said the State Government “actually does something about jobs, it delivers them”.

“You are underpinning your plan for jobs with the most farsighted energy policy in the country,” Ms Plibersek said.

“The eyes of the whole world are on SA. “

“All of this stands in very sharp contrast to the Liberals, and to Nick Xenophon and SA Best.

“No matter how bad the Liberals are, I think Nick Xenophon might just be worse.

“This bloke is a former Liberal. His candidates are Liberals. His staff are all Liberals. His donors are all Liberals.”

Ms Plibersek said she had a long friendship with Mr Weatherill, which included working together as the state and federal ministers responsible for housing.

“I saw his passion for making sure that housing was available for low income South Australians,” Ms Plibersek said.

“I can tell you, after negotiating with Jay Weatherill, we would walk away counting our fingers to make sure that you still had them all because he fought hard and was so relentless.”

Ms Plibersek also credited Mr Weatherill for his famous attack on Federal Energy Minister Josh Fydenberg, where the Premier accused the national government of not supporting SA.

“Jay fixed him with the sort of glare that a cobra would give a frightened mouse,” she said.

“That was Jay in a nutshell — intelligent, articulate, direct and not afraid to take on anyone.”

Speaking after the launch, Mr Weatherill said he would “always stand up for SA” and said that jobs were his top priority.

ABS figures show that SA has the second highest unemployment in the nation and had added 16,800 jobs over the past five years, out of nearly a million nationwide.

“Jobs have to be our number one priority,” Mr Weatherill said.

“Investing in infrastructure creates jobs now … but it also creates jobs in the future as the productive capacity of SA improves.

“Look at our investments in Adelaide Oval … (and) the Riverbank precinct. “This is causing the private sector cranes to emerge in other parts of the city. This is exactly what will happen.”

Mr Weatherill said jobs had always been :abor’s top priority, and recent results were “good, but not good enough”.

Mr Weatherill left open the prospect of sending the State Budget back into deficit to fund his campaign promises.

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has recently got the Budget back in black and his December Mid Year Budget review included surpluses across the next four years.

“We will account for all of our election commitments in the ordinary way towards the end of the campaign,” he said.

“All of them will be accounted for, all of them will be fully funded,” he said.

Asked about a possible deficit, Mr Weatherill said: “You’ll see what we do”.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said details on where new trams would go and their costs would be released during the coming four weeks of the campaign.

“We will be committing to the next stages of expanding our tram network in metropolitan Adelaide,” he said.

“We’ll be saying more about these three initiatives throughout the campaign.

He said engineering details around the use of over or underpasses were yet to be determined.

Policy police

What? A $2 billion infrastructure package Labor says will create 1700 jobs a year for four years.

How? Level crossing upgrades, new trams, and a port.

Pub test? A good headline, but lacks key detail on where trams will be, how port is delivered and where all the money goes.

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