State election 2018: Labor campaign to unveil plans for $500m Spencer Gulf deep water port

LABOR will today promise to build a $500 million-plus deep water port in the Spencer Gulf as the centrepiece of its election campaign launch.

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LABOR will today promise to build a $500 million-plus deep water port in the Spencer Gulf as the centrepiece of its election campaign launch.

Premier Jay Weatherill will unveil the party’s “Standing up for South Australia” campaign in the city this morning.

Yesterday, Mr Weatherill visited the Governor to officially start the month-long election campaign, placing the State Government into caretaker mode which prevents it from signing major contracts or making significant appointments.

Mr Weatherill has named employment as the top priority for his re-election platform.

Liberal Leader Steven Marshall argues it’s “time for change” after 16 years of Labor and says he has “a much greater ambition for our state”.

SA Best Leader Nick Xenophon has announced candidates in 35 of the 47 state electorates but says he wants the balance of power in the Parliament to be a “watchdog” and improve transparency.

Premier Jay Weatherill leaves Government House on Saturday after the issuing of writs. AAP Image/Roy Vandervegt

At Labor’s campaign launch today, Mr Weatherill will outline a plan to build a new multi-user, bulk commodity, deep water port in the Spencer Gulf, to be used by the mining and agricultural sectors.

He expects the project to cost between $500 million and $700 million and to create about 400 construction jobs and 100 ongoing roles.

An exact location is yet to be chosen. It is understood a re-elected Labor Government would want the project completed in 2022.

“Jobs are my number one priority at this election, which is why we will be investing in roads, rail and a new port,” Mr Weatherill said.

Jay Weatherill has a beer with his father George after launching the election campaign at the Lockleys Hotel. AAP Image/Russell Millard

Labor promised at the 2014 election to lobby for federal funding for port infrastructure.

The Liberals have flagged intentions at previous state elections to develop a deep sea port in the Spencer Gulf and are promising to boost export opportunities if they win next month’s poll.

Mr Weatherill yesterday confirmed he intends to stay on as Premier for the full next term of Parliament if Labor is re-elected on March 17. But, he would not say if he would step aside if the party loses.

Mr Xenophon deflected questions about whether he wanted to be Premier. He suggested he may announce another candidate in “the next few days” but would not hit 47.

Mr Xenophon clarified late yesterday that 10 of his candidates have received loans to cover the $20,000 SA Best campaign contribution, and have agreed to pay back the money if they are elected.

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Mr Weatherill and Mr Marshall said they wanted to run “positive”, clean campaigns but Mr Xenophon said he expected “this will be a nasty campaign”.

Police received reports on day one of the campaign yesterday that 100 posters of Liberal Hartley MP Vincent Tarzia had gone missing.

Mr Xenophon conceded that his party was paying people to erect posters, despite initially saying SA Best did not “have the budget for that”.