Federal Liberal MP Nicolle Flint wants to get trucks and trains out of the Hills by other means, as GlobeLink plans abandoned
Boothby MP Nicolle Flint has urged the State Government to continue with other plans for getting trucks and trains to bypass the Hills, after the Globelink project fell through.
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Federal Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has vowed to “keep up the fight” to get trucks and freight trains out of Adelaide suburbs and the Hills after the State Government scrapped its GlobeLink plans.
The Boothby MP has called on the State Government to commission planning studies into a truck bypass, and road and rail grade separations.
“I will not give up on my fight to protect the safety of my residents, improve their quality of life and make sure they spend less time stuck in traffic each day,” Ms Flint tweeted on Tuesday.
“I was fighting for this well before entering parliament and I will continue to do so.
“Getting trucks and freight trains out of our suburbs and the hills was never going to be quick or easy, but that’s no reason to give up.”
At the last state election the Marshall Liberal government said they would investigate the business case for their Globelink Plan, which aimed to build a new freight hub and get trucks and rail freight trains out of our suburbs and the Hills. The Marshall government announced...
— Nicolle Flint MP (@NicolleFlint) January 28, 2020
A report by KPMG for the State Government found the business case for GlobeLink – a key pre-election pitch by the Liberals – did not stack up.
GlobeLink would have included a new freight airport near Monarto, and dual rail-road lines linking it to Port Adelaide. It was heavily spruiked by Ms Flint in her Boothby re-election campaign, and Georgina Downer in her two bids to win the seat of Mayo, because of the project’s promise to reduce heavy vehicle traffic in the electorates. In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Flint blamed low population and economic growth under the former State Labor Government as reasons why the project did not stack up.
Transport Minister Stephan Knoll on Monday said the State Government had “fulfilled its election commitment” to fund a business case into the GlobeLink plan announced in 2017.
The KPMG report concluded that neither the airport, planned freeway connection or freight rail upgrade would deliver a benefit that justified the immense costs involved.
Mr Knoll said the State Government will investigate several road connectivity options identified in the report to help deliver the objectives of GlobeLink in the long term.
He said the State and Commonwealth governments had committed $40 million for projects to help address traffic issues in the Hills and surrounding suburbs.
Premier Steven Marshall said he regretted that GlobeLink had not stacked up as a project. “My obligation is to spend taxpayers’ money wisely,” he said.
State Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said GlobeLink had joined a long list of fundamental broken promises since the last State Election.