Federal election: Peter Dutton promises to beat Labor to the punch of Cross Road, South Eastern Freeway upgrades

The Opposition Leader has hit Adelaide for the first time in this election campaign – with a near billion-dollar promise on a divisive political issue.

Peter Dutton has attacked Anthony Albanese for refusing to match his
$840m funding commitment for a $1bn Adelaide freight bypass, saying this condemned the project to oblivion under Labor.

Visiting Adelaide on Monday for the first time in the May 3 election campaign, the Opposition Leader vowed to cut truck congestion on Cross and Portrush roads earlier than Labor by accelerating the bypass.

He trumped Labor’s $525m commitment in March by declaring a Coalition government would this year start pouring $840m into the heavy vehicle bypass around the Adelaide Hills.

The Liberals say this is expected to remove about 60 per cent of heavy vehicles from the South Eastern Freeway between Murray Bridge and Adelaide, keeping them off suburban roads.

Labor in March promised $525m toward the $1.05bn project – with a 50:50 split of federal/state money – after a bungled budget announcement.

Asked on Monday morning in Melbourne if he would match the Liberal plan, Mr Albanese said his opponents “will see if they have a different policy tomorrow” and spelled out a Labor infrastructure investment framework, with timelines, including more than $7bn for the North-South road corridor.

Speaking at an Adelaide press conference later on Monday morning, Mr Dutton said his rival’s refusal to match Coalition funding “means that the project won’t go ahead under Mr Albanese”.

“The 80-20 (funding) split that we’ve provided is going to be a game changer. It will see the project funded, it will see it properly funded and the Prime Minister’s refusal to support this project I think is a real blow to the Labor Party’s standing here in South Australia,” he said.

“It shows that they’re not serious about what is a very important project. I want to make sure that we can get this project up and running quickly. We’ll work with the Malinauskas government very closely to make sure it’s a reality.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton with Boothby candidate Nicolle Flint at the bottom of the South Eastern Freeway in Adelaide – which would have heavy trucks diverted off it under a plan for a major freight bypass.

Mr Dutton sowed division between state and federal Labor by promising a Coalition government would deliver 80 per cent of the funds, which state Transport Minister Tom Koutstanonis has said is the usual ratio.

“This exciting project will cut congestion and improve the safety of Adelaide suburban streets, as well as making a significant improvement to the national freight task at both the Sturt Highway and duplication of the Swanport Bridge on the South Eastern Freeway,” Mr Dutton said.

A map of the proposed route, released by the federal government in March, shows the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass leaving the South Eastern Freeway west of Murray Bridge, near Monarto, and heading towards Truro, with minor bypasses around Cambrai and Sedan.

Keeping trucks off Cross Rd once the $15.4bn Torrens to Darlington tunnels and North-South road corridor are complete has become a key election issue in the southwestern Adelaide seat of Boothby, held by Labor with a 3.3 per cent margin.

Both Liberal candidate Nicolle Flint and Labor MP Louise Miller-Frost have accused the other of plans to turn Cross Rd into a heavy truck route.

In a further pitch for Boothby, Mr Dutton on Monday announced a Coalition government would deliver $2m to fund a Goodwood Oval playing surface upgrade and 17 new cricket practice nets.

Two trucks that collided on the corner of Portrush Road and Glen Osmond Road in 2022. Picture: Dean Martin

Getting trucks off Portrush Rd is also an issue in the eastern Adelaide seat of Sturt, where Liberal MP James Stevens is defending a razor-thin 0.5 per cent margin.

Coalition roads and road safety spokesman Tony Pasin, also the Barker MP, said the freight bypass was “vital for increasing the productivity, efficiency and safety of South Australia’s freight network”.

”Three years of Labor’s inaction has put our state in the slow lane,” he said.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King announced Labor’s $525m bypass pledge the day after the March 25 federal budget, with her office saying it had been “baked into” a $17.1bn funding package.

Under questioning in Senate estimates two days after the budget, Infrastructure Department officials revealed the bypass funding was expected to be met in a 50/50 split with the state government.

Later that day, Mr Koutsantonis said he was unaware of the proposed split and “generally freight projects are funded 80/20”.

Originally published as Federal election: Peter Dutton promises to beat Labor to the punch of Cross Road, South Eastern Freeway upgrades