The Opposition has blasted the State Government over delays to Mount Gambier’s public bus system.


Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Vincent Tarzia said regional communities were still no closer to getting improved public transport services after “another delay to the Malinauskas Labor Government’s regional public transport review”.


“After announcing funding to conduct a review more than two years ago, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport blamed its own slow work – to issue a tender – on the latest delay,” Mr Tarzia said.


“While the state’s second-biggest city has been granted a minor extension to make the Mount Gambier Foodbank accessible via their public bus service, council have told Tom Koutsantonis that it is just one of many priority sites requiring a service.


“With a population of around 30,000 people, the City of Mount Gambier’s 2021 review of public transport found services would be adequate for a small town of 3000 people, which is just a tenth of the catchment area of the South East city.


“Council’s review also found that $234 per capita is spent on public transport in Adelaide, compared to minuscule $11 per head in Mount Gambier.”


Mr Tarzia said the “vast discrepancy in public transport services between the country and the city is alarming”.


“Mount Gambier’s public bus service has remained almost identical for 30 years, and despite funding being allocated in Labor’s first budget in 2022, South Australia’s regions are no closer to getting an improved service,” Mr Tarzia said.


“Buses only run five days a week, from 9am-5pm, meaning it is not accessible for daytime office workers, nighttime employees, or weekend workers.


“Those without a driver’s licence and who have accessibility issues are totally disadvantaged by the inadequate bus transport system, which does not service – or barely services – key locations like the university, TAFE, Mount Gambier Hospital and the new Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre.”


Shadow Minister for Regional South Australia Ben Hood said he had been advocating for improvements to Mount Gambier’s bus service for years, since his time serving as Deputy Mayor of the council.


“This is another election commitment by the Malinauskas Labor Government which has so far gone nowhere,” Mr Hood said.


“When I asked the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven last year for an update on the public transport review, parliament was told that it was already under way.


“Clearly, either Clare Scriven – who, like me, is a South East local – was speaking out of turn and beyond her brief, or the South Australian people were being misled.


“Labor signed onto a new eight-year contract in August 2023 that remains identical to the service we have already got, which everyone acknowledges is vastly inadequate and outdated.


“An example of just how inadequate our bus service is, if you want to get from the east end of Mount Gambier to the west – a journey of less than seven kilometres – it could take you up to two hours.”


However, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven hit back at the Opposition’s claims.


“It was the Labor Government who made a pre-election commitment to undertake the review of regional public transport services to identify opportunities for better integrated public transport in regional areas. The tender to carry out the review was released on Monday and the review will take a number of months with extensive consultation taking place in 2024 and 2025,” she said.


“Ben Hood claims that he was advocating back in 2021 for a review, but of course there was a Liberal government in place then. Since the Liberal government did not take any action, Mr Hood’s advocacy obviously was not very successful.


“But what we have done as a government is committed to that review and put the funds behind it. Now, the preparation work obviously needed to happen and there was also the crossover with the need to re-sign contracts or to issue new contracts.


“Mr Hood is also inaccurate in saying is that those contracts cannot be changed. There is the capacity to change them, as evidenced by the fact there’s already in process the extension of the routes to Food Bank. If those contracts had not been signed at that time, bus services would have stopped.


“It’s hard to understand what Mr Hood is suggesting should have happened instead?”


Minister Scriven said the review will consider how many people are currently using public transport and where they go, getting key feedback from stakeholders about current and future needs, and liaising with other service delivery agencies in the regions to look at integration opportunities.


“The State Government looks forward to continuing the vital work on this review and delivering for regional South Australia,” she said.