MEDIA RELEASE 

25 June 2020

Time to shelve the North-South Corridor Road Project

The state’s peak environment body has backed the Property Council’s call to shelve the N-S Corridor upgrade in favour of better job creating options.

“The North-South Corridor upgrade will be a phenomenal amount of money with limited return on jobs and create worse social and environmental outcomes,” said Conservation SA’s Chief Executive Craig Wilkins.

“Right now, we need to focus on projects that deliver multiple benefits: employment, social equity and the environment.

“Two options instantly spring to mind. For every $1 billion on bushfire recovery and land restoration, 10,000 jobs are created.

“Restoring communities and improving agricultural land and wildlife areas devastated by the recent bushfires will increase productivity and drive employment, particularly in regional areas.

“And according to the American Public Transport Association, for every $1 billion invested in public transport infrastructure, 36,000 jobs are created.

“There wouldn’t be a debate over scrapping hundreds of bus stops if the $11 billion intended for a massive road expansion was invested instead on public transport, electric vehicles and cycling.

“Upgrading South Road is last century thinking. As the massive reduction in congestion during COVID-19 has shown, we don’t need bigger roads, we need better options to move people away from driving their cars during peak hour.

“We can do so much better, and deliver many more jobs at the same time,” Mr Wilkins said.

Release Ends

Media Contact: Craig Wilkins, 0417 879 439