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Speaker 1: Heading over to Ki or back the other way. At

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Speaker 1: the moment, the Kangaroo Island is a bit of an

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Speaker 1: issue because one ferry is out of action for scheduled maintenance.

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Speaker 1: I don't know how long that takes, but it will

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Speaker 1: be a while. Meantime, just one ferry is operating back

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Speaker 1: and forth, and that is essential. But there are problems.

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Speaker 1: There are problems in that because residents can't get on

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Speaker 1: or off, tourists can't get on or off visitors, along

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Speaker 1: with the fact that the lack of rain this year

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Speaker 1: is impacting on livestock fee for farmers on the island

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Speaker 1: as well, and supplies are limited getting back and forth.

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Speaker 1: It really is the perfect storm, I suppose, in regards

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Speaker 1: to everything going wrong at the wrong time. So, okay,

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Speaker 1: it's scheduled servicing and these things need to happen for

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Speaker 1: the boat to remain in service and to continue operating.

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Speaker 1: New boats are due next year, incidentally, but this is

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Speaker 1: a problem today. Let's talk to the Mayor of Kangaroo Island,

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Speaker 1: the council there, Michael Pengilly.

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Speaker 2: Michael, good morning, Good morning, Matthew, Good morning, your listeners.

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Speaker 1: It sounds quite serious for people who are on the island.

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Speaker 1: It must be frustrating.

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Speaker 2: It is very frustrating. It's a very anxious time for

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Speaker 2: residents who want to travel. Visitors numbers are lower this

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Speaker 2: year this time of year, of course, but it's particularly

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Speaker 2: concerning at the moment for the farming sector, only having

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Speaker 2: one boat. We had a very coarse spring, so there's

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Speaker 2: limited high around, limited grain crops, and they really had

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Speaker 2: any rain since about last June to feel damned. So

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Speaker 2: even some of the wet areas of the island are

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Speaker 2: running out of water. The detail plant hasn't been commissioned yet.

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Speaker 2: It's all very concerning and it's causing a lot of

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Speaker 2: inks to a lot of people. So, yeah, it's an

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Speaker 2: essential service. You said essential at the start, Well, it's

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Speaker 2: an essential service. I'm in the view that one of

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Speaker 2: the options may be to try and get a barge in.

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Speaker 2: The boats have to be careful what they carry. If

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Speaker 2: they carry hay, they've got to have it put out

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Speaker 2: a fire if it starts. So they're looking at opportunities

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Speaker 2: there with the Sea Lion, which is not the freight boat,

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Speaker 2: and they're also looking at the Spirit of kis on

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Speaker 2: us off at the moment, which is the nominated freight boat.

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Speaker 2: So it's just everything sort of turned into the proverbial

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Speaker 2: sandwich at the moment. Cranky, very cranky people need to

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Speaker 2: get away, medical appointments, all sorts of things as well.

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Speaker 2: Locals can't get on the boat they have put on,

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Speaker 2: in fairness the ceiling. They have after a febit of

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Speaker 2: pushing and shoving, started to put on a few extra boats.

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Speaker 2: But they've got problems also with c crew fatigue, so

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Speaker 2: they've actually had to call crew back from leave to

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Speaker 2: do extra hours on the boat. If the boat starts

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Speaker 2: at four point thirty in the morning in Benishow doesn't

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Speaker 2: finish til sort of eight o'clock at night, that's a

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Speaker 2: long day and you can't expect crew to be extremely

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Speaker 2: active and skippers and things over that period of time,

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Speaker 2: so it's not a happy time. A good rain would

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Speaker 2: lift every spirits within in the town or on a

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Speaker 2: farm or forever to be beverly, honest and across the stato.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, I got at the start.

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Speaker 1: I think you're right. It's just very dry now normal

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Speaker 1: scheduling obviously, and they picked the quieter time of year

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Speaker 1: as you said, to do this. It can't be helped.

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Speaker 1: I mean if they don't do it, then obviously you

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Speaker 1: get the risk of a boat eventually being out of

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Speaker 1: commission for longer.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's exacerbated by the poort Adelaide slip is

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Speaker 2: out of work getting an upgrade, is out of commission

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Speaker 2: getting an upgrade. So the only other option is to

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Speaker 2: go to the Poor Lincoln Slip, and that's loaded up

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Speaker 2: to the hilt with boats. I think my understanding is

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Speaker 2: one boat went over there and found that there was

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Speaker 2: a vessel on the slip that they wouldn't let back

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Speaker 2: in the water, so it turned around and had to

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Speaker 2: have new engines. So they actually put the new engines

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Speaker 2: in the ferry at Cape Jervis in the birth there

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Speaker 2: where they tie up when necessary. So it's as the

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Speaker 2: time of the year, four moments where there be whatever

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Speaker 2: boats they are. So we'll go back into two boats

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Speaker 2: in ten days or something like that I think is now.

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Speaker 2: That's till the end of June, and then usually around

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Speaker 2: the time of school holidays or just after in July,

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Speaker 2: the other vessel goes off for a more prolonged maintenance

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Speaker 2: through to sometime in August. So look, it's just everything

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Speaker 2: called us by the short hairs to be perfectly honest, mate,

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Speaker 2: I've been working with Persia, with the Department of Transport,

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Speaker 2: with seilingk whether the ag KI and anybody else who

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Speaker 2: transport operators. So we're trying to get some marters out

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Speaker 2: of it. As I said, it's been a bit of

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Speaker 2: a slog to get over the line with more trips.

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Speaker 2: But I do say that to local people, you know,

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Speaker 2: if there's boats put on extra book can get on them.

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Speaker 2: It might not be your ideal time to go, but

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Speaker 2: if you want to get away or want to get

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Speaker 2: back to the island, you just have to be there

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Speaker 2: when the boats are running.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, that makes sense all right, And getting the

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Speaker 1: boats in the first place is obviously a struggle as

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Speaker 1: well and keeping them going too. So we'll speak John

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Speaker 1: Wheeler from Transport and just to tick on this too.

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Speaker 1: So Michael Pengilly really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you. Thanks math can you make it rain?

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Speaker 1: I'll do my best. Good on you, Michael Pengilly, the

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Speaker 1: Mayor of Kangaroo Island. Let's talk to John Wheeland, who

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Speaker 1: is indeed on the other line here. John, good morning,

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Speaker 1: the CEO of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, certainly

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Speaker 1: a rough time for people on k Yeah, good.

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Speaker 3: Morning, Matthew, and certainly Mayor Pengilly's summed it up quite well.

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Speaker 3: You know, it is important these vessels have the maintenance

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Speaker 3: and unfortunately with the Lacarraine on the island, there is

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Speaker 3: a requirement to get a little bit more fodder and

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Speaker 3: grain and hay over there. And I know Ceilink are

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Speaker 3: doing everything they can, putting some additional trips on. But

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Speaker 3: the really important thing is the Spirit of Ki is

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Speaker 3: in service at the moment and it comes back on

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Speaker 3: and that's a larger freight and passenger vehicle, so it

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Speaker 3: comes back online on the first of June, and I've

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Speaker 3: spoken to sea Link and they've got additional services to

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Speaker 3: go on to get that backlog caught up matching.

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Speaker 1: Okay, well that's promising, but this is happening again in

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Speaker 1: a month or two, isn't it with the other ferry

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Speaker 1: they've got.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll certainly work with Seelink on that. You know,

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Speaker 3: it's really important we do to maintenance this as the

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Speaker 3: mere Pengilly said, you know, the access to the slips

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Speaker 3: or where you can sort of do this maintenance work

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Speaker 3: to the vessels is critical. And otherwise they may have

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Speaker 3: to go to other areas like Western Australia or Casmees.

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Speaker 3: It's important that it's done in South Australia, which is

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Speaker 3: really key to it. What we want to do is

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Speaker 3: work and try and get these additional services put on,

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Speaker 3: pick up this backlog, get in advance of it. But

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Speaker 3: the real key thing in this bid is the fact

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Speaker 3: that there's been a lack of rain on KI has

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Speaker 3: put a little bit more demand unusually to take over

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Speaker 3: grain and hay to the island, which requires more more

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Speaker 3: space and certainly I know I spoke to the Chief

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Speaker 3: executive of FURSA. They're working very closely with ad KI

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Speaker 3: to make sure that we can service the demands of

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Speaker 3: the island during this period of essential maintenance of the

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Speaker 3: vessels matches.

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Speaker 1: Long term do we need more ferries, Well, the really key.

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Speaker 3: Thing is the state government's investing a lot of money

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Speaker 3: over seventy million dollars to upgrade both the Cape Jarvis

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Speaker 3: Court and the Pennieshaw Port. That works happening now, that'll

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Speaker 3: be completed early next year. And feeling on top of that,

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Speaker 3: have invested money in new vessels, new state of the vessels,

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Speaker 3: roll on roll off was to increased capacity for passengers

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Speaker 3: and freight, and they'll start next year as well. So

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Speaker 3: I think that's the really key point. And it's just

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Speaker 3: really a bit of a perfect storm due to the

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Speaker 3: lack of raine on the island.

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Speaker 1: That thing all right, John, appreciate the update there. Well,

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Speaker 1: I've got you. Is there an opening date for the

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Speaker 1: spur line into the port yet.

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Speaker 3: The teams are progressing really, really well. We've got to

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Speaker 3: work obviously with the kDa, the current operator on there,

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Speaker 3: but we're on track and it's pardon the punk. We're

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Speaker 3: to have that service running at the end of this year.

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Speaker 1: Matkive Jeah. I've seen photos of it online and trains

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Speaker 1: on it too. This is the National Railway Museum train

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Speaker 1: that they run there, the old red hen and that's

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Speaker 1: been shuttling back and forth. I suppose that's just some

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Speaker 1: of the signaling work and everything else that's been tested.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, the key point for us is to do all

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Speaker 3: that commissioning, all that testing, and then there is a

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Speaker 3: central point where we have to do driver training because

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Speaker 3: it is what we call a new piece of track,

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Speaker 3: and then what we want to do is work with

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Speaker 3: kDa to get a new timetable put in place, and

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Speaker 3: we're on track for having that all done and we'll

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Speaker 3: have services by the end of this year.

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Speaker 1: Matki John I was reading in a railway magazine just

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Speaker 1: came on the desk a couple of weeks ago catch

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Speaker 1: point where there was a suggestion that the old railway

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Speaker 1: corridor through Gilman should be used. It's still there largely intact,

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Speaker 1: although the city of Port Adelaide and Field key to

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Speaker 1: use it for a bicycle track. But what a good

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Speaker 1: idea not just to bring people into the port via

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Speaker 1: the outer Harbor line, the existing line through Woodville and

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Speaker 1: Alberton and Cheltenham and all the stations along there, but

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Speaker 1: also use that line. And Okay, there might be some

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Speaker 1: gauge issues that says in the article up near Wingfield, etc.

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Speaker 1: And Dry Creek, but share issues as well. But what

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Speaker 1: a good idea to bring people into the port from

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Speaker 1: gaul or Elizabeth and Salisbury and back the other way

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Speaker 1: by using that old rail loop.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Matthew, what we do know is people love Row

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Speaker 3: and it's the central part of our public transport system.

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Speaker 3: This government's committed and my department's looking at all the

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Speaker 3: options of rail corridors to see whether that can be done,

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Speaker 3: how it can be used. You raise a valid point

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Speaker 3: around gauges and that, but also you know we want

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Speaker 3: to invest into our infrastructure of that as well port

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Speaker 3: the port Spur line over fifty one million invested by

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Speaker 3: the state government owns in that lineup. We'll get that

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Speaker 3: up and running by the end of this year and

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Speaker 3: we'll look at some of the other options for other corridors.

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Speaker 3: That planning work into full swing this year. Massive.

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Speaker 1: So will you save that corridor then will you not

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Speaker 1: turn it or let the council turn it into a

200
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Speaker 1: walking track?

201
00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,560
Speaker 3: Although those are discussions that we're happy to have with counsel,

202
00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:16,280
Speaker 3: and you know these are state government decisions, cabinet decisions

203
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Speaker 3: around what's done with that. But certainly protecting our rail

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Speaker 3: corridors is important and there are other avenues we could use,

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Speaker 3: need to do planting, but to still have that corridor

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Speaker 3: open option. If we do want to bring back rail

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Speaker 3: onto those corridors natually.

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Speaker 1: Well you better get onto it quickly because I think

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Speaker 1: the Council's started work. So if that's if that's the case,

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Speaker 1: then well better write a letter today, John. But look,

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Speaker 1: thank you for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks all right.

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Speaker 1: Good on your John wheel and CEO Department of Transport

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Speaker 1: and Infrastructure,