PUBLIC SECTOR WEEK

Mr O'BRIEN (Napier) (14:45): My question is to the Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management. How is the government acknowledging the valuable work performed by our public sector?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (14:45): Unlike those opposite, we value our public servants, and the public sector is, of course, the government's means of taking action. We view the public sector as our most important asset but also an asset whose value we need to realise, not a burden to be minimised.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I would have thought those opposite might have learnt their lesson from the last election, many of them having near-death experiences after they decided to take an axe to the Public Service.

We have great ambitions for the public sector but, to achieve this, we realise we have to not only encourage the Public Service but also extract the most from it that we can. Public Sector Week is designed to do just that. It is another of the Government Reform Commission's proposals that have been implemented, and it is about opening up the public sector to the public to show people how their tax dollars are being spent.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Hammond!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: But it is also to showcase careers in the public sector to enable us to attract and retain the people that we need. One of the major ways of doing that this week has been a range of tours in such diverse workplaces as the police barracks, fire service headquarters, a fisheries vessel, the traffic control centre, the botanic gardens, the Naracoorte caves, a hyperbaric chamber, an operating theatre and a cemetery. So, there is a whole range of behind-the-doors tours that have been made available. They are incredibly popular. Many of them have been booked out, and most are heavily subscribed.

We are also trialling some service delivery innovations during the week as a way of teasing out good ideas that our public employees have come up with around the question of customer service. Public Sector Week also involves a big philanthropic exercise to assist homeless people by contributing to the common ground project.

Also, last night I was very pleased to assist the Premier in presenting his Premier's Awards, which are designed to recognise excellence in the public sector. There were six categories of awards to reflect the six objectives of our State Strategic Plan. The winners were:

Growing prosperity:

The Plan for Accelerating Exploration, or PACE (the Department of Primary Industries and Resources). PACE has contributed to a large upsurge in exploration from around $42 million to $260 million in just four years, which has led to the development of 30 projects which are currently in various stages of approval.

Improving wellbeing:

Oral Health for Older People (the South Australian Dental Service), which trialled an oral health assessment screening tool for older people in residential care, completing 3,500 check-ups and referring more than 30 per cent of those people for dental treatment.

Attaining Sustainability:

Living and breathing the Zero Waste Ethos (Zero Waste SA). The work of Zero Waste has contributed to the level of waste going to landfill in metropolitan areas falling by 11 per cent, a remarkable reduction given South Australia's growing economy.

Fostering Creativity:

Bio Innovation SA, which has overseen a doubling in the number of biotechnical companies in South Australia, employing around 1,200 people and generating $180 million in revenue.

Building Communities:

South Australia Works in the Regions (the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology), has helped train nearly 28,000 people across the state since 2004 in 1,100 individual projects.

Expanding opportunity:

The Coordinated Response to Aboriginal Disadvantage on the APY lands has coordinated services across all levels of government in a way that no other intervention has been able to do, including a 60 per cent reduction in the number of petrol sniffers on its last count.

There were two individual winners chosen by the judges for going 'beyond their job' to produce outstanding results. The first is Paul Herzich from the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, who was recognised for his outstanding contribution to increasing our community's understanding of Aboriginal cultures by designing road corridor landscapes that incorporate aspects of our Aboriginal heritage. The second is Sunny Yang, Director of Immigration SA, herself a migrant to South Australia, who has steered Immigration SA to achieving record high international migration to the state to assist in population growth. She is a passionate and dedicated advocate for the state's international migration program. I congratulate all the winners.