PLAYFORD CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT

Mr O'BRIEN (Napier) (16:05): I wish to inform the house of a significant report that has just been released by Professor Richard Blandy entitled 'A Quantitative Assessment of the Playford Economy', which highlights the booming nature of the local economy within the Playford council area. My electorate of Napier is the only state electorate wholly contained within the Playford council area and sits near its geographic centre. Besides the strong economic positives highlighted in Professor Blandy's report, there are also highlighted some serious difficulties in the integration of the local community with this economic success, mainly due to the proportionally low number of people with post-school qualifications.

Given my interest in championing a significant improvement in the quality and accessibility of the education system in my electorate, I want to bring to the attention of the house the essence of the report. Professor Blandy's report gives reasons for further optimism on the economic front, with Playford's gross regional product now reaching $2.1 billion, which represents 3.4 per cent of the South Australian economy. Significantly, Playford's economy grew by a very healthy 4.9 per cent per annum between the years 2001 and 2006. This is significantly higher than the healthy overall growth rate of the South Australian economy, which stands at 2.5 per cent per annum for this period.

This economic growth is providing a much needed boost to the employment opportunities in Playford. Specifically, the number of jobs in Playford grew by a solid 3.9 per cent between 2001 and 2006, again significantly higher than the South Australian jobs growth rate of 1.9 per cent per annum. It effectively doubled the rate.

However, 60 per cent of jobs in Playford are filled by people who live in the wider Adelaide metropolitan area. This figure could potentially rise further, given that the manufacturing industry's share in the local economy is falling in favour of property and business services, government administration, defence-related activities, health and community services, and the retail trade. With the shifting economic focus of the area, the workforce is in the process of upskilling rapidly. In relation to the extra local jobs that were filled in Playford between 1991 and 2001, 87 per cent were filled by people with some form of post-school qualification, but only 36 per cent of jobs requiring a university degree were filled by locals. These figures demonstrate the importance of providing the youth in the northern suburbs with educational opportunities necessary to equip them with post-school qualifications necessary for employment in their community.

The government's building of the new superschools in the Smithfield Plains/Davoren Park/Playford North area is vital in order to rejuvenate the education system of the region. I have maintained a strong interest in their development. My three-week study tour of English specialist high schools in July 2006 convinced me of the success that school specialisation can achieve. The new birth-to-year-12 super school at Playford North is planning to adopt a health and health science specialism, which will allow its students to explore pathways into the many health-related opportunities in the area. Craigmore High School is teaming with Parafield Gardens High School as a trades school for the future, with an advanced manufacturing high-tech speciality.

With the northern suburbs on the cusp of a significant acceleration of the economic boom already under way, it is imperative that local youth, in particular, are given every educational opportunity to attain the level of training and education to allow them to enjoy the fruits of this prosperity. I am sure the embracing of specialism by high schools across the entire northern suburbs will continue, and Professor Blandy's timely report will supply extra encouragement to this process.