ADULT LEARNERS' WEEK

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. Can the minister inform the house about Adult Learners' Week and the recognition given to leading educators and learners through the Adult Learners' Week Awards?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (15:02): Yes, I can. I thank the member for Reynell for this question and again acknowledge her longstanding advocacy and commitment to the adult community education sector both locally, in her local community, and throughout our state. This government recognises the value that further education skills have in making a massive difference to opportunities for people to enable them to get meaningful employment. Adult Learners' Week, which ran during the first week of September, is all about celebrating these achievements and the increased opportunities generated in this important area. I am very proud of the role the state government plays in supporting people in our ACE (as it is also known) sector.

Over the coming year, more than 1,500 people will take part in accredited foundation skills programs, and around 5,000 people are expected to take part in non-accredited programs offered through libraries, community centres and neighbourhood houses right across our state. Adult community education is important to the people in our local communities who face barriers of one kind or another that make going off to study at TAFE or university a very daunting prospect. But we know that, when they re-engage with education through adult community education by taking on studies like foundation skills courses, that often sparks an appetite to go on further, and we certainly want more of that.

I was delighted to attend the Adult Learners' Week Awards a couple of weeks ago with the member for Reynell, which recognised outstanding achievers in this field. In this regard, I would love to pay particular tribute to this year's Adult Learner of the Year, a young woman by the name of Naomi Stanbury. For those of us who were at the awards presentation, she told her story. It was an amazing story and she detailed the many hurdles she had to get over to enable her to be where she is today. She is now, I am very pleased to report, studying a diploma of community services and working at one of her local community centres. And to her great credit, she is helping others in the community and wants one day to go on to become an adult educator.

Can I also take this opportunity to congratulate other award winners: Mr Paul Fay of the Driving Industry Skills Centre for Adult Educator of the Year in the paid category; Miss Hellena MacKenzie of the Burton and Morella Community Centre and The Parafield Gardens Children's Centre for Adult Educator of the Year as a volunteer; Northern Volunteering SA as the Adult Learning Program of the Year; and Regional Development Australia Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula as the Adult Learning Community of the Year.

I thank and acknowledge the staff and the volunteers who do so much in this sector. I have to say that, being the relatively newly-appointed minister, I have had the enormous privilege and pleasure of encountering so many young South Australians and older South Australians who have benefited from our multimillion dollar program Skills for All in our state. Yes, the Minister for Health is nodding—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: The father of Skills for All.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: —the father of Skills for All—seeking to take credit for this very important area because we know there are three very important facts that guide me as minister.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: I'll tell you: No. 1—

The SPEAKER: Alas, those three points will go unmentioned because the minister's time has now expired. The leader.