Ministerial Statement

Leigh Creek

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:03): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: On Wednesday 7 October Alinta Energy announced that operational mining at Leigh Creek will cease on 17 November 2015 and the Port Augusta power stations will cease generation around 31 March 2016. Our priority is the 440 Port Augusta and Leigh Creek Alinta workers and the future opportunities that may present themselves for these workers and their families.

That is why the state government announced last month that it would continue to provide services to Leigh Creek until at least July 2018 to provide certainty for the communities of our state's Far North. At the same time, the state government has been talking with the Port Augusta and Leigh Creek communities to better understand the kind of services and infrastructure the Leigh Creek community in particular needs moving forward.

Last week, the government provided a $50,000 grant to fund a pilot skills development project with Sundrop Farms near Port Augusta, which will assist Sundrop Farms to deliver specific skills to 32 local jobseekers, with the first intake of 25 people expected to gain a job at Sundrop Farms within the coming months.

The state government is contributing $6 million from the Regional Development Fund towards Sundrop Farms' greenhouse expansion—growing high quality produce in the desert using solar energy and desalinated water. This pilot project aligns with the state government's Our Jobs Plan and supports a number of the economic priorities within the state's economic plan, including premium food and wine produced in our clean environment exported to the world and growth through innovation.

We continue to advance the upgrade and sealing of the Strzelecki Track, identified in both our Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan and our Roadmap for Oil and Gas Projects in South Australia. On 29 September, Infrastructure Australia announced that the Strzelecki Track upgrade and sealing project had achieved an early stage rating on their infrastructure priority list, and the South Australian government will continue to work with Infrastructure Australia to advance this project.

Also, there remains a strong community ambition for a clean energy future for Port Augusta. At least two proposals for large-scale clean energy production appear to show potential and we will continue to work with the community and the proponents to advance these projects. We will continue to work closely with the Alinta employees to help them find new employment opportunities within the region and more broadly across the state, if that is what they choose. We also know that 132 of the Alinta workers have the right to return to public sector employment opportunities and we will honour that commitment under the electricity corporations act 1999.

But we must also consider the future opportunities that the closure of coalmining may bring for Leigh Creek and the surrounding communities. Leigh Creek is located in a particularly picturesque part of the Northern Flinders Ranges and has neighbours which include Beltana, Copley, Lyndhurst and Farina, Nepabunna and Iga Warta. It is also on the route leading travellers to the Birdsville and Strzelecki tracks. Leigh Creek's main tourism potential revolves around the tavern, airport, Leigh Creek South Motors and the caravan park. The Aroona Dam sanctuary and the mine itself show potential for future tourism ventures.

I was recently in Leigh Creek and the surrounding parts of the state. There is enormous potential for new industry and tourism for the region, something I saw during my recent visit. It is a beautiful part of the state. That is why I have announced today that the state government has opened a request for information process, inviting industries to put forward their ideas for new business ventures in the Leigh Creek region. Former South Australian education and tourism minister Dr Jane Lomax-Smith has been appointed to oversee the process.

Partnerships with government, new industries and businesses will be crucial when decisions are made about Leigh Creek's future beyond July 2018. We know through the state government's Upper Spencer Gulf and Outback Community Engagement Team, which has been on the ground in Leigh Creek for the last four months, that the Leigh Creek community has already floated some ideas to keep the town viable, especially in the areas of tourism and education. We now want to hear from people, businesses and industries who have firm ideas for new ventures in the Leigh Creek region.

Dr Lomax-Smith's experience in government and in education and tourism makes her an ideal choice to oversee the request for information process. The Department of State Development and other state government agencies, such as the South Australian Tourism Commission, will support Dr Lomax-Smith as requests for information are received. Businesses with a proposal will be given information about the current infrastructure in the town, and state government officials will meet with those requesting information to discuss their ideas. The request for information process will remain open until 31January 2016.

At the same time, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure will be undertaking a strategic option study which will look into issues such as the financial and social analysis of infrastructure and service provision in the town; assessment of a range of options as to the spatial form that the township should adopt in the future; private sector opportunities and challenges based on the new town form; possible governance models; recommendations on the preferred way forward for the township and governance based on the points above; and a transition plan.

The state government remains very optimistic about Port Augusta and Leigh Creek's future. With the ideas already suggested by the community, elected leaders such as the member for Stuart and the business ventures set to be proposed during the next few months, we are confident the Upper Spencer Gulf and its surrounding communities will have a sustainable and exciting future.