Regional South Australia

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:30): Regional and rural areas are the engine room of the South Australian economy. As can be seen on the carpet in this place, wheat and grapes are part of the great produce of this state. It includes not only agriculture but also tourism. Particularly in the seat of Finniss, tourism is very important to the regional and rural economy, which brings in $25 billion a year to the gross state product, and it accounts for 50 per cent of merchandise exports. Agriculture is certainly a big contributor to that, and over many years my industry, the dairy industry, has played a great part in providing income for this state.

There is still huge potential in this space. We are seeing great investment occurring in some of the dairy regions of South Australia at a processing level and, hopefully, that will lead to higher prices paid to farmers and therefore increased economic development right down to the farmer level. We are gradually seeing those improvements come forward. It is great news that dairy industry processing factories at Murray Bridge and Jervois, as well as at Penola, are going to require significant increases in volumes of milk over the next 12 months or so, and we are seeing an extra 100 litres of milk required just for the factories over at Murray Bridge and Jervois. When that is about 20 per cent of what is currently produced here, we are going to see significant demand and, hopefully, good returns to farmers.

We are also seeing the neglect that occurred over the previous 16 years. At times, rather than encouraging dairy processors to set up and re-establish in rural and regional areas, they were actually trying to encourage them to move into the city to set up in metropolitan areas and do the processing here. We would have lost jobs in regional areas, where it is so important to keep that economy turning.

The other thing we are seeing now is investment from the Marshall government to support the regions, with Infrastructure SA to prioritise grain and mineral ports on Eyre Peninsula, the investment towards Globe Link and the rail and freight corridors that are being looked at. With Royalties for Regions, 30 per cent of mineral and petroleum royalties—$750 million over 10 years—will be put back to the regions. These are fantastic commitments by this Marshall government.

We are seeing $150 million in the Regional Growth Fund, and we are seeing $3 million per year to Regional Development Australia boards. We are also seeing significant support for Food SA and for the Country Fire Service. We are seeing $150 million towards regional hospitals and the maintenance required there. This is what we need in the regions, that sort of investment and focus. We are seeing $10 million towards mobile phone black spots, etc. In Finniss, there is a commitment to a recreation park at Mount Compass and a commitment to a roundabout in Victor Harbor, both of which are really important projects that need to be delivered.

One thing we are really very grateful for is the investment that we have seen by the federal government in regional areas across South Australia, particularly in the area around Finniss. In the past two years, we have seen $4.7 million in grants for the couple of councils that operate in Finniss, and we have also seen $5.5 million towards the Roads to Recovery funding.

We saw $7½ million dollars go to the Fleurieu Aquatic Centre, which is a great investment to encourage people to go out there, go swimming and get fit. That was a great working relationship between Alexandrina Council and the City of Victor Harbor, as well as the money from federal government, with just a token from the state. We are seeing this sort of investment, and I thank those from the federal Coalition government for it. We have seen $16 million invested in Mount Barker and $9 million in Kangaroo Island. In conclusion, it is the Liberals who have delivered and are delivering for regional and rural South Australia.