Major Projects Conference

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (14:41): My question—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Colton has the call. The member for West Torrens and the Premier will not verbally spar. The member for Colton.

Mr COWDREY: My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister inform the house about the SA Major Projects Conference and how the state and federal government are working together constructively to deliver long-term outcomes for South Australians?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:41): I thank the member for Colton for that question and do note his deep interest in the advancement of our state, especially as it relates to infrastructure development and helping to get South Australia back onto a path to growth and prosperity. I do note one of the discussions that we had at the Major Projects Conference last week was around the state government's role in incentivising the private sector to get on and do what it does best, and that's to help grow our economy.

The three very clear messages that I wanted to send to them mirror very closely what the Premier just gave to the house. That is, the three things that we as a new Liberal government need to deliver to South Australians is a renewed sense of confidence, and, as the Premier has outlined, that is very much coming to pass. The other two ways that we can help to provide better support to the business sector is to provide certainty and to provide a better way of procuring and delivering infrastructure projects in South Australia.

On the first point, in relation to certainty, the message that we have been sending as a new Marshall Liberal government over our time in office is that we are here to help. We are here to find ways to say yes. Especially in relation to major projects—major privately funded projects—we are here to provide a certain and clear pathway for those projects to go from idea to being built. It is why we are very keen to continue on with the planning reforms as they have existed for the last couple of years and to deliver on the promise that those reforms made in relation to a clearer and quicker and more efficient planning approval process, but also having a system that finds ways to say yes to good ideas, something that I think has been lacking in South Australia for many years: a new government willing to get on and provide that certainty that is much needed, especially in the short term when people will be asking questions about what this new government stands for.

I think one of the lasting legacies of this government is going to be the way that we improve the delivery of infrastructure projects in South Australia. We need a system that ensures that the best projects get funded. The best way to do that is to set up a structure through Infrastructure South Australia that is going to deliver on that promise. That is why I am so proud to be part of a team that is creating a whole new ecosystem around making better decisions. But what comes with this new process and what is needed to fulfil on this new process is money.

What I have been extremely excited about over the past few weeks is another component of the $1.8 billion in new money that we've secured from the federal government, to put that on the table to start to deliver this pipeline of infrastructure projects. That's why I was so proud to stand with the Premier to announce that we had signed off on stage 2 of the Gawler electrification project, a project that has been long stalled under the previous government. What South Australians are coming to realise is that we are a government that does what we say we're going to do—that we can deliver on our promises and that we deliver for South Australians going forward.

Mr Picton: 'Set in stone.'

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: We also need to develop a clear medium and long-term pipeline for infrastructure projects in South Australia to deliver that certainty of work for South Australians, especially those workers that work in the infrastructure space. It's why we moved as quickly as possible for all the projects that were on the table, to get them funded by the federal government.

It's why we are working so hard with the promises that we took to the election and the policy around creating a better infrastructure system in South Australia: to make sure that more of these ideas become a reality as we go forward, that we can fill this pipeline, that we no longer have this continual boom-bust cycle that exists in infrastructure. We can provide certainty in planning process and certainty in the pipeline of infrastructure going forward so that we can create the jobs and prosperity that South Australia has been crying out for for decades.