State Economy

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:58): There are increasing expectations on government when it comes to roads and infrastructure, jobs and welfare, health and education, affordable living and housing, environmental conservation, and services. One thing that underpins them all is the economy. We are all integral parts of the economy—workers, consumers, businesses, communities and government.

Without a strong economy we have nothing—no roads, no utilities, no welfare, no hospitals or schools, no jobs, no police or emergency services. This is the basic stuff, but it is apparent that many people no longer understand it. All these things are important but cannot be considered in isolation from the economy.

Recently, my wife and I had the pleasure of having a private lunch with John Howard. His greatest achievement in his time as prime minister was achieving a strong economy. At regional and local levels, economies do not always bring the same benefits or growth at the same pace. In Finniss, the economy is largely reliant on services, retail, tourism and agriculture. As we confirmed at a recent community forum in Victor Harbor, for a wide range of reasons some people do not benefit from our economy as well as they might; however, the stronger the economy, the better the whole community, and everyone benefits.

This morning, I had great pleasure in attending the opening of the new Bunnings store in Victor Harbor. It was a fantastic opening, with many community organisations represented. There were many organisations that Bunnings have personally been working with and supporting in the community since they decided to build their store, ranging from sporting clubs through to charities. They also make sure the breakfast in schools program is running well in some of the schools locally. Certainly, their ability to put back has been enormous.

This is a $25 million development in Victor Harbor, providing a range of direct supports to the community through the programs they are running, but it is also a great employment boost to the local area. There are over 100 new local jobs and there is a huge range of people employed at Bunnings. One of the people who has been employed is the father of someone who works for me. He was a police officer for 42 years and decided to retire from the force and go to work at Bunnings. There is a huge range of local community people who have decided to engage in employment at the new store.

This development is a healthy sign for the economy locally, but we must do better and continue to do better in Finniss. There is so much more potential in our economy in the Fleurieu and South Coast region, and realising it will be a major focus of mine as a local MP. It will involve considerable change on the ground, and a change in many people's thinking, and a Marshall government that understands that regions matter.

We need to make sure that everyone in the community continues to benefit. We need to understand that the local region, particularly the area from Victor Harbor through to Goolwa, is nearly exactly the same size in population as the City of Mount Gambier. We need to lift up the economy and services in the towns across the region to deliver better services. I look forward to working with anyone who shares this ambition for the community in Finniss.