Members

Weatherill, Hon. J.W., Retirement

Mr GEE (Taylor) (17:30): I also rise to make a few brief comments in thanking the member for Cheltenham, the Hon. Jay Weatherill. I have known Jay Weatherill for over 25 years, and it is a deep regret that I have not been able to get to know him a lot better than I do.

However, I did come to know Jay a lot better during the fight to save Holden's. It was during the More than Cars campaign that I really gained an insight into Jay's ability to have empathy with workers; not just use these things for a political statement or for the benefit of the state but to actually care about the people he was campaigning on behalf of. His insight, commitment and support really established the relationship I have always felt I had with Jay.

Before Jay became premier, we had the Mitsubishi closure. That was one of the most awful things for anybody who was involved with that. It was like death by a thousand cuts: going from two shifts in a plant to one shift to three days to three hours a day to making 10 cars a day on three days a week, alternate days. It was just relentless. At the time, the workers themselves were really learning what was happening through the media. That is the nature of our media here, that these things just become sensationalised.

Ms Stinson interjecting:

Mr GEE: Yes. When we had the Holden closure decision—and I have listened so many times in this place to all the different views we have here, most them very inaccurate—hardly anybody here knew the real complexity of that decision. People do not understand that we were coming out of the financial crisis and we really had not moved forward. The Aussie dollar was at $US1.10 and a way out of it was to export, but we could not export.

With Toyota, 75 to 80 per cent production was export, yet they were losing money on every single car, and Ford had been denied their small car and they had nowhere to go; they had only their local Falcon. At Holden's we had a situation where Detroit was demanding $40 million in local cuts here on the shop floor. We had a situation where the federal government wanted to cut $500 million out of the industry. It was just blow after blow after blow. You have to think about the workers, too, after Mitsubishi, and how they felt under this enormous pressure, sitting in their houses every day watching what was going to happen to them on the media.

They came to know Jay as someone who was sitting in the lounge with them, watching it together. They came to know Jay as someone they could trust. I do not think they had ever had that in a politician before. One of the things that was really good—because for workers and their families it was such a worrying time—was that Jay was not only able to pull together that campaign but he was also able to provide government support to help us achieve the $40 million in savings that we needed from the shop floor. We were able to get that. Detroit was also demanding that workers take wage cuts.

As to the contribution from the workers themselves, there was commitment there, and all through that we saw Jay standing shoulder to shoulder with those workers. I am not going to take up any more time, other than to say thank you to Jay. Thank you on behalf of myself and my union and all the union's members. In terms of all the workers in the manufacturing and supply chain, they knew that you were there for them, and I thank you for that.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (17:35): I rise today to add my words and thanks to the member for Cheltenham. When I was elected to be the member for Ramsay at a by-election in 2012, it was with a very new premier by my side. Having taken the leadership only four months before, it was seen as a significant test of his leadership. It was the best ever street corner meeting I had when you came along to Pine Lakes at Parafield Gardens. Many people were fascinated to see the new premier. We had nearly 50 people there on that day. I am sad to say that I have not drawn such a crowd since. It was delightful to have you there.

The member for Port Adelaide and I were elected on the same day in 2012, and we were both elevated to the ministry at the same time in 2014. I thank the member for Cheltenham for his support and confidence in me to be part of his cabinet and his caucus. While I thank him for his support, what will stay with me is his vision to attract and create new industries with a global outlook. To have companies like Technicolor, Tesla, Sonnen and Boeing in South Australia is significant. Through a time of economic transition in our state, it was necessary to reimagine the future.

When I knocked on those doors in my electorate, whether it be Paralowie or Salisbury, it was that question about the future that I was asked by many of my constituents. What are going to be the jobs for my children? What will be the jobs for my grandchildren? I represent an area where manufacturing was a very high employer of people. They knew what the opportunities were, and obviously the highlight was to work for Holden. It was an ability to have that status recognised in the community. It has always been a concern for people about that, so when we talked about the future we brought South Australians with us to reassure them that there was a place and an opportunity for everyone.

When a person retires and they give a speech, one of the things you reflect on is: what will be the individual's legacy? When I went to write my notes, I realised that there were many areas where we can thank you for your leadership. I want to touch on a few that are particularly important to me. First of all, I will touch on renewable energy. Just today you said that this is not the only thing that we lead the nation in, but we lead the world, and I am very proud of that and to go ahead with that.

The areas that we share a common interest in are about the support for our children and their education. When I think about the changes we made, a highlight is the Building Better Schools money. They were the best conversations I ever had in my electorate when I could tell Settlers Farm R-7 that we were going to support their development, to Parafield High as well and Paralowie that they were going to be supported.

That, along with the STEM education money, made sure that we were supporting our children for the future. We talk a lot about STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths—but to make this real, we had to make this investment. We had to make an investment in the classrooms and the technology so that people could not only hear about it but they could learn it and live it and understand that these were the transferrable skills that they needed to have the jobs of the future.

I also want to touch on the child-parent centres because one opened in Parafield Gardens. They are a one-stop shop, from birth to the start of school, where parents can come and find support. I saw the Parafield Gardens child-parent centre develop over time. The work of the past CAFHS nurses is now replaced by having a counsellor to talk about different issues, to have your child weighed, to talk about issues, to talk to about engagement, and playgroups were held there. More importantly, the people of my electorate who went there felt that it was a location of support for them. They felt safe there, and they felt that they could ask questions that perhaps they would not feel confident to ask before. How do I read to my child? How do I engage with them? How do we support their learning?

Other areas include the Future Jobs Fund, which is based on job creation and investment attraction. This is what we needed to do in this time of economic change. The other highlight for me is SAHMRI—medical health and research—because these are the jobs that will change our future. The research that we do in South Australia will change things in the world. I also want to talk about GigCity because we know that it is the highway of the future and that having internet access for everyone is really important. That will be our legacy.

I want to end at a time of severe challenge for us in South Australia. I recall the member for Cheltenham's calmness, deep understanding and communication with South Australians on the morning of the Sampson Flat bushfire on 3 January. I was the acting minister for emergency services at that time and had spoken with Jay very early that morning.

Overnight, what had started as a small, isolated bushfire turned into one of the most destructive fires in the Adelaide Hills in more than 30 years. I was only 10 when Ash Wednesday happened, but I remember it. That label was given to the fire at that time. I followed it hour by hour that night, listening to ABC radio, and it was only a change of wind at 2am that saved us from mass destruction, as the ash was flowing on Greenwith.

The member for Cheltenham became the face of that fire in South Australia, nationally and internationally. Its close proximity to the city captured significant attention. As some may recall, it continued for seven days. There was a really special moment—and I am sure you will remember it—when you were up there by the fire and the rain started. We were a little bit worried that you might get struck by lightning, but I noticed Chris Burford was handing you the umbrella, so we were a bit worried he might go first, but what a day, when that broke.

As minister for communities and social inclusion, we instigated our relief and recovery plan to support those impacted. It was the long-term support of the then premier that enabled me to engage with the impacted community as it dealt with shock and loss and started the process of recovery. In that fire, 26 houses were lost. You were calm in that crisis. When we went out in this new wave of media, I think every three hours to talk to people, you were a source of truth. You were a source of truth and a source of calmness. This is not diminishing any of our emergency services volunteers or professional services, but at that time the engagement was very connected to your leadership, and I thank you for that.

I will conclude my remarks by saying thank you to the member for Cheltenham for always standing up for South Australia. Thank you for bringing all South Australians with us during this time of change. Thank you for creating a significant part of being in a global, livable city. More importantly, thank you for being a thinker, a leader and a listener.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (17:45): I rise, on indulgence, to make a few remarks in relation to the member for Cheltenham. As I was listening to all these great speeches about how great the member for Cheltenham is, it struck me that not many members of parliament get to have the experience of sitting there and listening. They are usually about six feet under the ground when this happens, so it is a pretty unique experience for Jay to have the ability to hear all these great things about him. I am sure, Jay, that we will also do it if you pass on in 60 or 70 years. It might be a new crop of speech givers at the time, though. A couple of people might be here. The member for Hartley might still be here perhaps.

I want to make a few comments in regard to your contribution to this state. One of the things that strikes me about your contribution is that you, as premier, always fought for South Australia. You always stood up for South Australia, particularly when you were premier.

We had so many outside threats to our state, whether it was potentially losing the submarine contract, the loss of Holden and what that was going to mean for our economy, the fight for the River Murray and protecting our state's share of water and the environment's share of water, what we saw in Whyalla and Port Pirie in saving these major parts of our industry in South Australia, or what we saw in terms of the threat to our funding and the sustainability of state governments generally in terms of health and education funding. We will particularly remember forever your standing up for renewables and clean energy. I think that will be remembered for a long time not just here but around the world as well.

You also stood up when there were fights that were not to be easily won. You put out ideas and thoughts, whether it was on tax reform and changing the federation or, famously, on the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as areas where you saw an opportunity for the state. Even if there was not a clear path for that to be delivered, you stood up and represented our state. I think no-one has better epitomised the quote from Teddy Roosevelt that you should speak softly and carry a big stick than Jay Weatherill.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Kaurna, my sincere apologies, but we need the Premier to read a response to the last message, so I will interrupt for a moment and come back to you.