Regional Growth Fund

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister advise the house how the Regional Growth Fund is supporting economic development in the South-East?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:16): I thank the member for MacKillop for his very important question. Yes, the state government are delivering for regional South Australia and I can tell you that the 10-year commitment that we put as an election commitment—$150 million over 10 years—is being delivered. The Regional Growth Fund has been closed. The competitive round has been run and it has been assessed.

I was recently up at Mount Gambier, close to the member for MacKillop's home, and we were able to make a very, very important announcement and that is that we put $10 million towards the Mount Gambier regional community and recreation hub. I think it's an outstanding achievement. It was a collaborative effort, by both the federal government and the local government, and with the state government's commitment to regional South Australia.

The investment is not only for the South-East and Mount Gambier. It will be a recreation hub for the South-East of the state. It will go towards investing in a $39 million project. I think it's an outstanding commitment on behalf of the state government, the federal government and, by and large, the council there. I met with the deputy mayor and she is absolutely elated. It has been 30 years that they have been lobbying for this project—30 long years—and we have now delivered for them. We have given them certainty and they can now move forward with it. I know the local member was absolutely delighted to be there with the deputy mayor for the announcement because he, too, has fought long and hard for this project.

What I will say is that this is going to create a vibrancy in the South-East that they have long wanted, particularly with the sale of the forward rotations of the forest. That was a serious blow to their confidence and their economic viability. This is a project that is great for the community and great for confidence within the area. It will allow them to host national sporting events. It will allow them to host conferences and the like down at Mount Gambier.

It is an area that we as a government would like to build as a regional city. We don't have a regional city in South Australia. The regions have been forgotten for such a long time, particularly for the last 16 years. We are going to change the focus and govern for all of South Australia. What I will say is that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —as part of the Regional Growth Fund, it is also about supporting population growth in the regions. For too long we have seen an exodus out of our regions. They are moving out of the regions because of centralisation—a government's small-minded thinking. People moved to Adelaide for services and to look for jobs.

This is an opportunity now for the regions to grow. It's about an opportunity for the regions to prosper. There are two other Regional Growth Fund commitments, including the North West Indigenous Pastoral Project, which allows Indigenous groups to undertake property management planning for infrastructure and enable land in the north-west to be brought back into production. This is about increasing our herd numbers—our capacity to increase the red meat sector—so that we can grow our exports and create more jobs. It's unlocking potential here in South Australia.

This is as well as the Coolanie Water Scheme project. That is a project that was put forward by the Franklin Harbour area council on Eyre Peninsula. It's a project that will deliver 22 farms with water for their livestock. It's a project that will give them a capacity to again unlock potential here in South Australia. It's about unlocking that potential, particularly for the red meat sector, one of the largest sectors in the state, and the state's economy—$5.4 billion. It will now have the opportunity to expand and prosper. And remember, hashtag #RegionsMatter.