Federal Election

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:10): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house about the result of the recent federal election and what this means to South Australia?

The SPEAKER: The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:10): What an excellent question, sir, and in the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —many words of our continuing Prime Minister, how good was that election? A lot of people were out there talking doom and gloom about the federal election for a long period of time. A lot of people were out there talking about how they were measuring up the office for a long period of time, but isn't it great—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to live in a democracy where people within the bubble, within the media—the opinion leaders—don't decide who is going to be in government? Every single person who is eligible to vote casts their vote once every three years federally, once every four years here in South Australia, and they decide who is going to be in government.

I was absolutely delighted on 18 May when we went to the polls that the Coalition government was re-elected to continue their service to our nation. They have already delivered much for the nation and for South Australia in their first six years, and I have every confidence they will continue to do so. Here in South Australia, the Liberal Party defended all of its seats. We were very happy to advocate for our federal colleagues.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We were extraordinarily happy because the people on this side of the house can see the benefits of working with like-minded people in Canberra. We have forgotten all of the fake fights that existed under the previous government that failed to deliver for the people of South Australia, and what we have been able to do is sit down—

Mr Szakacs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Cheltenham is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —with our counterparts in Canberra and work on outcomes for the people of this state, for the people of our nation. I am happy to remind the house of some of the great benefits. In particular, I would like to commend the Minister for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, who has worked extraordinarily hard with his federal counterparts to make up the deficit in forward planning that we inherited from those opposite to deliver very substantial infrastructure investments into South Australia.

I was particularly delighted in the lead-up to the election to hear so many projects announced that will bust congestion here in metropolitan Adelaide and record investments in country SA—part of our state that had been neglected for far too long, so congratulations to the minister there. We congratulate our federal counterparts on the way in which they worked with us in terms of the Skilling Australians payment, which the Minister for Innovation and Skills here in South Australia negotiated—two great examples of our government working with the government in Canberra, delivering for the people of South Australia.

And who could forget the City Deal, which we signed up to with the federal government and which will centre around Lot Fourteen—a major show of confidence by Prime Minister Morrison in the future of South Australia and a very substantial investment on that site. The national Space Agency is coming to South Australia, the Cooperative Research Centre is coming to South Australia, mission control is coming to South Australia and the Space Discovery Centre is coming to South Australia.

More than that, the federal government has seen fit to make a very substantial investment into our ambition to establish a globally significant Aboriginal art and cultures gallery, something which will really differentiate us. I would like to say that I am very much looking forward to continuing to work with the Hon. Simon Birmingham, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. This is a very important project, if you like, between our two jurisdictions to deliver for our state.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We are going to grow that area. We have already fulfilled some of our election promises, opening a new office with the federal government co-located with Austrade in Tokyo, and we have done the same in Shanghai. Very soon, we will announce our plans with regard to Malaysia, the Middle East and North America because we want to grow the economy. So this was a good election result not just for the Liberal Party, not just for South Australia, but for the people of our nation.