Bus Contract

Ms LUETHEN (King) (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government. Can the minister inform the house about the Marshall government's new bus supply contract and in particular how it will create jobs and grow apprenticeships?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (14:41): I do thank the member for King for her interest in this matter, knowing that some of these new buses will find their way into north-eastern suburbs and some of them will hopefully find their way over the coming years into the new 556 service that we are providing in and around her electorate of King. The outcome that we have been able to achieve by retendering—

Ms Hildyard interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is warned.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —of the bus supply contact is a brilliant one for South Australia—a brilliant one for South Australia—with up to 40 new jobs being worked through with Precision in partnership with Scania to deliver these buses for South Australia. But, even better news: up to 50 apprentices over the life of this contract will be there as part of the apprenticeship academy that Precision is seeking to set up.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Kaurna is on two warnings.

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: It was brilliant yesterday to be able to go and visit the factory with the Minister for Innovation and Skills—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —and, for those that don't know, the Minister for Innovation and Skills was an apprentice once as well—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: —to see the benefits firsthand of apprenticeship training in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL: Overall, there are going to be 95 people working to build buses at the Precision plant there at Edinburgh Parks. What's exciting about that is not only are Precision building buses in partnership with Scania for the South Australian market; this has given them the opportunity to be able to bid for interstate work. In fact, up to 60 per cent of the work that they are going to be procuring is going to be interstate bus contracts, and that is fantastic news for South Australia that we have been able to underpin this job opportunity to develop jobs locally and also develop skills capacity that is going to help essentially bring interstate work here to South Australia.

There are those, maybe some in this chamber, who have previously questioned why we would go back out to tender. They are trying to fearmonger in the community about the fact that changes to the tendering arrangements were going to mean that somehow South Australia was going to miss out. What we have been able to achieve by putting the bus contract back out to tender is to make sure that Scania and Precision won this contract—won this contract—because they're the best people to deliver buses for the South Australian market.

Not only were we able to negotiate a significantly better price than we otherwise would have—because looking after taxpayers' dollars is probably one of the key fundamental concerns that governments on this side of the house concern themselves with—but more than that we've actually been able to deliver a contract that will enable new technology to come on board more quickly. So working with Scania we'll be able to look at our first hybrid bus next year as part of this contract and look at how we can integrate this technology into future bus contracting arrangements, but also Precision themselves are looking at all sorts of different formats from smaller format buses to hydrogen to electric buses, essentially becoming a test bed for new technology.

The brilliant thing is that part of this contract gives us the opportunity to reset the technology we use for our bus network in year 4 and year 7. It means we don't have to wait 10 years to think about bringing new technology on board: we can do it at specific points in the contract. The beautiful thing about that is not only will it mean better buses for South Australians into the future but, again, it will help underpin a bus-building industry here in Adelaide that is going to allow this technology to be exported to the rest of the country.

Mr Speaker, your electorate and the member for Newland's and member for King's electorates, and maybe even the member for Wright's electorate, will be able to get the benefit of this new bus contract and the new technology that we are putting into place sooner. For all those workers who are coming out of ASC and who came out of Holden who have now found a home at Precision, they will know that they have a secure future for the next decade building buses to be used locally right here at home.