Regional Growth Fund

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister update the house on—

Mr Odenwalder interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Elizabeth can leave for the remainder of question time for interjecting during that question, which I have asked members respectfully not to do—please. Sorry, member for MacKillop, can you please repeat the question so that I can hear it?

The honourable member for Elizabeth having withdrawn from the chamber:

Mr McBRIDE: Can the minister update the house on how the state government is delivering regional infrastructure in the South-East?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:32): Yes, I can, and I thank the member for MacKillop for his very important economic question. On one of my most recent trips down to the South-East I was able to go and have a look at the great work that the Regional Growth Fund has done to stimulate a growing economy down in the South-East. Of course, the first project I looked at was where the Coorong District Council have received funding towards water harvesting projects down there, and it was the installation of four line catchments at Salt Creek and Woods Well.

We all know that here in South Australia, nationally even, we are going through a very, very severe drought, and we are also dealing with the questionable water security on our primary producers. These four line catchments down in that area are assisted with a weather station. What it does is it gives diversity with water catchment and it also gives diversity on farm, allowing that water to be caught and to support a livestock practice that is critically important to an area down there that is very affluent and has large amounts of livestock, but it has quite a significant water shortage in those areas.

It's also great to see that those landowners got together with the council and they have built this project under a successful pilot, which was brought together locally with the technical advice and expertise to make these four catchments successful. After we had visited there, I drove down to Bordertown and I had a look at the intermodal facility down there, the disused rail yards. It was just an economic invitation for a number of businesses.

What we see down there, to the tune of half a million dollars, is this project breathing life back into the defunct railway station at Bordertown. The intermodal now gives opportunities, diversity, in moving some of the primary industries' produce on the main line from Melbourne to Adelaide. It's giving options to fibre, it's giving options to red meat and it's giving options to grain to be taken down to Adelaide via rail. This is about building efficiencies into the transport and logistics links between Bordertown and Adelaide.

Also, down at Kingston, I know that the member for MacKillop was absolutely delighted to see that this money, over $340,000, is going into a rebuild of the main street in Kingston, bringing the three main streets together as one vibrant precinct. Not only is it about attracting people into that area but it's about upgrading the precinct so that tourists are attracted there. It is one of the great playgrounds along the south-east coast.

Not only did the South Australian government through the Regional Growth Fund see this project as an opportunity but so did the commonwealth government. It just shows that the state government and the commonwealth government can work with the local government precincts, giving them growth, giving them vibrancy and also making sure that they grow their economic capabilities.

The Regional Growth Fund has two rounds. The competitive round has been run. The expenditure of the competitive and the strategic pool has been expended—$15 million into our regional economy. That also adds a multiplication with those regional economies, giving them the opportunity to build and grow but also to stimulate a fast-tracking of some of those projects that have long been awaited.

I must say that the difference between this government and the previous government is that we are not picking winners. We are giving the three Cs: the clustering, the collaboration and the building communities.

Mr Hughes interjecting:

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

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: We might get those on the other side—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

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

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: That's right. But what I would say is that this government is building an economy for all regional communities, not just individuals.