Kangaroo Island Bushfire Recovery Support

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:32): Does the Premier agree the government should be supporting local Kangaroo Island businesses when awarding government contracts for recovery work on the island?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:32): I thank the member for his question. I think I have spoken about this previously. I think wherever possible we should be looking to provide work on the island. I know this is something that I have spoken about to several people who are involved in the recovery process, including the ADF. They were very mindful not to do work that was going to specifically take away from people who had employment on the island because at this time ongoing employment is going to be a very significant issue over there.

Many people who were employed in one area of the island might find now, because of the fire damage, that that work is not going to be available to them, so at every opportunity we need to be thinking about those people and thinking how we can make sure that those jobs are available and that other jobs be created as part of that recovery process.