Narungga Electorate

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:38): I rise to report some extremely happy, positive news from the electorate of Narungga that I am most fortunate to represent—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr ELLIS: —and hope dearly that it is the beneficiary of some unanimous support, just as it has been across the electorate and throughout the community in which I live. After many, many years of planning, led diligently by the Copper Coast Council and, more recently, by an appointed steering committee, of which I was very pleased to be a part, a new regional university centre is to be established in Kadina.

With over $1.1 million from the federal Coalition government and support from the state government to ensure that the selected hub base, which is the existing Kadina TAFE campus, is to the standard required to successfully operate the university centre, I strongly believe that this offering is going to be a game changer in education for our region.

Unarguably, it will bring significant economic and social benefits for all living and working in the Narungga electorate and, importantly, it is an initiative that will help arrest an alarming surge of young local people leaving the region for the city directly after finishing school due to a lack of local employment or higher education options and then, most disappointingly, once dislocated, not returning.

University tertiary courses are to be provided in conjunction with Uni Hub Spencer Gulf from the first semester next year—that is, 2021—with courses to include social work, nursing, education, business and digital media. The university centre is to be located at the Kadina TAFE campus, with a fit-out to now be progressed. Not only will the new uni hub provide opportunities for youth but also mature age students looking to upskill but who have been reluctant to do more study or been prevented from doing so due to the costs of having to move away from family and their community and support networks.

The Copper Coast Council, led by Mayor Roslyn Talbot and CEO, Russell Peate, established a steering committee last September to progress this project. I am aware that there were more years of advocating done before that championed by previous longstanding Copper Coast Mayor Paul Thomas and also federal member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey. I thank both of them for the concerted effort they put into securing this funding and this project for our local community.

One of the issues that I get the most calls and correspondence about is the retention of population in rural South Australia. There is great concern amongst local people that there is a further drift toward the city and away from the regions. It is an issue that I am extremely passionate about and it was with no hesitation that I accepted an invitation to join the group that was comprised of people who really care about their region and who bring experience and expertise to the cause with representatives from council, local business, schools, health, agriculture and local industry.

I would like to acknowledge them by name: Mayor Roslyn Talbot; CEO, Russell Peate, whom I have previously mentioned; Moira Coffey; Kelly-Anne Saffin from the RDA; Anita Crisp; Lisa Robertson; Lyndsey Jackson; Tom Rosewarne; Mark Schilling; Jackie Fairlie; Alistair Williams of Kadina Memorial School; Reg Dennis; Anthea Kennett; Caroline Graham; Maree Wauchope; Maureen Coffey; David Venning; and Trudy Clift.

Thank you to each and every one of those people for your significant contribution and commitment towards achieving this successful outcome. It would not have been possible without your help. I have seen the positive impact of investment in regional study hubs established in other regions around Australia and firmly believe the same benefits will be derived from the creation of such an initiative in the Yorke Peninsula region.

It is recognised that young people living in our major cities are twice as likely to have a university degree, compared with people living in our regional areas, hence the importance of regional university centres that allow students to study at partner tertiary institutions while still living and working in their local community.

The new centre at the Kadina TAFE building will provide access to study spaces, computing facilities and academic support, and I foresee demand for courses offered will be healthy, local career prospects will be improved and economic growth and development will follow as a result of the creation of this new hub. Additionally, I foresee valuable additional benefits that will increase opportunities for local jobseekers and outcomes that address workforce shortages and fill recognised skill gaps in our region—all specific components of the Marshall Liberal government's current regional development strategy.

The uni hub to be closely located, just next door in fact to Kadina Memorial School, is also a bonus, as is the fact that the TAFE site is connected to the northern Yorke Peninsula library. The news of a new regional university centre in Kadina sparks a new era of education for the Yorke Peninsula and Copper Coast region and I wish all involved the very best for the bright future ahead.