Member for MacKillop

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): My question is to the Premier. Did the member for MacKillop have to threaten to quit the Liberal Party under the Premier's leadership before the Premier finally agreed to regular monthly regional member forums?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:28): I am happy to answer this question because I love talking about the regions. We love the regions here in South Australia. Admittedly, I haven't been to 'Cockburn' or the 'Marree' river, like the Leader of the Opposition, who was one day I think fantasising about his party's interest in the regions. On this side, it is absolutely heartfelt and it is in our DNA. It's not just a matter of sticking on a pair of chinos and a pair of RM Williams boots and masquerading as somebody who knows where the regions actually are. We love the regions in South Australia. They were neglected under 16 years of hopeless Labor government and they have been a major priority for us, as we prioritise the future of this state overall. I've got to say—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —we have some fantastic regions represented on this side of the house but, similarly, there are some fantastic regions represented on that side of the house. Only yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with the mayor and the chief executive of the City of Whyalla, a very important part of our state. We are very pleased—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to make sure that all regions have the ear of the government.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will resume his seat. The member from West Torrens rises on a point of order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 98, sir: the Premier is not answering the substance of the question; he is debating it now. He is not answering about the member for MacKillop and his involvement in these regular monthly meetings and why they were instigated.

The SPEAKER: I rule on the point of order: the scenario posited by the leader in the question raised the question of threshold in relation to attention. The Premier, in answering the question, is directing his answer, as I perceive it, to the substance of the question, being the interests of the regions. In doing so, he may address the specific threshold that is identified in the leader's question. The Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Thank you very much, sir. They hate hearing about the regions over there; we are talking with great pride about the regions in South Australia and they are raising bogus points of order.

But we will not be silenced. We love the regions in South Australia and, as I was saying, we have excellent, excellent regions right across our state; in fact, I think they are second to none. Of course, they are going through a bit of a mini boom at the moment in terms of tourism. Winter tourism here in South Australia is at record levels in this state, as people previously travelling interstate or overseas maybe at this time of year are spending money in their own backyard. I think we have had seven record—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —months in a row. Who would have thought that? Only in South Australia have we had such an incredible boom, and we are very, very proud of that.

The member for MacKillop is a passionate member, and he has an excellent electorate. It is a very attractive part of our state and a very productive part of our state, and we are happy to back it at every single opportunity.

On this side of the house, we do have a regional affairs committee that has been in place for a long period of time, and many members on this side of the house have been chair of that regional affairs committee. My friend the member for Hammond has been an excellent chair of the RAC in the past, and I think the current chair is Dr Nicola Centofanti in another place. We love hearing matters raised by regional members. One of the things we are going to do going forward—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —is to have a more direct dialogue with me—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Kaurna!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and the cabinet for people who care about the regions. This is something I feel very, very positive about.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We have a specific ministry that looks at primary industries but also at regional development, a very important opportunity. Of course, we put a very significant fund in place to guarantee some funding on an ongoing basis for regional development in South Australia. That was put in place by the previous minister in charge of that important portfolio in our government, the member for Chaffey.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The regions were neglected for 16 years. They have become a major priority for our government in our first 3½ years and a major priority—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for our government continuing into the future, whether that be roads, whether it be other important infrastructure, whether it be port infrastructure in South Australia—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —whether it be the health system, and I know there is some very important expenditure going into—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —regional hospitals and the development of more country local health networks. We have moved away from the centralised model put—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —in place by the former Labor government in South Australia, which wanted to centralise power into a centralised government. We have devolved that decision-making down as close to the action as possible within those regions. They are very important to us, past, present and future.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Frome, I warn the member for Mawson for a second time and the member for Cheltenham for a second time. I warn the leader.