Private Members' Statements

Private Members' Statements

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:37): I rise today to recognise the fact that WorldSkills Australia National Championships are going to take place in South Australia in 2027, specifically in Adelaide. This is something that the opposition is very, very excited about seeing. Quite simply, it is very clear that the education and skills minister has developed a penchant for pinching policy as it turns out.

Former shadow minister for skills, the member for Morialta in this place, has done a fantastic job. I acknowledge his input, both to this parliament but more broadly to the Liberal Party, in policy development. As it turns out, this is the second of seven policy points within the boosting apprenticeships policy that the government has now taken on themselves.

But we are not disappointed by that fact. It is a good thing. We call for it because it is good thing and we are glad that the government is doing this for the opportunity for our young people to develop skills, to have the opportunity to see firsthand the best of the best competing, representing South Australia, and to undertake this venture at the same time that we will be hosting the Adelaide Careers and Employment Expo. Giving people the opportunity to quite literally walk into a new profession is something that is much needed when we have significant shortages in construction, manufacturing, health, hospitality and many other areas. This is a good step forward, and I am pleased to see the announcement.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:39): I rise to say how happy I am that our community campaign to bring back Australia Post to the centre of our community has proven successful. Approximately two years ago, Australia Post closed the very popular office in Oaklands Park, at Marion shopping centre, an office that quite often had queues out the door. It was remarkable that they shut it down and, of course, the community were rightly outraged. I ran a petition online, but also stood outside the post office day after day to speak to community members to hear directly from them what their concerns were about their inability to access a public service. We continued that fight.

I would like to acknowledge the member for Boothby, Louise Miller-Frost. We held a street-corner meeting together with the community about it as well, and I am so pleased to say that it just represents that when a community comes together and fights, and has an advocate in their corner, you really can make positive change. In only a couple of weeks, a new office for Australia Post is opening in Warradale not far at all from where the last one closed down. A few of us in the community got together on Saturday to stand outside the new office and check it out, and to celebrate and eat cake.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (15:40): Today, I want to speak about how well the Liberal Party's announcement on removing stamp duty for existing properties under the price of $1 million has gone down in my electorate of Unley. You only have to go to an open inspection of a two-bedroom apartment in Unley—many of them are selling between $600,000 to $800,000—and you will see who is there buying them. They are first-home buyers there with their parents. They are either single women in their late 20s or young couples wanting to break into the housing market. They do not want to live in a new property or a new house miles away from where they grew up; they want to live nearby and they want to get into the market. It may not be their lifetime home, but it gets them in there.

As we know, when you are buying and selling in the same market you are never going to be disadvantaged, but it is getting into that market in the first place that is the hardest thing. Of course, what this policy does is enable them to outbid those investors who are also there looking at those apartments at the same time. The stamp duty paid on the median house price in 2022 was $28,830 and today it is $39,830—$11,000 more. That is why this is such an important policy.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:42): Last week was Men's Health Week, and I want to shine a light on the health of men and boys in rural and regional Australia where the challenges are real and the stakes are high. Men and boys in regional areas are more likely to face chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and mental health issues. In fact, men living in remote areas die up to 13 years earlier than those in the cities, and rates of potentially avoidable deaths are 2½ times higher. These are not just numbers, they are fathers, sons, brothers and mates.

In the Mid North and across the Adelaide Plains, I have seen firsthand the work being done to turn this around. Our local Men's Sheds offer connection and purpose, but even stories of farmers getting together monthly for a dinner, like Roseworthy farmer Peter Kemp who has organised one in the region, helped men talk about their challenges and realise they are not alone.

We have initiatives in our community, like Save Our Mates—run by Anthony Hart and our own Gavin Schuster, a fifth-generation farming family in Freeling—dedicated to early intervention, sharing tools, tips and resources blokes can use to better confront life's challenges and just have conversations, but we need to keep breaking down the stigma. Real strength is found in asking for help, in booking that check-up and looking out for each other. To every man in our region: your health matters; and to every group working to improve it: thank you. Together, we are building healthier and stronger communities.