Gather Round

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (14:18): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house how South Australia's economy has benefited from attracting major events like Gather Round?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:18): This government has an economic growth agenda, and it is paying dividends. As I stated yesterday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has confirmed that South Australia has the fastest-growing economy on the mainland of this country—faster than Victoria, faster than New South Wales, faster than Queensland, faster than Western Australia. If you care about economic growth and its capacity to improve living standards, you would rather be here in South Australia than anywhere else.

It is an enviable position. If you look at all the quarterly figures as they have come out one after the other, it is a consistent position that South Australia has had. There is a range of policies that are contributing to that effort, none more important than housing growth. Housing growth and housing supply are occurring faster here in South Australia than in basically any other jurisdiction around the country in percentage terms. If you want to see more houses being built, thousands of slabs—thousands of slabs—are being poured in South Australia and it is at a growth rate faster than elsewhere.

But there are other policy contributors to our economic position and one of them is, indeed, major events. They are yielding dividends for small businesses in particular in South Australia. Countless small businesses putting on more staff around major events is a win for our economy and the people who work within it.

We are alive to the resistance that this policy has received from those opposite, but we persist because we do care about people's living standards, we do care about the future of this state, and we care about having the platform that major events provides to attract not just capital but also people to South Australia. We are unapologetic about putting a spring in the step of South Australians and using major events as a platform to do it.

This morning, the statistics around the economic success of Gather Round were released through The Advertiser and the numbers are remarkable. Anybody who was in South Australia for Gather Round early this year knew something was going on. It felt bigger—it felt bigger. You only had to walk up and down—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: They mock it. Let the Hansard reflect the interjections from those opposite.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: That's right. We know those opposite are less than enthusiastic for Gather Round, but on this side of the house, we know the numbers do not lie: $114 million added to the bottom line of the state's economy during Gather Round.

Of course, we saw significant amounts expended in regional South Australia, including the member for Schubert's electorate. The member for Schubert was a strong advocate for a game to occur in the Barossa and indeed that happened, which is why maybe she's so wise not to interject like the members around her.

Over 50,000 visitors across the course of the weekend and $114 million went straight to the bottom line in the state of South Australia. The average stay was over four nights, so people weren't coming for a game and going home, they were staying and experiencing South Australia and spending money within it. We are seeing repeat visitation grow, so this has been an absolute unabated success for the state. It is a big win for a lot of people within it. The country looks at us differently now, not just because of Gather Round but because we have a strong growing economy and a government that's willing to take on risks to deliver it.

The SPEAKER: And just another reminder that the McLaren Vale wine region is keen for a game in 2027 at Shark Park, home of the mighty Aldinga Football Club.

The Hon. V.A. Tarzia: Or the Mudlarks—

The SPEAKER: Well, the Mudlarks are good, but I think in terms of infrastructure around it, Myponga is just a little bit too far and it's not in the McLaren Vale GI. But thank you for your encouragement. Nice to have you on my team.