YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Road Safety a question about the Channel 9 Young Achiever of the Year Award.

Leave granted.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! We will continue when the Leader of the Opposition remains quiet.

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN: I was interested to hear from the Minister for Mineral Resources Development about the overall winner of the Young Achiever of the Year and the important work of the young South Australian geologist. At the same gala presentation I understand there was also recognition in the important area of road safety. Will the Minister for Road Safety provide some details of the award presented to 24-year-old Mr Joel Taggart?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for his question about young people who are achieving in the state, even if members opposite are not interested. On Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the 2008 Channel 9 Young Achiever of the Year awards gala presentation dinner. The dinner was held at the Adelaide Hilton, with more than 400 guests in attendance. In keeping with this government's commitment to seeing a reduction in our road toll, it was extremely heartening to see a young South Australian recognised for his important efforts in this area. There were eight category award winners and among them was Joel Taggart, who was presented with the RAA Driving Force Leadership Award.

Joel is an outstanding young South Australian who has been recognised for his fine leadership qualities for some years. These are the very qualities that saw Joel appointed as the chairperson of the state government Youth Safety Task Force. The task force has an important role to play. It gives young people a voice to provide this government with input into decisions we make about road safety initiatives. Joel was the 2003 Young Citizen of the Year for the City of Salisbury and graduated from the mayor's community leadership program in 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning and is chairperson of the Salisbury community road safety group—a group he was instrumental in establishing. He was also the inaugural chairperson of the Salisbury Transport Advisory Group.

Adding to this already impressive list of achievements, he also attended the United Nations World Youth Assembly on Road Safety in Geneva in 2007 and had the honour of being appointed a United Nations youth ambassador for road safety. Joel's success should act as an example to other young South Australians to be an active member of their community, to understand that they can make a difference and be heard. Joel's energy, enthusiasm and demonstrated imaginative solutions to long-standing problems have played an important role in road safety. I am sure members would agree that Joel Taggart is an outstanding young South Australian and, on behalf of the government, I personally congratulate him on his achievements.