Northern Economic Plan

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Automotive Transformation. Can the minister advise on the success of the tele town hall event on Tuesday night and how the information from the event will help inform the Northern Economic Plan?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:58): I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in the automotive industry and in cars in general. On Tuesday night, as the member said, the government conducted a tele town hall meeting. This had all the benefits of a traditional town hall style meeting, allowing members of the public to speak directly to both the Premier and myself and allowing the government to get a better understanding of people's priorities, but with the added convenience of people who wanted to be involved not having to leave their own home.

It was about reaching out to people who might not usually have a voice in government decision-making to seek opinions and answers to questions directly, with the feedback received to inform the development of the final Northern Economic Plan. As a government, we think it is important to source opinions and views from right across all parts of the community, and we have undertaken consultation with industry and with businesses large and small, as well as a lot of discussion with local government, in the development of the Northern Economic Plan.

We have given residents from Adelaide's north a range of ways to take part in this important decision-making process. The comprehensive engagement approach includes formal events, shopping centre stalls, industry forums and workplace conversations, as well as this tele town hall event. We are committing to give all South Australians a say in the development of government policy such as this, and are prepared to give people their say in new and innovative ways, such as this tele town hall.

Close to 7,000 residents listened to the discussion, and the Premier and I were able to speak directly to dozens of residents during what was supposed to be an hour-long conversation, but it was pushed out to closer to an hour and a half. Questions ranged from Stephan asking about support for auto workers; Joe asking about new possible industries such as Tesla; Katie asked about matching education and training to available jobs; Craig asked a couple of questions about a potential nuclear industry; Jamie asked about small business; Wade asked about component suppliers diversifying into ship building work; Vicky asked the Premier about opportunities for young people; Jarrod had questions about health jobs; Andre had his own start-up company and took the opportunity to ask questions about government support; and Daniel suggested bringing trams back to Semaphore.

There were a range of answers to the dozens of questions asked. These were just some of the questions and suggestions put forward to the Premier and myself, and many were, as Tony Jones would say, comments rather than questions, with some very interesting views put forward.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Did any of them have the same style and approach as the Treasurer to conversations?

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Don't get distracted, Kyam.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I will try not to be distracted. People reacted very well and, contrary to some of the commentary, such as the article from earlier in the week that quoted I think the member for Unley's mum (David Pisoni's mum), this was much more than a call from a 'JayBot'—this was actually a conversation where people had opportunity to speak directly to the Premier and to hear from the Premier.

The local community plays an important role in defining the vision for northern Adelaide's future. I was extremely pleased that so many local residents from northern Adelaide took part in this fruitful discussion. If we held these tele town hall meetings in actual town halls, we would have to schedule dozens and dozens of halls to fit everyone in. Many thousands of people took part.

The state government is committed to having manufacturing in South Australia, and some of the input provided ideas that we will go away and work on. Some of the ideas people had included health industries and jobs in the disability and aged care sectors, ideas about food and food manufacturing, as well as other manufacturing industries, and we will continue to work with people and with the community, particularly with local councils and industries, to develop plans for new jobs and new industries as we head towards the end of 2017, when the automotive manufacturing sector will close.