Northern Economic Plan

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:41): My question is directed to the Leader of the Government on the subject of the Northern Economic Plan. Given that the plan outlines an aim for the government to grow employment by 15,000 new jobs, to reach 165,000 by 2025, can the minister outline which section of the Public Service, his department, Treasury or the Department of the Premier and Cabinet calculated or estimated that job growth number and were any consultants employed to advise the government on that job growth number?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:41): I thank the honourable member for his question on the generally very well received Northern Economic Plan, which many of the councils in the north have been very heavily involved with and have praised to quite some extent.

In relation to the desire to increase employment by 15,000 by 2025, that is from 150,000 employed in northern Adelaide to 165,000. That was a target set by the leader's group under the Northern Economic Plan—that is, the state government and the councils, represented by the mayors. That's an aim that we have. The principal reason for that aim is to try to grow jobs.

As we know, jobs are going to be lost in the automotive manufacturing sector over the time period to come. It's an aim, a stated aim that we want to do over the next decade. There weren't consultants involved in coming up with this target. This was an aim that has been put forward by the local mayors and myself.