Question Time

Career and Workforce Development Centre

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Automotive Transformation a question relating to the Career and Workforce Development Centre at Warradale.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: When launched back in 2015 the Career and Workforce Development Centre promised to deliver the most comprehensive career transition service ever offered in South Australia. The centre was supposed to offer information sessions, computer and ICT sessions and personal development. Given the Career and Workforce Development Centre has no record of an ICT training schedule or personal development sessions, and only four sessions, two of which were presented Centrelink and held over the course of eight days, my questions to the minister are: firstly, does the minister consider the presentation of two ICT sessions in almost two years as sufficient to assist displaced automotive workers find new employment? Secondly, how many sessions does the minister think would be reasonable in order to fulfil the centre's purpose of delivering the most comprehensive career transition service ever offered in South Australia?

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Ever offered?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Ever offered, ever. Thirdly, how many sessions were planned on being held when the Career and Workforce Development Centre initially opened?

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) (14:22): I thank the honourable member for his question. We have been here before talking about the automotive workers transition centre in the south. We were here last year talking about this when members opposite and their friends in another chamber, particularly the member for Mitchell, wanted to close it down. They wanted to close down the centre that provides services for the automotive supply chain workers in the south.

They criticised us for having it open. They didn't want services provided there. It has transpired since then that we find that there might have been ulterior motives for this. We find that the hapless Leader of the Opposition may have been put up to this for other purposes. The centre, apparently, was the former campaign office for the member for Mitchell and we see the Leader of the Opposition doing the bidding, wanting to close it down when apparently the member for Mitchell wants a change offices again.

This looks like a cruel joke that they are trying to get rid of automotive workers in transition programs, services for people in the south, for some other reason. We won't apologise for providing services to workers in the south. We recognise that there are people involved in the automotive industry, particularly the supply chain, in companies in southern Adelaide and western Adelaide that need access to services.

We will not agree with what the opposition seem to want, and that is to make people living in Lonsdale, Christies Beach and the southern and western suburbs travel up to the northern suburbs to attend career information sessions, to attend training there. We know that we are seeing a rapid increase in those accessing services to do with the automotive industry as we get towards October, when Holden have now announced the date for the closure. We are seeing more and more people accessing services and we will continue to provide services for people in southern Adelaide.