Population Growth

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:34): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Employment questions in relation to population growth.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Earlier this week, the planning minister released a revised 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide which projects significantly lower population growth than the original 30-year plan released in 2010. Last week, Deloitte released phase 1 of its Make it Big Adelaide report, which put forward strategies to strengthen the South Australian economy. One of the major recommendations of the Deloitte document is a call to double South Australia's population growth so as to reach a population in Adelaide of two million people by 2027. Deloitte sees a population of two million people in Adelaide being achievable more than a decade earlier than the government. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does the minister concede that a target population of $2 million for greater Adelaide by 2027—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Two million people for greater Adelaide.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The minister might like to concentrate on the answer rather than the question. Does the minister concede that a target of two million people for greater Adelaide—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable member has the floor and has the right to ask his question in silence.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Does the minister concede that a target population of two million people for greater Adelaide by 2045 will be insufficient to undergird South Australia's economic growth and employment conditions, considering that stakeholders are advocating a doubling of population growth over the next 10 years?

2. Is the government, in setting such a low bar for population growth, in effect condemning South Australia to long-term weak employment conditions and the continued exodus of young workers from this state?

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) (14:36): I thank the honourable member for his question about $2 million people—I think was the question, Mr President. In relation to population growth, yes, certainly the 30-year plan is a living document that is revised based on latest figures and latest information.

Deloitte released a paper, and I have seen a number of papers over quite a lengthy period of time, with forecasts and with ideas and views about different rates of population growth. I don't think anyone would argue that sustainable population growth is a good thing to grow an economy. The 30-year plan talks about population rates based on current evidence but certainly, as is evidenced with the changes to the planning laws that we made in this place in the last year and the ambitions we have to grow population in South Australia, we are in favour of population growth.