Agricultural Sector

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (16:16): I ask the parliament of today: what did you have for breakfast? Feel free to participate!

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: Muesli—good choice. Peanut butter—that is not what I was hoping. But, really, it does not matter because all of us have supported the agricultural sector in some way, whether it be the milk, the Weet-Bix or the cereal that we have eaten.

We know in this chamber that the agricultural sector is South Australia's biggest export and is our great source of revenue within our state. Yet, I find myself here today defending it as a discipline. Why? Because the Marshall Liberal government continues its crusade to cut, close and privatise key state services. Thousands of people are employed by the agricultural sector. Hence, it is not surprising that it is becoming an increasingly sought after vocation.

According to the SA Tertiary Centre, this year we have seen a 19 per cent increase in the number of students choosing agriculture and animal science as their first preference at a tertiary education level. This is an increasingly growing sector, and as a state we need to ensure that those who want to work in this sector have access to the education they need, meaning access to institutions like TAFE SA, where many South Australians attain the qualifications they need to pursue careers in agriculture and other sectors.

Last year, in December, the Marshall Liberal government closed the Tea Tree Gully and Parafield TAFE campuses and has plans to close another five in regional South Australia, including Port Augusta, Roxby Downs and Coober Pedy. The decision is a $32.8 million cut in the TAFE SA budget. The closures to Roxby Downs and Coober Pedy are yet another hit to rural and remote students. Where does the government expect Coober Pedy TAFE students to go? Maybe to Port Augusta, which is a five-hour drive from their local community.

This is just another example of the government's ability to spend a lot of time talking about supporting the regions, but that is all it is, when in reality all the government does is cut and close rural infrastructure, harming regional communities. We as an opposition are asking for the reversal of the cruel cuts to TAFE. If the Liberal Marshall government reversed its decision to cut TAFE campuses, they would be able to continue to provide regional communities the education that is needed, rather than facilitating an educational discrimination based on postcodes.

I grew up in a regional community, as I have mentioned before in this chamber, like many others who are in the chamber at the moment and have seen a significant change in our regional communities. My family still runs a property between Maitland and Ardrossan, and what would have been seen as a reasonable-sized farm some 15 years ago is now one of the smaller farms. Many larger farms are getting bigger and smaller farms are moving from the community.

We are now seeing one property over what would have previously covered three farming families. This is why it was so pleasing to see on the front page of The Advertiser recently an article highlighting the growing demand to study agriculture, and hopefully a keenness to return to regional communities. What is disappointing is that the government has not recognised the need to keep the doors of a TAFE that specialises in horticulture and agriculture—like Urrbrae TAFE—open to support this growing demand.

The community has had enough of having services cut. In fact, over 3,000 people have signed a change.org petition to stop the closure of Urrbrae TAFE. One individual who started the petition, Elly, says she is 'totally gobsmacked at the Marshall government's recent decision to close the Urrbrae TAFE campus'.

This new year, the Marshall Liberal government needs to make some resolutions to start investing in agriculture instead of cutting, closing and privatising the education from where people start their careers. We will be watching to see whether the Liberal government can prove that hashtag #RegionsMatter is anything other than just a hashtag.