Adelaide Aquatic Centre

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:49): Supplementary as a result of the response from the minister: minister, why has the government awarded the administration of the Aquatic Centre to a Victorian-based YMCA over the South Australian YMCA, and did the Adelaide YMCA tender for the contract?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:49): As you have highlighted, it was a tender process and, as we know, there was an opportunity to provide a unique experience here where we could provide a new operator to oversee both the aquatic centres, so that was what the tender process was: an operator to operate both of those facilities.

It was a process that was followed, with the organisation that was able to, I guess, put the best foot forward. That is what a tender process is there to do and to achieve. We were able to find that YMCA Aquatic was the new operator of both of these new facilities, so now we will have a southern facility and the central facility both managed by the same operator.

We have seen that over 300 local South Australians are employed at the one near Marion—I think it is around 380—and this new facility will have 300 people also employed from South Australia. That is a really important figure because it has actually more than doubled, I understand, what was there previously at this aquatic centre, so my understanding is that more South Australians will be employed through this new operator.