Matters of Interest

COP31

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:25): When the South Australian government announced its bid to host a major international conference in 2026, we knew Adelaide was well and truly equipped to handle an event of such magnitude. Just 20 years ago, Adelaide could not have dreamed of hosting the Conference of the Parties (COP31). We simply would not have had the infrastructure. We would have missed out on the opportunity to bring 30,000 visitors and important decision-makers from all around the world.

A climate conference is a very appropriate event for South Australia under a Labor government. Our record in this field of renewable energy and carbon reduction is world-class. Three-quarters of all the state's energy comes from wind and solar, with South Australia on target to make that figure 100 per cent by 2027. If any city anywhere deserves to host the United Nations annual climate summit, it is Adelaide. Nonetheless, wanting to host and being able to host such a major event are two separate matters.

This government undertook a feasibility study to confirm our belief that we were well placed to accommodate such an event, and the confidence was corroborated. The study found we have sufficient accommodation for the numbers required, not just the delegates but also the entourage of support staff, media and others who will be attending. The study determined we could provide a safe and secure experience for the tens of thousands of people the conference will attract.

The study found that the Adelaide Convention Centre and its broader precinct could have the necessary security zone, as well as the accompanying public event area to make everything run smoothly. It is just as well that in our time in office over the past 20 years, Labor has had the vision to develop our international-standard riverfront area. That riverfront area, complete with its convention zone, is ideal for events such as this.

It would have been easier to cut corners and make the zone adequate for state and national events, but that would limit our possibilities and potential. The fact that our riverfront area offers world-class facilities means that we can bid and win the right to host world-class events. Often, advancements in our infrastructure have been made while the Liberal opposition has made headlines saying that we could not afford such things.

We all remember how it goes: we could not afford the Convention Centre in the first place, we did not need its size increased, we did not need to spend so much on the Adelaide Oval redevelopment and we did not need that bridge over the Torrens that everybody uses—the list goes on and on. It is the same sort of thinking that suggests that we do not need to look for more sustainable ways of producing energy.

That leads us back to COP31, which just happens to be the United Nations' major conference for the decision-making body on this vital subject. It is an event that brings together representatives from 197 nations around the world to discuss perhaps the most important matter in the world today: the health of the planet and of our very future.

The numbers associated with hosting COP31 can be understood by even the naysayers who thought we should not have invested so strongly in our beautiful city. Even the Liberal number-crunchers, who too often put figures ahead of the future, can understand the math.

In simple mathematical terms, hosting the international climate conference would mean an injection of more than $500 million into the South Australian economy. But it is a lot more than just money this time around; it allows us to take world centre stage on the climate debate. It promotes our position on that debate and gives us real credibility on matters of such global significance. It puts Adelaide and South Australia on the map as an international city capable of hosting such events and, like the conference itself, it reinforces Adelaide's future as a city to be taken seriously.