Schoolies Festival

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:33): My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. Will the minister update the house on how the state government will help keep school leavers safe at the annual Schoolies Festival?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Autism) (14:33): I thank the member for his question. As some members may be aware—does anyone actually have any year 12 students?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: Last year of primary? I thought you might be the only one.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: He is not going to schoolies—there we go. Over recent weeks, more than 13,000 South Australian SACE students have sat their final exams, with only a few subjects remaining. After the exams, it's only fitting that the year 12 students celebrate the end of their schooling careers. The annual Schoolies Festival will once again take place at Victor Harbor from Friday 21 November to Sunday 23 November.

To help students celebrate safely, the state government has partnered with Encounter Youth to provide the biggest ever upgrade to the Schoolies Festival bus service. For the first time, the free bus service has been expanded to regional areas. The regional express will provide free return transport from key regional areas, including the Riverland, Mid North, Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and the Limestone Coast.

That is not the only big improvement. The schoolies metro express will now offer multiple departure locations across metropolitan Adelaide, with seven different pickup locations. The metro express will be leaving from Gawler, Mawson Lakes, Tea Tree Gully, Athelstone, Port Adelaide, Adelaide and Hallett Cove. Then, once school leavers are in the Fleurieu Peninsula, the free Schoolies Festival bus service, supported by the government, will ensure that their transport is sorted all weekend.

Not only is their travel to Victor Harbor from Adelaide on the Friday, and back on Monday, included in the free service but, with their Schoolies Festival wristband, leavers will have the ultimate access to the free Schoolies Festival bus service. Supported by the state government, the festival attendees will be able to get free travel across the Fleurieu Peninsula, from Goolwa to Encounter Bay, from 9am to 1am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Schoolies Festival. This is the biggest transport-related initiative in the history of the Schoolies Festival in South Australia. We are providing free travel from the regions, Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula and then free shuttle buses over the entire weekend. This is incredibly important because whilst we want our kids to have fun we also want them to do it safely on our roads.

The peace of mind a bus service offers to parents is imperative in making sure that everyone can enjoy this special milestone. Knowing their teenagers will get to Victor Harbor and back home safely on a dedicated service makes all the difference. It is important that young South Australians have an enjoyable and safe schoolies experience, which is why we are happy to partner with Encounter Youth to expand the bus service.

We will also be partnering with Encounter Youth to support the delivery of a sensory space for the duration of the Schoolies Festival this year, thanks to the Autism Works in the Community Grants Program delivered through the Office for Autism. This is a $15,000 grant that enables them to have a dedicated sensory space, supported by the hidden-disability program that we have been rolling out. We wish everyone all the very best with their festivities over the coming weeks and hope that it is a very safe time indeed.