Regional Leadership Development Program

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister please inform the chamber about the success of the Regional Leadership Development Program?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:58): I thank the honourable member for his question. The aim of the Regional Leadership Development Program is to provide a pipeline of future leaders who represent the diversity of people living and working across our state's regions. The current funding arrangement enables the program to operate in 2024-25 and 2025-26 and is a commitment of $1 million per annum over a period of two years, to be distributed to each of the seven Regional Development Australia associations, excluding the Adelaide Metro RDA, to run the program in their respective regions.

The program works towards the long-term stability, prosperity and sustainability of our regional industries and communities, which are key to the success of our state. One of the most important ways we can support the future success, economic development and liveability of our regions is to build and further develop the capabilities and capacities of our regional communities. Developing regional leaders who reflect the diversity and strength of our communities is fundamental to this success. Our regions are great places to live, work, do business and great places where community really matters, but to maintain and grow our regional communities we need to harness the leadership potential that is there.

Our regions are diverse. They face challenges and opportunities, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. That is why this state government is so proud to support the Regional Leadership Development Program, which was created to empower a broad cohort of leaders to take up important roles, to have the confidence to take risks, to challenge the status quo and to work together to achieve great things.

With a $2 million investment this government has supported existing and emerging leaders across South Australia. The program is place based, designed by each region for their region. It is about delivering training locally, making it accessible and inclusive and ensuring it reflects the unique needs and strengths of each community.

I try to attend as many Regional Leadership Development Program events as I can, so that I can speak directly with those who are participating or have participated in the program. On Friday, I travelled to Port Augusta to attend an RDA Far North regional leadership workshop event. Hosted by Dr Tabitha Healey, they were looking at the science of stress, burnout and psychological safety. The workshop was a great opportunity to catch up with participants of both the 2023 and 2025 Regional Leadership Development Program and enable participants to reflect on self-care, strategies to stay well and how to create environments where leaders can thrive.

I often come across Regional Leadership Development Program alumni in other spaces too. I am really pleased to say that I am not exaggerating when I say quite a number on individual occasions have said to me that they have found the program to be genuinely life changing—genuinely life changing. One of the conversations I had last week was with a participant who said that she had been talking with a longstanding local leader who had attended a graduation event and said that he now felt able to step down from several positions he had been in for a very long period of time. Why? Because he could see that there were well-equipped local people now able to step into those leadership roles.

More than 593 people have participated in leadership courses across 42 regional locations in 2024-26, with more to come. That is a powerful testament to the appetite for leadership development and growth in our regions and to the fantastic success of the Regional Leadership Development Program. The Malinauskas government is investing in our regions and securing the future of regional South Australia by equipping regional people with the skills to be confident and capable leaders. I am incredibly proud to support the Regional Leadership Development Program.