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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-29 Daily Xml
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NATIONAL 2020 SUMMIT

Ms FOX (Bright) (14:15): Will the Premier inform the house about his involvement in the National 2020 Summit held in Canberra on 19 and 20 April?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:15): In 1983, 25 years ago, I attended prime minister Bob Hawke's National Economic Summit as an adviser. The summit, held at the federal parliament building, was treated at the time with scepticism by many onlookers, but it is now seen as an event which ushered in an unprecedented decade of economic reform and industrial peace.

We remember that summit. People said that it would be a waste of time. It went for about four days and, from memory, there were about 140 participants. We saw coming from that summit, of course, the prices and income accord, the wages agreement, and also the prices surveillance authority. We saw the building of relationships between the leaders of business and indeed the leaders of the unions after years of discord under the Fraser government.

Union and business leaders were brought together after that era of turmoil and discovered that they could talk to each other. Of course, the outcome was the policy blueprint which saw unions pledge to curb wage demands in exchange for broader social and economic reform and dividends through Medicare, etc. The great advantage of that summit, and the 2020 Summit that I attended 10 days ago, was that it put decision making beyond party politics.

It put the nation's interest first. It brought together people from all walks of life and professions and gave them the opportunity to say where they want our nation to be and how we will get there. This year, the 2020 Summit created an opportunity for bold and brave ideas for Australia's future. The summit was held over two days and had 10 key policy areas or streams: a productivity agenda; the Australian economy; sustainability and climate change; water; rural Australia; health, communities and families; indigenous Australia; creative Australia; Australian governance; and security and prosperity.

In the time available, I was able to attend probably eight or 10 of the 10 group sessions, including a number of subgroups, in areas in which South Australia had the greatest clear interest. This is an important opportunity for me to inform national decision-makers and opinion-makers, business and community leaders on what issues are important to the people of South Australia and to listen to the ideas of others that could be relevant to our state. In the rural Australia group, chaired by Tim Fischer, I recommended a complete reform of the country's Exceptional Circumstances Drought Assistance Scheme to reduce the red tape holding up the assistance our farmers need.

In health, communities and families, I proposed a national universal home visiting scheme for all newborn babies. South Australia has one of the very best schemes in the country. Our Every Chance for Every Child program provides an offer of a home visit by a child health nurse to every newborn. The nurse provides a child health assessment, education and parenting information and support, and referrals and connections to other family support services can then be made. I was delighted that well-known Australian of the Year, Dr Fiona Stanley, approached me and congratulated South Australia for our commitment in the area of early childhood.

In the sustainability and climate change stream, I challenged all levels of business and government to match the South Australian government's commitment to purchase 20 per cent of our electricity needs from renewable energy, and this was a chance for a simple but tangible response to climate change: the importance of setting targets. We have a plan—our vision of the future—but we have hard measurable targets that are independently evaluated in terms of progress.

I also reinforced South Australia's position on the River Murray and argued that a substantial slice of the $10 billion River Murray rescue package be dedicated to a fund to buy back water licences from irrigators to deal with the over-allocation of licences. I also advised delegates of the perilous situation facing the Lower Lakes.

I am delighted that, today, the federal Minister for Climate Change and Water (Senator Penny Wong) has announced that a $12.9 billion water investment program, Water for the Future, will be established in this year's federal budget. I am particularly delighted that part of that program will include more than $3 billion to be spent on buying back water allocations in the Murray-Darling Basin to address overallocation.

I also recommended in one of the groups on sustainability that the nation adopt South Australia's 30 year old container deposit legislation and, of course, I also publicly proposed that the nation ban plastic bags in the way that we will, and this was supported by many of the people whom I met.

South Australia's Social Inclusion Unit, headed by Monsignor David Cappo, was also a stand-out South Australian initiative, which has captured the attention of many of the delegates, including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Prime Minister spent time talking with Monsignor Cappo and myself on the work undertaken on areas such as homelessness, school retention and mental health.

The 2020 Summit was a brave and bold initiative. The Prime Minister deserves our congratulations and respect for inviting 1,000 delegates to provide direction and ideas for the future of Australia. While some of these ideas may not prove practicable or affordable, many others will help guide governments and policy makers generally. It is an ambitious start, it is a call to arms for all Australians to have a say in our future. I spoke about the River Murray at that summit. Did the Leader of the Opposition mention the River Murray during his address to delegates? I ask you. We hear all the lip service, but—

Mr Hamilton-Smith: We weren't allowed to speak to them.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: He says he was gagged, he wasn't allowed to speak. Well, I did not hear him once mention the River Murray, nor did I hear him mention rural Australia, which again shows how phoney he is in his concerns on these issues.

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: He who dares wins.

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