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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-14 Daily Xml
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STATE STRATEGIC PLAN

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:40): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier please update the house on the community engagement process being undertaken to update South Australia's Strategic Plan?

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) (14:40): I am very pleased to answer this question from the member for Torrens. When I launched the plan in March 2004, I wanted it to be a goad for action for all South Australians. I wanted it to be a plan for everyone—business, the community and government—not a plan for government alone.

After nearly six years, our Strategic Plan has taken root in communities across South Australia and people from all over our state, from all walks of life, have taken part. The plan has helped to change the way South Australians see their future and to think about what we need to do to make our great state even better.

In 2004, I also promised that the state's progress against the plan's targets would be reported publicly and objectively by an independent group of experts. We have done this and last month I released the most recent progress reports showing that we are making significant progress in meeting many of the plan's targets.

When I launched the plan back in 2004, I said that it must be a dynamic, living document, because a plan that is about achieving change must itself be open to change when circumstances alter. That is why in 2006 we launched one of the most comprehensive community engagement programs ever conducted in South Australia to update the plan.

Four years down the track, it is time to do it all over again. Last month, I launched the 2010 update process. This time we are aiming to reach even more people and give even more South Australians the opportunity to have their say.

The Community Engagement Board, headed by former Conservative member of parliament, National MP Peter Blacker, is six weeks into the consultation process and reaction has been fantastic, not only in the sheer numbers of people engaged but also through the diversity of South Australian views expressed.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I find it amazing to hear members opposite yelling out things against Peter Blacker. It seems that Tony Abbott appreciates the support of the Nationals.

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: More than 2,200 people have been engaged in the update to date—600 more people than were engaged in the entire update process in 2006. The Community Engagement Board has already visited the Riverland, Yorke Peninsula and the Mid North, Eyre Peninsula, Ceduna, Roxby Downs, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Kangaroo Island and Fleurieu Peninsula, holding numerous public consultation sessions.

The board is not just relying on people to come to community meetings; it has been going to the people to make sure that a diversity of views is heard and reflected in the plan. This has included talking in the streets to people going about their daily business in such diverse locations as Rundle Mall, Roxby Downs and Kingscote, as well as going to workplaces and community organisations across regional communities.

Through this process we are also engaging with South Australians online and in new and innovative ways. Through the plan's website and through social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we have seen many South Australians posting their own visions for our state.

People have also been responding via widely distributed reply-paid postcards so that those who are not able to attend a meeting and cannot get online can send in their thoughts. These have been hugely popular and used by community organisations to assist their clients in having their say. This is about listening to the people.

Topic-based stakeholder conversations started last week, focusing on areas of safety and justice, health and the environment. Over 200 people have attended these sessions so far. There are many more opportunities for the community to have their say and to shape the future of the plan in coming weeks, with consultations on education, community, creativity and innovation and economic development.

This is a community plan, not just a plan for government. This is recognised in the increasing number of Alliance members. The Alliance member program demonstrates how the plan is a community plan and is implemented by the community as well as by government. As an Alliance member, organisations indicate what targets in the plan they are committed to helping to achieve.

The Alliance members reflect all elements of the community: businesses such as KPMG and Fuji Xerox, or not-for-profit organisations such as Anglicare or United Care Wesley, local government, and peak bodies such as Business SA—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Why don't you attack them as well—Volunteering SA—why don't you attack them—Housing Industry Association, which are all Alliance partners? These organisations are pursuing initiatives which contribute towards achieving the plan. All of these organisations, through the Alliance program, support the plan. It is not just South Australian businesses and individuals that have recognised the importance of the plan, South Australia's Strategic Plan has now been recognised internationally by the US-based Community Indicators Consortium as the world's best example of integrating community indicators to drive sustainable change—but, no doubt, you'll attack them as well.

The plan was a first for both South Australia and for the nation, and I am pleased that other states have now followed our lead and that our plan is getting the international recognition it deserves. I encourage all South Australians to get involved in the update process for our Strategic Plan.

It must be so horrible for you. When you get the latest figures on mining when we open the 12th mine, or the latest figures on $2 billion worth of investment in renewable energy, or 120,000 more people in jobs than when you were in office, you despair, you chew your paws. So, we will just keep going, and we won't take notice of you, but we will listen to the people instead.

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