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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-10 Daily Xml
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SOCIAL INCLUSION IN MINING AND ENERGY AWARD

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:37): Yes, thank you.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

An honourable member: Don't ask Foley.

Mr ODENWALDER: Who?

The SPEAKER: Order!

An honourable member: He doesn't like you.

Mr ODENWALDER: My question is to the Premier.

An honourable member: No-one likes you.

Mr ODENWALDER: Yes, that's right. Can the Premier please update the house on the inaugural Social Inclusion in Mining and Energy Award?

Members interjecting:

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) (14:37): You don't support this? You don't support giving Aboriginal people jobs in the mining industry? Okay. Nominations—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Nominations open today for the inaugural Premier's Social Inclusion in Mining and Energy Award. The award, the first of its kind in Australia, will recognise the mining or energy resources company that demonstrates excellence and innovation in delivering social benefits to South Australian communities. Our resources sector is growing rapidly. We have just seen the number of mines in this state increase from 4 to 16, with three approved—

Mr Pisoni: And the unemployment figure—the unemployment figure is up.

The SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member for Unley.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —on Christmas Eve, I think, since we came to office. It is great to hear that OZ Minerals, which operates Prominent Hill, has purchased Carrapateena, which will be a giant copper and goldmine for the future. That was announced to the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday.

Mr Pisoni: There were 4,100 unemployed in one month.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Well, I think you know all about how you turn a big business into a small business. A very central part of our policy with the mining boom is that we want to see a social dividend as well as an economic dividend, so we don't have a situation—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley, I warn you for the second time.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —so that we don't have a situation that has occurred elsewhere in Australia and elsewhere in the world where you see a mining boom that people, particularly Indigenous people or those with generational unemployment, miss out on job opportunities.

The pipeline of projects will continue to grow, underpinned by strong exploration spending. Yesterday's ABS figures show continued growth in exploration in South Australia, up 25.5 per cent on the previous quarter. Mining is now our state's largest export industry and a significant regional employer. We want to see the growth of this industry benefit South Australians to the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —greatest extent possible. I have seen first-hand some of the great community initiatives that mining companies across the state are implementing for local communities. Mining and energy companies have created hundreds of jobs for South Australians who were doing it tough. In many cases, there has been a real commitment to employment of Aboriginal people from remote communities, helping them to break the cycle of disadvantage. In fact, there was one particular company that briefed me recently about how 20 per cent of their workforce were Indigenous people.

We need to see more of this as our mining and energy resources industries expand. That is why I will be presenting this award to the company that has gone the extra mile in engaging with communities and creating better outcomes for South Australians.

The Social Inclusion in Mining and Energy Award builds upon the Social Inclusion Board's work of ensuring a social dividend from the state's current period of economic growth. Nominations for the Social Inclusion in Mining and Energy Award are open until Friday 8 April. The winner will be selected by an adjudicating panel comprised of community organisations, industry representatives, government and Aboriginal stakeholders.

The award will be presented at the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) Gala Dinner on 4 May at the Hilton Adelaide. I hope this award appeals to the industry's spirit of competition, encouraging more innovation and greater social benefits for South Australia from these growth industries of the future.

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