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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-12-01 Daily Xml
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MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:36): Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house about the critical role of government in supporting investment in major developments across South Australia?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:36): Madam Speaker, I had the great pleasure this morning to speak at the South Australian Investment Symposium where I launched the latest edition of the South Australian Major Developments Directory, and it is a very good read from the perspective of South Australia. It lists over $109 billion of major developments across the state, and these projects are an incredible list of opportunities which lie ahead for South Australian businesses and workers over the coming months, years and decades.

As everyone in this chamber would be aware, the most significant of those opportunities is the Olympic Dam expansion that we have just dealt with this week. The parliament has taken the transformational step of passing the indenture, which will give BHP the security to make the most significant investment the state has ever seen.

I want to join with minister Koutsantonis in acknowledging the role of the former premier (the member for Ramsay) and the former deputy leader (the member for Port Adelaide) for the role that they have played in bringing this project to fruition. As minister Koutsantonis said earlier today, this expansion will be a game changer for the state. It will underpin thousands of jobs for decades ahead—jobs not only in Roxby Downs but good, secure, high-skill, high-wage jobs in Adelaide, the Upper Spencer Gulf and across the state.

And through the commitment that the government has secured from BHP to use local suppliers, these jobs will be in an array of sectors, including services and advanced manufacturing. The prospect for this expansion and all of the $65.3 billion of opportunities in the minerals and energy sector listed in the directory did not come about because of good luck.

I want today to acknowledge someone who has not been routinely acknowledged in these matters, and that is a former deputy premier from this party, the Hon. Frank Blevins. Frank Blevins in 1992 took an incredibly far-reaching decision to electromagnetically map the Far North of this state, which provided the raw material for the steps that we took when we returned to government. The most—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I mean, they are the facts. It is a matter of historical record, Madam Speaker. The investments—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —in programs like the PACE scheme accelerated the discovery of new mineral resources under the ground, and that built on the raw material that was put in place—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for MacKillop, you are warned for the second time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —by the Hon. Frank Blevins.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: While our state is strongly positioned for the future, strong support from the government remains absolutely essential to ensure that we take advantage of these opportunities. It will not just fall in our lap. There is an enormous amount of work to be done. We have to make sure that we have a manufacturing sector which is positioned to solve the problems that the mining industry will face as it extracts these extraordinary amounts of ore from the north of our state. South Australian workers will need to have the skills to ensure that they can take advantage of the benefits of this new prosperity.

The quality of our roads, rails and ports that support our economic growth will be the thing that will ensure that we are able to take real advantage of these opportunities. The investment pipeline shows that the state's future is very bright, and our challenge now is to ensure that all South Australians enjoy this prosperity.

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