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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-06-12 Daily Xml
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PRIME MINISTER'S ECONOMIC FORUM

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (14:10): My question is to the Premier. What issues will the Premier raise at the Prime Minister's Economic Forum being held in Brisbane this evening and tomorrow?

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:10): I thank the honourable member for this important question. As members will be aware, I will be travelling to Brisbane this afternoon to attend the Prime Minister's Economic Forum. This event is being held at a time when our nation's economic fundamentals are very strong under the stewardship of—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —the federal Labor government. Madam Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —laughs from those opposite—last week, we saw national accounts and unemployment numbers which demonstrate that our nation and, indeed, South Australia's economy remain firmly on the right track. This is even more remarkable when you consider the turmoil going on in Europe and, to a lesser extent—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —in the United States. Although our economic fundamentals are strong, the hard work does not stop there. Our resources sector has grown dramatically since we took government. We have seen a quadrupling of mineral exports in the last decade to $4 billion in the year to March 2012. In addition, the transformation of our manufacturing sector to one based on innovation and value adding needs workers with much higher levels of training. We are already investing in training in this budget, investing $38 million in a new training centre at Regency Park which will focus on training for mining, engineering and transport and defence sectors in partnership with the commonwealth through the national—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —agreement on skills to provide a high-quality skills agenda. We need to do more work in that regard. The truth is that we have a labour force participation rate which sits at 62.9 per cent, which is below the national average of 65.3 per cent. While this is partly because of older demographics in South Australia, it does show that there is a group of South Australians for whom we can do more to keep them in the workforce.

We also know that there are workers already engaged in the middle of their careers, and there are some workers or people who have been completely disengaged from the workforce for an extended period. Both of those groups need to obtain the skills necessary to participate in the exciting opportunities which we know exist in our economy. I am firmly of the view that the way we realise the benefits of this mining boom and make sure that most South Australians share in it is to ensure that they have the skills to participate. And this is—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —absolutely central not only to ensuring that this prosperity is enjoyed by more South Australians but also, I think crucially, is linked to our ability to gain community support for this important industry. We have seen, I think, an unfortunate national debate that has emerged between employers on the one side and the unions on the other about bringing labour into this country to deal with short-term skill shortages.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It would be very unfortunate if the dislocation that some of our communities are feeling because of the mining boom, with all of its great strengths and opportunities, is placing real pressures on certain areas of our manufacturing sectors. It, of course, creates dislocation in that it sucks a lot of resources into that sector. These are threats as well as opportunities, and I think that the big answer is the skilling-up of our workforce. That is why we have put so much effort into the skills agenda in this state. It is one of the key issues I will be raising when I am in Brisbane. I look forward to reporting to the house on the outcomes.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms Chapman: What about the carbon tax?

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Bragg!

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Norwood, order! Leader of the Opposition.

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