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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-05 Daily Xml
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Question Time

EMPLOYMENT FIGURES

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:10): My question is to the Premier. As the Premier said yesterday, that Labor election's promise of creating 100,000 new jobs by 2016 was still the target, can he advise the house how Labor will create the 2,150 jobs required each month—that is almost 500 new jobs a week—from now until 2016 to meet that target?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:11): By pursuing the strategic directions that we laid out for the South Australian community in the Governor's speech earlier this year, we believe that this decade is going to be the single most important decade that we have seen any time in our state's history.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We think that we stand at the cusp of enormous opportunities, not only in our traditional industries such as our food industries but also challenges in relation to our manufacturing industries which we must transform into an advanced manufacturing industry. We will also be presented with enormous opportunities that are presented to a place such as ours in the region that we sit in. For the first time in our history this nation and, indeed, this state within the nation, sit on the edge of the fastest growing economy in the history of the world. We are seeing the largest movement out of poverty of a group of peoples that we have ever seen in the history of the world. Their demand for resources and food will be the thing that fuels the growth for this region for the future.

If we make the right decisions in this decade it will allow us to share in that prosperity. This is the future which is in front of us as part of this state. If we make the right decisions, if we, as a small economy, use our history for agility, our history of innovation, drawing on the strengths that we have always had in this community, living in the driest state in the driest continent, where we had always carved out an existence for ourselves, we will allow ourselves to take advantage of these great opportunities.

What I can say is that we have laid out a comprehensive plan and we have, amongst ourselves, settled on what we think are the seven most important areas that are going to make the most difference for the future of our state. We have promoted those, we have invited those opposite to be part of this dialogue, but when they are questioned about the future of the state they cannot even answer a simple question about what is their vision for South Australia. Despite having three days sitting there talking about God knows what, when they are asked the simple question, 'What is your vision for South Australia?' they are dumbstruck, because they are so consumed—

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Point of order, Madam Speaker. Standing order 98: this is clearly debate.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Stuart. I refer the Premier back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The reason we will be able to get there, the reason we will be able to achieve these things, is if all South Australians bend their efforts to achieving these objectives. We invite the opposition to participate in this debate. We invite them to participate in the debate about the big questions—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —that face our state. We have laid them out. We believe they are the things that will make the most difference to the future of our state. That will drive our future prosperity, the things that we have outlined: our premium clean food industry; an advanced manufacturing sector; making sure that we realise the benefits of the mining boom; ensuring that we do have a vibrant city that projects an image to the world that this is a great place to live; and that this is one of the great small cities of the world that attracts the talent, the people, the ideas, the resources that will allow us to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that exist in a small economy in this part of the world. What we see from those opposite is somebody that is completely absent from this public policy debate—absolutely paralysed by—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order, member for MacKillop.

Mr WILLIAMS: The Premier is straying back into debate; standing order 98.

The SPEAKER: Premier, can I refer you back to the substance of the debate.

Mrs Redmond: The substance of the debate?

The SPEAKER: The substance of the question.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We will get there. The whole of this community—and I do not exclude the opposition from this—spends their efforts to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that present themselves to our state.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey, order!

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