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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-07-24 Daily Xml
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Torrens University Australia

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:32): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house about the opening of Torrens University in Adelaide and the benefit it provides to our state?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:32): It was my great pleasure to just return from a function where the special guest was the former president of the United States—the 42nd president of the United States—Bill Clinton. I attended there with a number of members opposite, including the Leader of the Opposition.

President Clinton is obviously in Adelaide today to launch the Torrens University Australia as South Australia's newest international university. We have just witnessed an extraordinary oration by President Clinton. He is, as we speak, answering questions in a question and answer session of the audience there, which is possibly slightly more interesting than the proceedings that exist here; nevertheless, we had to drag ourselves away.

He, of course, is honorary chancellor of Laureate International Universities, of which Torrens University Australia is a member. While President Clinton did commit to me to stand with me to announce the setting up of this new university, I did think that might have been just one of those things that was said in a very kind way, but perhaps wasn't delivered on. So, it is a great thrill that he is here and that he is actually being able to celebrate this fantastic opening.

Torrens University Australia is, of course, situated in the Torrens Building on Victoria Square, where thousands of students across 30 countries will undertake undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The new university will not only further strengthen South Australia's reputation as a world-class destination for students, it will also bring its own economic benefits for South Australia. Both domestic and international students will have the opportunity to collaborate with industry experts from across the global laureate network.

Of course, this university bolsters our reputation as a great university city, but it also adds to the network of opportunities that exist to extend our influence to bring people here, to bring ideas here, to have people from South Australia better networked into the world. This was the burden of President Clinton's speech. He spoke of the great challenges of the next 50 years being essentially how we harness the interdependence of our global community for good rather than for some of the evil things that are going on around the world.

These networks are an opportunity for us to reach out to the world. It's no longer an option to be an insular small state in an island in an international community. We need to embrace the opportunities that exist and the diversity that is such a rich part of our South Australian culture. We pioneered some important elements of this. Multiculturalism—we can lay claim to that being an incredibly powerful part of our history and our heritage, and our respect for the role of women in our community and in leadership positions.

Diversity is in the heart of the South Australian story. Interdependence is the modern condition, and Laureate Universities connect us into the world in a way that will allow us to realise some of the wonderful opportunities for the future. It was a great event. We are privileged to have a past president of the United States here celebrating with us. This is, I think, a wonderful launching pad for our reputation as a university city.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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