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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-11-20 Daily Xml
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Regional Cabinet Meeting

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (14:59): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house when there will be a regional cabinet meeting in the South-East?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (15:00): If I could get there next week, I would, because I know that the people of Mount Gambier would be carrying us on sedan chairs around the beautiful City of Mount Gambier, thanking us for delivering to them one of the great cultural institutions of the world, which will be the James Morrison academy of jazz. I know the honourable member is thrilled about that. It seems to have escaped the notice of the local media, but certainly down there in Mount Gambier it has lit up the sky.

I certainly do plan to get down to Mount Gambier, and we would like to bring the cabinet down there. I will be consulting with my colleague the minister for regional affairs to organise that schedule. We, of course, committed ourselves to three of these country cabinets each year. We have done that for this year, and we will certainly do it for next year, but there are very strong reasons to get back down to Mount Gambier.

The last time I was there, I had 6,000 screaming people there. Sons and daughters, little children all came out of their homes to see me. I had the warmest welcome I have ever received in Mount Gambier. It was actually about 40°, I think, on that day as well. Actually, I have been back since that fateful day, when there was a cause of some conflict and some friction, but since that time we have been working very hard to show a very clear future for this region.

I think this is one of the most exciting regions in South Australia, the South-East region. I think it is blessed with extraordinary natural beauty. I think it has abundant natural resources. I think, though, that there is much more that we can do with those natural resources.

Mr Williams: Absolutely.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is—its food, its fibre, it is our natural resources, our energy resources and all of those things. Of course, the natural beauty of that district means that it should be our premier tourism precinct. I know that minister Bignell—

An honourable member: Where is he?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: He's ill, and it would not be proper to reflect upon that. Minister Bignell, who hails from that region—is it Glencoe? Is that his town?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: He is very proud of his relationship with the South-East, and he spends a lot of time there. I know he is trying to forge a strong relationship with the member for Mount Gambier down there because we believe this is a jewel in the South Australian crown. For too long, I think, the people of Mount Gambier and the South-East have seen themselves as a long way away from Adelaide and in some ways—

Mr Williams: No, that's the way you have seen them.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, I think they have an independent streak of mind. They have had an independent streak of mind—up until very recently, a very independent streak of mind.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That's right. But I do remind the member that we did indeed bring the regional parliament down there when the former member was able to persuade us all to pull up stumps and constitute the whole of this parliament in Mount Gambier. That was the first time, I think, that we had moved outside of Adelaide and convened a parliament outside of Adelaide. It was something that I think the people of Mount Gambier appreciated. I can't give you an exact date, but I can tell you that I am very keen to get down to Mount Gambier very soon.

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