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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Address in Reply

Address in Reply

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Elder, I remind members that this is her first speech and accordingly I ask members to extend the traditional courtesies to the member.

Ms HABIB (Elder) (11:03): I move:

That the following Address in Reply to His Excellency's opening speech be adopted.

To His Excellency, the Hon. Hieu Van Le, Companion of the Order of Australia, Governor in and over the State of South Australia and its dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, may it please Your Excellency—

1. We, the members of the House of Assembly, express our thanks for the speech with which Your Excellency was pleased to open parliament.

2. We assure Your Excellency that we will give our best attention to the matters placed before us.

3. We earnestly join in Your Excellency’s desire for our deliberations to serve the advancement of the welfare of South Australia and all its people.

It is a great honour to rise this morning in this house to deliver my first speech. If you were to look around right now, you would see a change of faces, a change of ministers, a change to where the Liberal Party sits in this house, reflecting the change of government. It is a fitting scene for the people of South Australia, who have, as a majority, for the past three elections, voted for change. Mr Speaker, heartfelt congratulations to you on presiding over this change. I am certain you will bring the same qualities that you display as a local member—integrity, diligence and hard work—to this important role.

I would also like to congratulate His Excellency the Governor on his opening of parliament last week and thank both him and Mrs Le for their service more broadly. His Excellency has highlighted the agenda of this government and the change we will deliver, beginning with transparency, accountability and a commitment to reform, with approximately 300 policies. Indeed, a strong plan for real change was far from a hollow slogan but rather an accurate description of the depth and breadth of the state Liberals' plan to create a better South Australia.

Being elected to serve our community and state as a member of parliament is a great honour and a great responsibility for all of us in this chamber and the Legislative Council. I warmly congratulate all members, both new and re-elected, regardless of which party they may represent or if they serve independently. For each of us, our journey here required hard work, commitment and above all else faith from those we are elected to represent, so I come to this role with humility and an unwavering commitment to serve the people living within the electorate of Elder.

The Elder electorate is a complex microcosm of suburban South Australia, with spotted industrial and retail pockets spanning across Hawthorn, Cumberland Park, Westbourne Park, Melrose Park, Daw Park, Colonel Light Gardens, Lower Mitcham, Clapham, Panorama, Pasadena, Tonsley, Clovelly Park and Mitchell Park. Urban infill, renewal and varying electoral boundaries have seen the composition of Elder change over the decades; however, a remaining constant is that the seat of Elder is home to an incredible, diverse group of residents.

During the campaign, I have had the people living in Elder open their homes and their hearts to me. Across the board, people raised their concerns, outlined their ideas and shared their hopes for our state. Interestingly, people raised similar issues. It did not matter if they were a parent, a senior citizen, a young person, an employer or an employee. People living in Elder were generally concerned about the rising cost of living, the Repat closing, public transport and job opportunities.

Overall, residents were looking for a member of parliament whom they could trust, someone they could rely on and, most importantly, a representative who would deliver for them and the state. The residents of Elder have every right to place high expectations on me as their newly elected member of parliament. I sincerely thank them all for this opportunity to serve.

In this my first speech, I wish to reaffirm the commitment I made to many locals during the election campaign, that is, that I will dedicate my time in this role to engaging and representing our local community with integrity, diligence and compassion, to delivering tangible outcomes that improve the lives of everyday South Australians of all ages and all backgrounds, and to raising the bar so that with renewed optimism we can begin to change the way we think about politics, politicians and what is possible.

Today, you will hear my story, a story about my journey here, my values and what drives me and what is possible for our great state of South Australia, so let's start with: why politics? 'Why politics?' is the question that almost everyone asks and I suspect that it will come as no surprise when I say that it is often followed with, 'You must be crazy.'

In my case, I did not grow up thinking I wanted to be a politician some day. Of course, let's be frank, who in their right mind would, given the stereotype cast upon politicians? But I did grow up believing that each and every one of us could by our own innate ability make a difference to the world around us, even if that world just comprised our street or local neighbourhood. For this, I have my parents to thank, both of whom are in the gallery today.

My mum, Deanna, is originally from a small fishing town in Newfoundland, Canada, and my dad, Samih, is from a small village in Lebanon. They met and fell in love in Alice Springs, where I was born, a town with a big sense of community. My mum, a registered nurse, and my dad, a small business owner and one of the longest serving members of the Alice Springs Town Council, instilled in me the importance of family, hard work and community. My older sister, younger brother and I grew up watching our parents build a life starting with nothing, as is often the case with new migrants. They worked hard and gave generously of their time to shape the town in which we lived.

We were also very blessed to have as our godparents, known as Nanny Anna and Poppy Pete, proud locals epitomising the Australian spirit. Still to this day, the 10-metre sign carved out of stone that proudly welcomes visitors to Alice Springs as you enter the town and the Girl Guides hall are projects on which my dad volunteered and worked hard to deliver. Still to this day, community, family and hard work, combined with determination, justice, equality and freedom, constitute my core values, my guiding principles and my driving force.

It is easy to say that which you value when the winds are fair and your sail through life is calm. However, we all know it is when the tides turn and the waves of life seem to be crashing down—Thor, the god of thunder, pounding his hammer, willing your boat to turn over and sink to the bottom of the ocean, drowning you with it—that your true self and that which really matters to you are revealed. For me, this describes how I felt when I was 19 and my older sister, Nicole, who had survived her first battle with cancer by having her right leg amputated above her knee, was at the time fighting cancer once again, this time in her lungs.

She had such an incredible sense of humour, kindness for others and a love for life. I remember people would stare at her and her missing leg, confused by her missing leg—she was so beautiful with her long brown hair and her contagious smile—and she would joke, 'A crocodile ate it, and I had to crawl to the pub with only one leg!' or she would make up some other ridiculous story that left people both baffled and at ease. She fought so hard to live, with courage and selflessness, but I did not know that at the time. It was only after the unthinkable happened and I was reading her journal that it hit me.

Growing up, she always kept a journal and, like all little sisters who know exactly how to annoy their big sisters, I tried my best to break the little lock and sneak a peek. When that did not work, I pleaded with her if I could read it. Finally, one day she conceded somewhat, saying in jest that I could read her journal one day—after she died. At that time, neither of us knew that that would only be a matter of years rather than the decades we both expected. So, when the unthinkable happened and I found myself reading her journal, travelling to a very dark place that I may not have come out of, it hit me how hard she had fought to live.

Still to this day, her words, sketched in her little journal, echo in my mind: 'I'm going to beat this cancer for it knows nothing of love, family, friends and the possibilities of this world.' She may not have succeeded in beating cancer after all, but she certainly jolted me into a new reality where I knew this life, no matter how short or how long, could not be taken for granted. That is when I realised what truly mattered to me, what I was prepared to take a stand for and what I was prepared to fight for: family, equality, justice, freedom and community.

I got involved in my local council as the first chair of the City of Marion Youth Advisory Committee, determined to give young people a voice in shaping their local area. I was then asked to be part of the steering committee that saw youth advisory committees rolled out across the state. From there, I went on to work for a number of not-for-profit organisations that provided people with the skills and knowledge to engage in education or employment and, most importantly, create a happy and successful life for themselves, regardless of their background. In all my working and volunteer roles, the driving force has been to alleviate suffering, break down barriers and create circumstances where South Australians can be the best that they can be and live safe, well, happy lives.

For some, a career in the not-for-profit sector may at first seem at odds with the Liberal Party ethos. However, it is my values that give me cause to stand tall and proud as a member of the Liberal Party committed to liberalism. For me, the essence of liberalism is in fact reflected in many not-for-profit organisations that are genuine about creating sustainable, positive change for individuals. In my mind, that means a hand up not a handout. Liberalism is about creating a society that allows individuals to reach their full potential if they so choose. It is about rewarding effort and protecting one's freedom.

Outside my working life, my subconscious commitment to liberalism found other ways to express itself. In 2010, I recall driving home one fine spring day and sighting a large vinyl banner. It was poorly fixed to a wire fence so that its bottom right corner flapped in the wind, banging against the wire, demanding my attention. The banner encouraged community members to stand for local government. It was a sign, both literally and metaphorically. I ran in the 2010 local government elections and was honoured to be elected to serve on the City of Marion council. In many ways, it was a natural extension of my commitment to the community.

During that time, a fellow councillor, David Speirs, the now member for Black and Minister for Environment and Water, who shared my passion for grassroots community change, asked me if I had ever considered running for state parliament. At that time, the answer was no, but the seed was planted and I began to contemplate the honour it would be to be able to serve as a member of state parliament and the changes and contributions that could be made from such a position.

For anyone who has not been involved in an election campaign, let me share with you the giant chasm that lay between the initial decision to run for state parliament and the arrival into parliament. It involves letterboxing so many kilometres that I estimate one could walk the Grand Canyon, return, 306 times (I did actually calculate that out); doorknocking thousands of homes that for an average woman such as myself you can expect to wear through the soles of a pair of Skechers in just two to three months; fundraising thousands of dollars to cover the costs of printing, postage and corflutes; and an army of dedicated supporters to tend to the many other activities that form the basis of a genuine grassroots campaign.

I highlight this in honour of the many people who joined with me to campaign in the seat of Elder in the lead-up to both the 2014 and 2018 state elections. A special thank you to Ben Turner and Gabrielle Appleby, who shared the responsibility of campaign manager in the lead-up to the 2014 election, and volunteers, such as Kelvin Binns and Alex Scott, who worked tirelessly. While I did not win that election, our failures shape who we are and should be acknowledged along with our successes, not to mention that, regardless of the outcome, it was a hard-fought campaign.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the team whose hard work and unwavering commitment saw me sworn in as the member for Elder last Thursday, namely, the volunteer campaign committee, which included Lauren Kilsby, Jacinta Weiss, Margeaux Cameron-Smith, Zane Basic, Hugh Sutton, Peter Clark, Cecilia Schutz and Russell Hanna. I pay tribute to Ralph Walker who, like Margeaux, dedicated time every single week to doorknock with me in the months leading up to the election and letterboxed whole suburbs.

I would also like to acknowledge Alex May for her support that blossomed into a friendship over the course of two campaigns; Rowan Thomas, who volunteered his time after a hard day's work—I thank Rowan from the bottom of my heart, and I am forever grateful for his dedication, his patience and his wise counsel; Margaret Jenkins, for believing in me, keeping the faith and reminding me what is possible; and my brother, Samir, his wife and their delightful children—my gorgeous niece and nephews. Samir is my lighthouse, and always has been. We have certainly sailed through rough seas together, as mentioned, yet he is always there to listen to me and to support me.

To the young Liberals, the old Liberals and everyone in between, I thank them for all their support. I would also like to thank my friends and those from the community who got involved, not because they were necessarily committed to the Liberal Party but because they believed in me, they believed in change and they believed South Australia deserved better from its state government.

Within the Liberal Party I would like to thank the Premier for his strong leadership, many visits to the electorate and ongoing thoughtful encouragement; the Deputy Premier, Vickie Chapman, for doorknocking with me and role modelling how one can be graceful, stylish and a force to be reckoned with all at the same time; and the Hon. Stephen Wade. This state has never had a more committed, compassionate, competent health minister—a gentle man and a gentle soul, who I have no doubt will deliver a much-needed improved healthcare system for this state.

I am also truly grateful for all the support from my federal colleague, Nicole Flint, member for Boothby. She is an exceptionally hard worker, who puts the people of Boothby first and has already made a significant difference in such a short time. I would also like to thank Senator Simon Birmingham, federal Minister for Education, for his wisdom, ongoing support and encouragement over the years; and Sascha Meldrum, our state director, for her direction and her genuine care, not just for results, but for people and process.

Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank the Hon. David Ridgway, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. I was so fortunate to be assigned David Ridgway as my mentor back in 2013. He has been on this campaign journey with me from the very start, and all the way he has been in the trenches with me. Unwavering loyalty, putting the greater good above one's own personal interest and courage and honour are not phrases that are often used to describe politicians, yet this describes exactly the kind of politician and person that David Ridgway is. Thank you to Ridgy.

Outside all those who supported the ground game (that is, the street-to-street warfare such as doorknocking) and the air game of the campaign (that is, the pamphlets you find in your letterboxes and the ads you see on TV), I would like to acknowledge someone very, very special who supported me through the third battlefield. This is the battlefield that people do not usually talk about but exists for all people who embark on a journey and venture to go beyond where they have gone before. This battlefield takes place in your own mind: it is the mind game, where each of us has to face our own vulnerabilities, our own self-doubt and our own exhaustion that tempts us to call it a day and not to worry about doorknocking on those few extra doors.

Supporting me through the mind game (and life in general) is my best friend and husband, Bradley Power. In fact, Brad comes from the same small town in Newfoundland, Canada, as my mother. We met in his home town when we were 16 years of age. He shares my values and my commitment to the community. He reminded me to keep doorknocking, despite tiredness, and to remain steadfast, regardless of what the opposition may throw my way. Above all, he inspires me to be better and to do better each and every day.

Doing better, and being better, is what is required of all of us in government and, more broadly, in this parliament. Obviously, we have much to be proud of and grateful for in South Australia but, as the recent election result shows, many share my view that South Australia could be a lot better. Where we once led the nation we now lag behind. We may have the largest battery in the world—which, by no means, I do not begrudge—but we also have a healthcare system that is failing us, an education system that is not worthy of the promise of our children and young people, and our most vulnerable people—children, guardians of the state and the elderly in state care—being tragically let down by its former government.

Gandhi said, 'The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.' That being the case, it would be fair to say that as a state we have well and truly failed. A different approach, a change, is required. I am proud to be a part of that change, a part of the new Liberal government that has set an ambitious reform agenda to create hope and prosperity for South Australians, as outlined by His Excellency last Thursday.

I join resolutely with my Liberal parliamentary colleagues in our commitments to:

1. Explore, critically assess and invest in infrastructure that will contribute to a livability, affordability, productivity, creativity and, as a consequence, economic growth, with more jobs and more opportunities.

2. Embark on a journey of economic reform, including tax reform, that will promote productivity, innovation and business confidence in investment. I want to see South Australia become a strong, thriving economy that can maintain a fair social welfare net. I am keen to support economic reform and tax reforms, such as the reduction in payroll tax, that will provide greater opportunities for South Australians to show their enterprise, realise their dreams and be rewarded for their effort. I am wholeheartedly committed to economic reform and tax reform that ultimately means providing an improved standard of living for all South Australians.

3. Repair and undo the damage of Labor's Transforming Health, creating a healthcare system that we can rely on, be proud of and meets the challenges that we face as a state.

4. Improve educational outcomes. I am passionate about policies that focus on raising the quality of education and training in our state. Education creates a pathway to jobs and prosperity and the foundation for a modern society. We need to see education as a life-long process, with opportunities for people to participate at various points in their life, something that is even more important as we face significant changes in the employment markets, and people are likely to have multiple careers in their life time.

Ensuring that South Australians have access to quality education and training to develop the knowledge and skills for the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow is essential for better living, not only for the individual but for our state as a whole. These commitments were well received and endorsed by the people living in the electorate of Elder.

I would also like to touch on an area that not only requires policy reform but an area where complete generational and cultural change is required. To begin, through the Speaker, I ask everyone in this chamber, and anyone who may be listening to me speak over the internet or who may be reading my words, to quieten their mind and name four women you care about. They may be your family, they may be your friends, they may be your work colleagues. Say their names and hold their faces in your imagination.

Now imagine that one of those four women constantly lives in fear and that she goes home to be abused, whether that be verbally, emotionally or physically. Unfortunately, for many it will not require much imagination, for it is a reality. One in four women experiences violence from a partner, and one in three has children present. Many men are also suffering the impact of domestic and family violence.

When the Premier asked me to be the Assistant Minister for Domestic and Family Violence Prevention, he spoke about my resilience and my commitment to being a strong voice and advocate for those who are vulnerable. He also spoke about his commitment to creating change by reducing the prevalence and the impact of domestic and family violence.

As is often the case with our Premier, he challenges the status quo. He begins by gently suggesting we can do better and then by leading the way. Domestic and family violence and abuse thrive only in silence. The Premier's appointment represents a first for South Australia and helps to shine a light on this issue, ensuring that it remains front and centre. Freedom from violence is everyone's right and everyone's responsibility. There is an unprecedented community momentum behind the call for Australia to be a place free from domestic and family violence. We now have the opportunity to build on the work that has been done.

I call upon every single member of this chamber, regardless of their political allegiance, and every single member of the South Australian community to work together to end domestic and family violence. No one government and no one group can address the problem alone, but by working together, united in our common cause for genuine change, I believe we can create a state where people feel safe in their own homes and where children can grow and develop in safe and secure environments. Together, we can continue to challenge the ideas and behaviours that allow domestic and family violence to occur and together we can create the cultural change in our state and our country that is needed to end domestic and family violence. Together, we can make our homes, our dinner tables and our families the safe and peaceful havens they should be.

It is about change, change in the way we do politics, change for a more prosperous South Australia and for a better way of life for all of us—change beginning in this 54th parliament with a change of government, a fitting scene for the people of South Australia, indeed. The future lies before us filled with hope and possibility. The time is now. Let us begin the work.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (11:34): Mr Speaker, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate you again on your election to an important office. I wish you all the very best in your future deliberations to allow us the opportunity, as Her Majesty's Opposition, to hold this government to account. Although this is not my maiden speech, it is certainly the first opportunity I have had to address this chamber as the member for Croydon. I would like to take the opportunity to reflect upon the extraordinary show of faith in me by the residents and constituents of Croydon.

I am very grateful to have been elected as their representative, and I would like to commit myself to doing my utmost to ensure that their interests are best represented in this place. The electorate of Croydon is a unique one. It is incredibly diverse. It has a number of suburbs within it, an inner suburban electorate within the inner north-western suburbs of Adelaide The suburbs of Angle Park, Athol Park, Bowden, Brompton, Croydon, Croydon Park, Devon Park, Dudley Park, Ferryden Park, Kilkenny, Mansfield Park, Regency Park, Renown Park, Ridleyton, West Croydon and Woodville Gardens are entirely within the seat, as are parts of Allenby Gardens, Welland and West Hindmarsh.

I profoundly love the community I live in. My wife and I frequently reflect upon the fact of how lucky we are to be able to live in our community. The thing that we particularly like about the electorate is its incredible diversity. I understand that the seat of Croydon has more South Australians within it who speak English as a second language, than any other. It has representatives from all parts of our globe. However, more than just the diversity, I value the sense of warmth and inclusivity that all electors in Croydon share. It speaks volumes about the best we see in our state and our nation. Croydon very much represents a state and a nation with an open heart to people from other parts of the world.

It rings true with me, particularly in the context of my personal experience—which I will not rehash today, as I had the opportunity to do that within my maiden speech—to be able to live in a nation that welcomes others who seek nothing more than an opportunity to a decent standard of living. This is something I hold dear, as does my great party.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the former member for Croydon, the Hon. Michael Atkinson MP—indeed, your predecessor, Mr Speaker. For those of us who have known Mick over the years, and that accounts for a large number in this place, he is a unique individual whose idiosyncrasies are, I think, outweighed by his enormous intellect. He is a person of incredible smarts and political wisdom, but he also has a sense of compassion. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to watch Mick at work in the electorate of Croydon.

I often reflect upon the fact that he remembered literally every single constituent's name. He was very proud in showing that off to me on a regular basis when he started naming his constituents' names, their wife's name, their children's names and their dog's name. When he started speaking to them in their native tongue, translating the dog's name into a native tongue, it was quite an extraordinary performance. He will be sorely missed around this place for his great wisdom.

I want to acknowledge the campaign team. No-one gets elected to this place without an incredible contribution from others. I had a great suite of volunteers assisting me in a whole range of standard electoral functions, and I want to acknowledge their contribution. I particularly want to acknowledge that of Lawrence Ben, who was my campaign manager—a fine young man who, I think, will have a lot to offer this state and nation in the future. I also want to put on the record my thanks to a loyal friend of mine, Nick Lombardi. Mr Nick Lombardi served in a number of capacities, helping me out over the years, but, above all else, he has been a great mate and a true friend, and I want to thank him for his work.

I also want to put on the record my thanks to another individual who is present with us today—the member for Cheltenham. The member for Cheltenham has given our state and community incredible service over the years. He courageously led Labor to two elections and served as Premier for almost seven years, and ensured that Labor's values continue to serve the best interests of all South Australians, always fighting, always standing up for South Australia. The member for Cheltenham also enjoys an incredible respect on the national stage, and he always made sure that his advocacy on the national stage was about representing the best interests of our state. When he speaks, people listen.

I do not think there is anything more that the member for Cheltenham could have done for our state or for our party in his time leading it. The member for Cheltenham is a true statesman of South Australia, and our state has flourished under his leadership. It is a proud Labor legacy that he leaves behind, one that I feel very grateful to be able to inherit and hopefully build upon. I am very lucky to be able to call upon his experience and wisdom within our party room as he continues to serve the people of Cheltenham with vigour.

I would like to welcome all new members to the House of Assembly who join me in this chamber for the first time, regardless of their political persuasion. We have just heard one new member share their story and how it has informed their politics. I wish you all the very best in your time in this chamber and have no doubt that you will represent the interests of your constituents well.

To the Independents in this chamber, I particularly want to congratulate you on your election. Mr Speaker, as you know all too well, we witnessed during the last election campaign that entering the fold of state politics as an alternative to the major parties presents substantial challenges, but a number of people were able to succeed despite that. I want to acknowledge them and their advocacy for their local communities and showing the value in standing up for what they believe in as proud local representatives. I would particularly like to acknowledge the member for Frome and thank him for his contribution, particularly in the last state cabinet. His contribution around the cabinet table was always wise and his advocacy, for not only his area but the South Australian regions in general, was profound and had an absolute impact on public policy, only in a positive way.

To be opposition leader is unique in itself. It is not a position that one necessarily aspires to: I would have been perfectly content and somewhat humbled to be able to continue to serve the state in a capacity as a minister in an ongoing Weatherill Labor government. Having said that, that is not to be. Now, with the opportunity of opposition, for my party to have shown confidence in me by electing me as opposition leader is an extraordinary privilege and one that is not lost on me. The responsibility is profound and I want to thank my caucus colleagues and the South Australian Labor Party in general for their confidence in me and I hope I serve them well.

I am only able to take up this extraordinary responsibility though with the comfort of knowing I have an incredible team behind me. I would like to acknowledge the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the member for Port Adelaide, a woman of great intellect and incredible talent. Her support thus far has already been called upon and incredibly useful. The shadow cabinet that I am fortunate to lead is a great blend of both new talent, but also experience, including having within it the father of the house. I am sure the shadow cabinet will serve me and the state well.

Likewise, the caucus is a mix of experience and new talent. The great thing I admire the most about the Labor caucus in this state is its culture. We have a culture of discipline and unity and absolute commitment to our ongoing Labor cause. I thank them for their support. It is critical that we see our time in opposition as an opportunity—an opportunity to refresh, an opportunity to renew. But that has to start with listening. I have committed myself to visit every one of the 47 electorates in this state to hear from South Australian constituents about what exactly it is that they want and expect from their state government.

I do not want to tell them what is good for them, what can or cannot be done. I simply want to listen and learn. We will do that and we will improve for it. We acknowledge that mistakes have been made, but we want to learn from them, and the best source of that advice will come from South Australians themselves. However, it is also important to acknowledge that a lot has been achieved by Labor in this state over a sustained period of time. There is a lot of good of which we can be proud, which probably explains why, although we lost at the last election, we did enjoy a swing to us.

Labor governments are at their best when we deliver a prosperous society that benefits everybody, a society where no-one is left behind. This must always be our core business as we safeguard and enhance people's standard of living. Doing that means investment in critical services, particularly in our schools and hospitals. People's access to education and quality health care should never be a function of their income or their wealth. On this score, Labor delivered. We delivered brand-new hospital infrastructure across the state despite, in some instances, it being opposed—more doctors, more nurses, major upgrades.

It is also true that the former Labor administration oversaw an entire revitalisation of our CBD, with a redeveloped Adelaide Oval—which was opposed—Riverbank Precinct, Adelaide Convention Centre, Festival Plaza, and laneways and small bars that have truly put South Australia and Adelaide on the world map. It has culminated, in 2017, in Lonely Planet naming South Australia as one of the top five places in the world to visit, and that followed Lonely Planet naming Adelaide as one of the top 10 cities in the world to visit.

It is also true that The Economist has consistently over the last six years rated Adelaide as the fifth most livable city in the world, and that is from an incredibly long list. So much for those saying that South Australians have not enjoyed an improved standard of living over the last 16 years. It was Labor that delivered and developed a long-term plan for Adelaide, that saw a vibrant city accessible, livable and connected with neighbourhoods, resilience in the face of a changing climate and prosperity and jobs for future generations.

It was Labor that since 2002-03 invested more than $33 billion to keep South Australia improving—money in hospitals, roads, schools and public transport; completed the Southern Expressway duplication; constructed the South Road superway; and commenced the Torrens to Torrens and Northern Connector projects. On community safety, under Labor crimes against person and property have essentially halved and we have more police officers on the beat than ever before because of our record investment in one of the best resourced police forces in the nation. South Australia, of course, now has more police officers on a per capita basis than any other state in the nation.

Then there is the economy. A few short years ago, when I was lucky enough to enter the state parliament, everybody—every conservative commentator, every one of those members opposite—was predicting the end of the South Australian economy. We faced an enormous economic shock. We faced one of the most substantial challenges that the South Australian economy has ever seen. Not too many were not predicting double-digit unemployment—the subs were not coming and the cars were going.

At that point, the Labor government had two options, and these two options, I think, largely represent a substantial point of difference between the philosophy of the two major parties in this place. You could choose to take your hands off the wheel, so to speak, and let the market do its thing, or you could be a government that decided to act. We chose the latter.

Record investments in infrastructure, significant reforms, particularly around taxation, including the abolition of some business taxes, industry policy coupled with investment in growth sectors, and a direct investment in private sector employment have delivered real results and all were achieved while seeing the budget return to surplus. Today, we have the third lowest unemployment rate in the nation, a growing economy, business confidence higher than the national average, and this is all despite the best efforts of those opposite constantly talking down this state. Indeed, the new Marshall government has inherited an economy with momentum.

For the sake of our state, I hope they seize it but, worryingly, there appears to be a decided lack of ambition on the part of the new Premier. One would have thought that after 16 years there would be a whole lot of ambition coming from those opposite. That was best represented last week during question time where, when the new Premier was constantly asked what his targets are for employment growth, what his targets are for our ranking in national rankings on unemployment and what his targets are around economic growth and population growth, concerningly, he offered nothing, only platitudes.

Equally worrying is the posture that this new government seem to have in regard to their position in the federation. It is true that cooperation makes sense, but one must understand the difference between cooperation and kowtowing, the difference between reaching agreement and total acquiescence. Let's take the Premier's own portfolio in defence industries, for instance. Within days of the election of a new conservative government in this state, information surfaced that the federal conservatives were contemplating the movement of approximately 700 submarine maintenance jobs to Perth for what could only be federal political reasons.

What was the response from the new Premier? Total silence. Then, only a number of weeks later, when the federal government's ASC announced that over 200 workers were going to be sacked, again, what was the Premier's response? Total silence. One fears that the new Premier is taking his orders from the federal defence industry minister, Mr Christopher Pyne (member for Sturt). One is concerned that our Premier is very much 'Pyne's patsy'.

What was it that South Australia got out of this silence and acquiescence from those opposite as the federal government made decisions contrary to our state's interest? What was it that South Australia got for the Premier's compliance with Mr Pyne? It appears a photo op, nothing more than a photo op of the new Premier on a submarine somewhere in the Eastern States in a line-up of diplomats shaking hands with the French president. This is hardly a return on investment of those opposite.

Then there is the monitoring of the Premier's own 100-day plan. Already, they lag behind on a number of fronts. There are a number of their own metrics—not metrics set by the opposition, not metrics set by journalists or commentators, metrics set by Mr Marshall, the Premier himself—which seem to be failing to be met.

However, there are some parts of the plan that we do not mind. I have indicated early on a sincere desire for this opposition to be constructive. I intend to be a constructive opposition leader. For example, I have already indicated the opposition's willingness to work with the government on payroll tax, subject to the details, but there are other instances where we will be fulfilling our obligation to hold this government to account. For this opposition, the test is simple: if the government have policies that genuinely help small businesses or help people, we will work with them constructively, but where they have policies that hurt small business or hurt people, then we intend to do the exact opposite.

If I were to point out an example of where we intended to do that, it would be in the area of shop trading hours. Allow me just to reflect on the government's policy around the total deregulation of shop trading hours. Who is arguing for this change? The people who are arguing for this change are Woolworths, Coles and Westfield—the big guys. Why are they arguing for that? They are arguing for it because they want greater profits. If you do not believe me, ask them.

The total deregulation of trading hours in this state will be bad for jobs, bad for consumers, bad for people. It will be bad for jobs because anyone who understands the way the retail sector operates will tell you that wages are always determined as a percentage of sales. We know that in South Australia 28 per cent of the supermarket market, in comparison to around about 8 per cent in the Eastern States, delivers in the order of 10 to 12 per cent of their sales on wages. That stands in stark contrast to Coles and Woolworths, where it sits around 6 to 7 per cent, and Aldi at 4 per cent.

We know that deregulation of trading hours will achieve a significant movement of market share away from the independent sector that we proudly support in South Australia, right into the hands of the duopoly—the government's mates. That of course will move market share, which will see a duopolisation of the market. That is bad for consumers. It is one of the reasons why South Australians enjoy cheaper prices in our supermarkets in comparison to the Eastern States.

But it is also true that the government's policy is bad for people. In South Australia, shops are open in metropolitan Adelaide 355 days of the year. The only 10 days when the major stores are closed are on public holidays—only public holidays. One needs to understand what public holidays are about when they contemplate the government's agenda around total deregulation. I have this radical idea: my party believes in a radical notion that public holidays should be a holiday—hardly an extraordinary proposition.

Public holidays are not about money. Public holidays are about the most precious commodity of all: time. That is what public holidays are about; they are about time. I know all too well from my years in the retail sector that as we have seen more and more trading hours, they have come at the expense of time for low income workers and their families—the time for them to be able to go home and see their kids and their spouse and not go home to an empty house on a Monday or a Tuesday.

It is not an unreasonable proposition in an increasingly prosperous society. We are not going to be an opposition party that sacrifices ordinary working people's time, particularly low income workers' time, with their families. We will not be sacrificing that on the altar of giving more profits to Coles and Woolworths. Time matters, and we will stand up for working people being able to enjoy time with their families, and particularly for the small business owners in this state who already struggle as it is.

What I want for my family is no different from what most parents want for theirs, which leads me to my family. I am very lucky to be able to have my mother and father present in the gallery today. My mum and dad have been a steadfast support for me throughout all my life. That was best shown during the course of the election campaign, and I want to thank them for their ongoing support. I particularly want to take this opportunity to again put on the public record my enormous gratitude to my wife.

Annabel Malinauskas is a beautiful woman who has supported me in more ways than I can know. She is a woman of great intellect and has extraordinary grace and poise. She herself started a new job yesterday in a different role. I know she will approach that job with the same intellect and work ethic that has served her well in jobs prior. She handles all this while also having a largely absent husband, due to the rigour these jobs require, and while also raising two young children, including my youngest, son Jack, who is seven months old, and my daughter, Sophie. I would not be here without her and I want to thank her for everything, but particularly for her love.

As I said, what I want for my family and my children is no different from what every other family wants for theirs, a decent standard of living in a safe environment, and that is why I believe we in Labor remain well positioned. In an era of booming profits but flat wages, there is still a yearning for a fair society where everyone, rather than just a few, enjoys increasing prosperity. In an era of an ageing population, people still increasingly desire investment in public health care and, in an era when the muscle between our ears is becoming more important than ever, people still need a good education. These are all pursuits consistent with our values, which is why our values will serve us well in opposition.

We will fulfil our mandate of being an effective and probing opposition, but we will do it with a keen eye to the future. Progress is in this state's DNA, but leaving no-one behind is in ours. We will focus on the basics, and that will allow us to present a strong alternative at the next election.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (12:01): I rise to speak in response to the address of His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le AC, Governor of South Australia. All of us were present at the time of his delivering that address, and this year I was particularly pleased that I was able to arrange for my granddaughter, Adelaide Chapman, to attend her first opening of parliament. I think it is important, in respect of civil responsibility and service in public office, that our younger generation learn and appreciate early on the significance of having the opportunity to be a member of this house or the other place in the governance of our state. Apart from feeling tired about the length of the proceedings, she was able to recount to her schoolmates the next day the honour she felt about being present and listening to His Excellency.

I wish to thank His Excellency and Mrs Le for their dedicated service in his position of Governor of South Australia. They are loved everywhere they go. They are certainly appreciated, and they are highly respected. The story of their own travel to South Australia and then the journey towards, ultimately, their residence here on North Terrace is an inspiring one, and we know it well. It is something that continues to inspire other South Australians.

Governors, of course, have historical significance to the state. In many ways, they are really the 'protector', and that is why a number of our Indigenous communities highly value the significance of this office. It ensured, from a historical perspective, a level of protection that they felt confidence in in respect of the excesses and powers of governments. Indeed, none other than the late Dame Roma Mitchell outlined that in her contribution as governor, and the importance of the role still remains today for those in our Indigenous communities.

On other occasions, I have outlined the significance of the role of Governor and the special powers the Governor has. In an era when we continue to raise the question of how we should be governed nationally, and consequently here in South Australia, and with a burst of enthusiasm more recently from those in the Republican Movement—I acknowledge that I am a member of the Australian Republican Movement—the question is often raised of how governors and the Governor--General in Australia would represent us in the future.

As we have heard, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the only reigning monarch ever to visit our state and enter the parliament, and therefore someone whom I think we all revere and highly regard, has identified some diminution of her public duties and the possibility, in due course, of having a new monarch. I cannot say any more because I think under the Treason Act I could still be lynched if I were to talk about the death of a monarch, so I will stop at that point.

Mr Deputy Speaker, may I also congratulate you on your appointment. Our new Speaker has also been elected, someone who gave a sterling contribution during the last state campaign particularly in fending off a significant third political force, someone who purported to elevate himself to the status of being a third political force—an underperforming individual but, nevertheless, he was sent packing with no small thanks to the member for Hartley, who is now in the position of Speaker. I wish him well. Of course, he is engaged to one of the smartest young women I know in the state, and I wish him well for his impending marriage.

To the leader and to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, it is not an easy position to be in, but I congratulate you both on being recognised by your peers and your appointments. To the Leader of the Opposition, there is a matter which is dear to my heart and which was a vexed issue with the former member for Croydon, and that is the name of his seat.

The Australian Electoral Commission recently announced, in the circumstances of our population diminution and the consequence of losing a federal seat, a draft boundaries redistribution. As they usually do in these things, they have commented on a number of applications that were put to the naming of seats. They schedule, in their current draft considerations, a number of applications by multiple parties—individuals and political parties—to rename seats in honour of famous blokes. I do not want to diminish the contribution of very significant male contributors to our state politically, economically and on a humanitarian basis, but all of them were for blokes.

However, the Australian Electoral Commission in its consideration decided that Catherine Helen Spence should be recognised. In their draft for the renaming of a proposed area, the seat of Wakefield, which was largely the old seat of Bonython, it is to be renamed Spence, and I want to remind members why. They state in their own report that they want to recognise and honour Catherine Helen Spence (1825-1910) 'for her work as an advocate for female suffrage and electoral reform'. To remind members, I am going to very quickly read the commendation they acknowledge:

Throughout her life Spence was an advocate for justice for the disadvantaged and dispossessed, using her books and newspaper articles to argue for equality and opportunity. Spence was a member of several prominent reform boards in South Australia and helped found the first fostering-out scheme to help orphaned, destitute and delinquent children. This belief in equality of opportunity influenced Spence to become a strong advocate for the introduction of proportional representation. In 1891, Spence joined the South Australian Women's Suffrage League, and as vice president of that organization from 1891 helped to bring about women's right to vote in state elections and an women's right to stand for the state parliament. These measures were introduced in 1894 making South Australia one of the first communities in the world to enfranchise women.

And, I add, the first in the world to allow them to stand for parliament. It continues:

Spence continued to fight for women's suffrage throughout Australia. In part through the efforts of Spence, the women of Western Australia earned the franchise in 1899 as did the women of New South Wales in 1902.

Spence also became the first female political candidate in Australia when she stood (unsuccessfully) for a seat at the Federal Convention elections of 1897.

Thank you very much to the Australian Electoral Commission. However, the former member for Croydon had the opportunity in his own seat, when the state Electoral Commission recognised that his seat should be called Spence, to recognise her work and contribution.

The former member for Croydon, the former Speaker of this house, who may have done some good things—I am not going to go through his list of pros and cons today because it would be a very long list on the other side—served in this parliament and actively and successfully pursued the removal of Spence as the name of his electorate and had it returned to being the seat of Croydon. Shame should be on him forever, and he knows it because I have made it very clear to him on a number of occasions.

Nevertheless, I want to thank Australian Electoral Commission and if they do not take it up—if in the end the Australian Electoral Commission's final determination is not to pursue that for the current seat of Wakefield in its redistribution—then I challenge the Leader of the Opposition to do just that: as he resumes the seat of Croydon, his electorate, of which he should be richly proud and which as he has outlined today covers an enormous number of different suburbs, that it be given a dignified return to being the seat of Spence.

In relation to the campaign itself, the reason we are in government is that we were successful in winning a number of seats, and we have heard the magnificent contribution of the member for Elder. I am sure that we will listen with interest to all the other members who were elected as first-time members. Fortunately, the class of 2018 had more on our side of politics than on the other side, but to those who are members of the Labor Party, both in this chamber and in the other place, congratulations. There will be some of you who are already actively working on making sure that you have another career at the end of four years, but what I will say to you is this: you have received the support of your electorate, and you are entitled to be treated with respect.

In this parliament, if we as ministers are in your electorates or asking to be briefed in relation to matters which are in your electorates and which you wish to seek to have followed up, whether you are Liberal, Labor, or any other colour, we in this government will respect you as a member of that office. Unfortunately, the precedent of ministers recognising local members and attending at their offices has sadly been more in the breach than in the observance in my 16 years' experience here as a member the opposition, but our government is committed in that regard.

With respect to the election, there are many people to thank now that we have the opportunity to be in government. There are a number of members, but I particularly want to acknowledge those in the Premier's office now—that is, James Stevens, Alex May, Richard Yeeles, and Paul Armanas, the last of which used to work for me and the penultimate of which has worked for multiple premiers over many decades. Each of these led teams that were outstanding in relation to assisting our leader become Premier and also to win the election, along with Sascha Meldrum, who was the director of the party and continues to have a strong leadership style, keeping our party on track.

In terms of the constituents of the state seat of Bragg, I am going to miss those whom I have represented in the past eight years in the Adelaide Hills. Redistributions at the state level have meant that I have donated a nice slice of my electorate to the member for Dunstan, our Premier—I think it is a good career move, actually! By the same token, I have inherited some of his—not so good! No, I say that mischievously. Obviously my electorate has moved to the north, and as a consequence of all that I have lost, as the local member, a significant area in the Adelaide Hills. I think I now have only a tiny little piece up near the end of Cleland Conservation Park which actually overlaps into the federal seat of Mayo.

I have loved representing those people in the valley at Piccadilly, Uraidla, Crafers and that region. It has been an honour to represent them. I know that our new members of parliament, three of whom pick up a slice of that area, will enjoy representing those people. I wish that to be acknowledged.

I am proud to say that I won the seat of Bragg with an increased majority. I am also proud to say that when we had our declaration of the poll, we had members from the ALP there: Mr Rick Sarre, who was the candidate, and another. We in Bragg are very generous. We invited them back to our celebratory party on the declaration and they honoured us with their acceptance. It is terrific that we have been able to be successful this time and form government.

I, too, wish to make some comment in relation to the federation. The Leader of the Opposition has embarked on a rather scathing attack on what I see as a constructive relationship that is now being built between the state government and the federal government. Whatever colour either is politically at any one time, it is important that we have a constructive relationship.

I know it has been the previous history by premiers Rann and Weatherill, who have been in those positions, to embark on this idea that they needed to stand up for South Australia, meaning that they needed to have a fight with whomever was in Canberra. I think that is a rather juvenile approach. It has not helped Western Australia over the years, which has been a regular proponent of it, and in my view it does not augur well in respect of obtaining benefits for this state.

If we were to consider, for example, the demise of South Australia on economic indicators, of which on nearly every level we are the worst in the nation, 16 years of a Labor administration has hardly helped. I will not go into all the sins in the history there, but I make this point: it is not effective and it is not constructive. You might make some cheap political point, but it is important on issues relevant to South Australia, such as the River Murray and access to water from it, that we do work constructively with the other states and the commonwealth. At times when the previous government and indeed the premier said, for example, 'We do need to have a royal commission into these matters,' we agreed. What we do not see as productive or constructive is to have a fight, which simply leaves the matter unresolved, with us missing out.

I was in New South Wales on Saturday, and fortunately they reminded me that 10 years ago they were at the bottom of every economic indicator within the federation of Australia. They worked hard with a significant reform agenda, from a daily television exposé of what was happening in their ICAC administrations across to responsible government and very significant infrastructure and social rebuilding of that state, so that now they are in a high-performance position.

Some would say, 'Well, they are a much bigger state. They are having a massive increase in population.' Yes, they do enjoy the benefits of that, but for a long period of time they had a net exodus of their people out of New South Wales while Victoria was taking that positive intrastate population benefit. They were prepared to do the work and turn it around. Yes, they had extra money, but they turned around their population issue.

If one were to look at the state of Tasmania—even more comparative population wise—under a Liberal administration they too are turning around the economic indicators for their state and have demonstrably grown new areas of economic income. They have also made a significant impact as a member of the federation because even they now are up above in a number of the performance indicators that we sadly fail under.

Having a fight with the people you have to deal with about the share of our money, for example, or the delineation of the entitlements that we should have in respect of shares of infrastructure funds or the like does not resolve anything. It never has and it never will. The Premier has made it quite clear that the blame game is over here. We are going to work constructively with these people, and we are not going to have a period of economic isolation because of tempestuous, unnecessary and fractious behaviour on behalf of the state government, either at the Premier's level or the ministers'.

The other aspects that need to be touched on include the significance of the way the new government will operate. His Excellency outlined a number of the areas of transparency that the new government will initiate. Firstly, the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, at the commissioner's discretion, will have the power under the introduction of new legislation to hold public hearings when investigating matters relating to maladministration and misconduct.

This is something that is necessary—and it was exposed again as necessary in the Oakden report that we have received and read regarding that shameful chapter of history—and we intend to do that. The public's right to information legislation will be proposed to ensure that sufficient protection is given to journalists and their sources, and that will be progressed as a priority, as will other initiatives such as the whistleblower reform in the public integrity matters, and they will all have priority in the legislative advances that we will be initiating this week.

Another aspect I want to touch on is in respect of government advertising, which has been an area of exploitation of the former government, which has been scandalous in my view, which we had previously attempted to deal with by legislation. Obviously the government of the day used its numbers to quash it, but I am very proud to say that the new Marshall government has already developed communication guidelines essentially to set out amendments to provide that the mentioning of a name or displaying of an image or using of a voice of a member of parliament is to be prohibited in relation to advertising. Obviously we will look at other government advertising legislation and we are looking at some alternative models as to how that will have a statutory stamp. We will continue to work in relation to that area.

This week, in the other place, the government will be progressing reform in relation to the disability sector. Members know full well that there is very much a recasting of the work and responsibility for the funding and operation of the disability sector, commonly described under the NDIS, but the legislation which had previously been flagged by the government lapsed under the Disability Inclusion Bill. That bill was to mandate a state disability inclusion plan. We see that as a priority, and it will be advanced this week.

We are proudly progressing the legislative amendments to appoint a commissioner to help improve the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. Members will know that I am not a big fan of the title of commissioner and the expansion of it, but whatever we call a person who will have very clear authority and capacity to report back to this parliament directly without interference of a minister has an important role in a number of areas, and there are a number of them. This is an area in relation to youth justice, from my perspective, which is scandalously now at a level which is totally unacceptable.

How many times have we had reports to this parliament of the number of Indigenous children who are incarcerated—and adults for that matter? But from my perspective, I am speaking about the priority in relation to Indigenous children. At any one time, we have 60 (or thereabouts) children in prison in this state, and that is not going to change. We will always have some children who need to be held in protective custody. Some of them have done some terrible things. Sadly, some of them have killed a parent or another member of their family. The public demands that there be some action taken in relation to that.

What is scandalous, in my view, is that the profile of young Indigenous people in prison is now—in the material that we got late last year—above the 50 per cent mark. For such a small group in the population, numerically, to have this level of profile in our youth prisons is totally unacceptable, and so I am very pleased that the Premier, as the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, has made sure that this is a priority in relation to the legislative reform to enable the appointment so that we start to address this issue that cannot be left unaddressed.

There are other meritorious matters that are being progressed, but transparency and protection of our children and those vulnerable in the disabled and aged area are certainly areas of priority that, from my perspective, need to be and are being advanced. We will ensure that people who work in these areas, who also have a mission and purpose to ensure that we make it better for those in those areas of vulnerability, are appropriately supported by the new government.

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:26): I would like to start by referring to my dear electorate of Port Adelaide. I know that we all think we have the best electorate, but I can at least say unchallenged that mine is as good as any and perhaps better than most. It is a community of people who care about each other, a community of diversity, a community of giving people a fair go and looking after them if they fall behind, and I am immensely grateful to have been re-elected to represent them.

I was reflecting that I have lived on Lefevre Peninsula for 17 years but that, due to the vagaries of electoral boundaries, this was the first election in the six years I have been a member of parliament when I have been able to vote for myself. It was a particular pleasure and privilege to see my own name when I entered the ballot box and that I was able to vote for myself, although I very much enjoyed voting for Stephen Mullighan last time.

Not only is my community deserving of my immense gratitude for having supported me but also, of course, in particular, various community leaders and volunteers who helped on my campaign. I am very grateful for the effort they put in and for the attention and care they showed to make sure it remained a Labor seat.

I would like to thank my family. My parents have instilled in me a strong belief in the importance of politics and the importance of taking politics seriously and treating people well and with compassion, regardless of the issue they present to you and the challenges that they have. My immediate family, though, is most deserving of my gratitude, in part because of the effort that they make in supporting me—my son, for the first time, was old enough to go up a ladder to put up corflutes—but in particular for the way in which they unstintingly care for me and support every action I take, regardless of the amount of time it takes me away from them.

My children were nine and seven when I first came here and they are now 15 and 13. They have experienced a good portion of their lives—and certainly their lives as they start to understand how the world works—seeing their mother in politics. I hope that I have set a good example for them to understand, as I say, the importance of politics and the way in which we can make a difference to people immediately near us and in the wider community.

I would like to congratulate the member for Croydon on becoming the leader of our party. Members here will know how dearly I will miss having the member for Cheltenham as our leader. He has been a dear friend for a very long time, but now to have the member for Croydon leading us is an extraordinary opportunity for us. He is decent and intelligent and his values are the strong values of the Labor Party, which believes in everybody sharing in the prosperity we see in our community. He will have a very, very long time as leader of our party and I hope as a leader of our state in due course.

I am grateful that the caucus has shown support for me in allowing me to be the deputy leader. The Deputy Premier and I were invited by The Advertiser to have a photograph taken together and while we were both very happy to do that, and I think that there is a reasonable amount of respect and mutual support, I certainly agree with the member for Elder's comments about the Deputy Premier in her earlier speech: a forceful and inspiring woman. We nonetheless agreed that it will be a wonderful day in politics when the local paper does not see it as something unusual and special to have two senior women in political positions and they do not feel the need to commemorate that with a photograph.

I would like to spend the time I have talking a little about the portfolio that I have maintained as shadow minister but was privileged to have in government, as minister for education, and also about the portfolio that I have accepted in addition in this shadow cabinet, the spokesperson on the environment. I want to thank our schools most sincerely. On a very personal level, I thank them for teaching my children and for doing an outstanding job. Last week, I spent two hours going around various teachers for both of my children at Seaton High School at the parent teacher afternoon. I never fail to be impressed by the knowledge that the teachers bring and the degree of care and concern they demonstrate for each student.

More importantly than that immediate personal experience, the effort that our schools, our teachers and our principals make for our community's children is not only extremely important but is extremely successful. As minister, I enjoyed very much being able to work with the two non-government sectors, the Catholic and independent sectors. In South Australia, more than any other state, we can claim that we cooperate extremely closely together across the three, but I particularly want to thank public schools for the work they do.

Public schools are there for every child, regardless of the income of the parents who send their children there and regardless of the religious or non-religious background of those children. Regardless of what postcode a child is born into, the public school system stands firm there to support every child to achieve their ambitions. While I was minister, I had the privilege of being advised by a number of people on a group I set up for public education, the advisory committee chaired by Professor Alan Reid, who came up with a statement about the importance of public education in South Australia.

The values they identified as being crucial for a strong public sector are diversity and cohesion, both allowing diversity and expressing cohesion; quality while maintaining equity; collaboration and trust; the importance of connection to community; and the importance to democracy of a healthy public education system. In every school I have visited, I have seen those values being lived and being expanded upon, but what we are asking our schools to do is difficult. They are operating within a rapidly changing economy and rapidly changing society. An education that was suitable and appropriate when I was at school a very long time ago is no longer suitable and appropriate for the children in school today.

We are living through a dramatic transformation in our economy, which means a dramatic transformation in our society. Our schools are right on the cutting edge of having to be able to translate those changing requirements for young people so that they are able to create their futures as they inherit this world of ours. The growing internationalisation of our economy is proceeding apace. No longer can almost any worker in South Australia say that they are competing only within this state. They are competing with every other business and every other provider across the country and internationally, and we need to prepare our children to be capable of leading in that environment.

We are also seeing the dramatic impact of improvements in technology and computerisation. Automation, digitisation and increasingly artificial intelligence are shaping the way in which we do business, and we need our children to be prepared for a world with multiple changes in profession and with dramatic changes within each profession as a result of those dramatic changes. We are also asking our schools to operate within a society where, tragically, we have seen only an increase in inequality. We have seen an increase across Australia in the difference between what the very wealthy own and earn and what a good proportion at the bottom end of our society own and earn and the resources they are capable of having at their command.

Education is one of the only ways in which we can give every child a fair chance at a strong future. We must make sure that we position our schools in a way that they are able to rise to that challenge, and that means acknowledging inequality and acknowledging the impact that has on children. I know that every person in this chamber, regardless of what side they sit on, wants to see us having a strong education system.

It comes up often in speeches, and I do not for one moment doubt the sincerity of people who say it, but we are dealing with very big challenges within our education system across the country. I want to see South Australia continue to lead in that debate, continuing to be activist and continuing to be progressive because simply allowing ourselves to be distracted by what does not matter or hoping that one side will do better than another side simply because they are a different brand of politics will not make a difference.

We need to make sure that we are concentrating on increasing equal outcomes for students not decreasing them. The OECD report time and time again points out that Australia as a whole does not do well enough to counter, through education, the impact of disadvantage in the family home. We must make sure that literacy and numeracy remain the foundation blocks and acknowledge that there are students who have disorders and challenges that mean that they struggle to achieve, and that requires intervention and time and money and effort to make a difference.

We need to continue in South Australia to lead the way on early childhood education to make sure that we are offering services to young children in a way that is helpful for their family, that strengthens the family and that also gives the children an opportunity to start the very foundations of their lifelong learning. We need to pay attention seriously to what is in the curriculum. The general capabilities and the cross-curriculum priorities are extraordinarily important and are in many ways world leading.

We have identified capabilities that every student should be able to graduate school with. It does not matter whether you are better at science, or better at languages, or better at dance or history; when you leave our education system, you ought to be good at problem solving, at critical and creative thinking and at communication. You ought to be able to manage the digital world, and you ought to be good at intercultural communication.

Cross-curriculum priorities mean that it does not matter what subject you study: you learn about Australia's place in Asia, you learn about the importance of our Aboriginal histories and you understand truly and deeply the importance of sustainability of this planet and of our individual environments. Every subject is capable of teaching those. We must make sure that we get the full value of what is in that curriculum.

School completion is one of the sources of greatest pride for the previous government. We saw school completion rates soar over the past 16 years. We saw, particularly with the introduction of the new SACE, that suddenly students who had previously become disengaged and were leaving school, continued, engaged and graduated with a certificate. There is no more important achievement for a young person than graduating high school with their certificate, and the breadth as well as the quality of the new SACE have been remarkably successful in achieving that. According to the report on government services, the comparison of all jurisdictions, South Australia leads the country in completion rates, and we must not take a single action that in any way endangers that.

What we need to do is get the kids who are still missing out. One example is that completion by Aboriginal students has more than doubled since 2011. That is an extraordinary achievement, yet still too many Aboriginal students are not completing school, and we need to chase every last one. Not entirely the answer, but not unrelated, is the importance of ensuring that apprenticeships and traineeships are fully available within the school system and that, at the same time, that is complemented by the capacity to complete their SACE, to graduate from high school.

We need to make sure that STEM skills—the science, technology, engineering and maths skills—are available for all and particularly available to those who are talented and wish to pursue these as a career. We need to improve languages. If people look at the languages' policies that were enacted when I was minister and at the policies that the incoming government has brought with them, they are very similar. I do not think it is a coincidence and the new minister will find himself with their biggest supporter on this side in every action he wishes to take on improving languages learning.

Capacity to speak to others in their language, and to speak to others in a way that is respectful of their cultural sensitivities, is going to be absolutely crucial to our success as a state. We need to improve the numbers of students who are undertaking languages in the senior years. We have seen a slight increase. I will support the member for Morialta in every way as he drives home our shared policy to increase those numbers.

There is a big debate going on in Australia about assessment for the student versus assessment for the system, and I pay tribute to the New South Wales Minister for Education and the ACT Minister for Education who between them have started a debate about the role of NAPLAN in our education system. There are many questions to be asked about the impact of NAPLAN on individual students, on schools and on the system, and we need to have the courage to ask those questions. A question about assessment cannot start and finish with a standardised test that happens for students every second year until year 9. We need to make sure that we are engaging properly in an understanding of how assessment contributes to student performance. In the end, the only assessment that matters is one that leads to improvement in how a student performs.

Our record in education on this side is a proud one. While I do not want to spend the next four years dwelling on the previous four years, I want to acknowledge the very great privilege I had in being education minister and being able to be part of the decisions that were made across our public education system on how to spend the money that we secured through what was originally called the Gonski deal.

Although we were abandoned—and we are still $210 million short this year and next year on the original deal—nonetheless, a significant additional amount of money from both state and federal sources has gone into our education system, particularly in these last years, and the plans for how to spend that are crucial. I hope that the incoming minister and the incoming government pay respect to the amount of work that was done by educators to identify the priorities for how to spend those funds.

While many people say that inputs do not matter, only outputs, and that we have become distracted by spending too much time on money in education rather than on what occurs in education, the truth is that money makes all the difference to a school. Ask yourselves why the private schools charge the amount they do if they do not feel it is in any way related to the quality of the education they are able to offer. Money makes all the difference in making sure that there is proper literacy and numeracy intervention, that there is professional development for teachers so that someone who graduates is not left with that education to fall back on but is able to continue to improve and hone their skills, and that there are resources sitting inside schools so that the principals and teachers can make discretionary decisions to make sure that their school is responding to the needs of their students.

There is the infrastructure that we were able to support. The science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) facilities are still rolling out, and I look forward to seeing more and more schools take advantage of those as they open. There is also the money for the 91 schools in the Building Better Schools program aimed entirely at allowing schools to grow and to modernise. I will be watching very carefully to see how the schools spend the money they were allocated, having been given the opportunity to express how they wanted to spend it. I will be watching very carefully to see whether that money is diverted into other uses: building classrooms for 12 year olds rather than to modernising facilities that desperately need to be modernised, where there is growth needed in order to cater for a larger population wanting to send their children to public schools.

We have also been able to support principals. Giving principals not only more resources for their schools but more leadership resources is absolutely essential. One of the challenges with moving year 7s out of primary schools is that there will be a number of primary schools that will lose deputy principals, that will lose the seniority of their principal and that will lose wellbeing leaders (who used to be known as student counsellors), all of which are predicated on the size of the school. In seeing a reduction in the size of their population, they will see a diminution in the resources they are able to give to the early years, which are the most important years to set as a foundation.

As I say, it was an enormous privilege to be the education minister in South Australia. I am wanting to be as collaborative and supportive as possible of the new minister to make sure that we maintain a strong system and see only improvements, but I will be watching very carefully for distractions and solutions to problems that do not exist, rather than really getting underneath the very deep challenges that our education system is designed to respond to: the challenges of the changing economy and the challenges of our unequal society.

I would, however, also like to talk briefly about the environment. As deputy leader I was given the opportunity to make a choice over what I would have as my portfolios, and to be able to have education, which I love so dearly, and environment, which is where I spent much of my working life and my time when I was a student, my volunteering life, is a rare privilege. I am extremely excited to be back involved with the environment movement, with those who care about the environment.

Members who were here when I came into the parliament six years ago, after the by-election in 2012, may recall that much of my speech then was about the importance of working with landowners, with land carers, on the management of our very precious natural resources in South Australia. We are, as I have said in education, facing dramatic changes in the world economy that affect the future of each of our young people.

Every person in this chamber will understand that we are also facing dramatic challenges within the environment. We are living internationally with an extinction event caused essentially by the way in which humans interact with the planet. While we are pushing hard in the other direction in South Australia, and we have seen success in maintaining very vulnerable species, we are nonetheless in an era of extinction. We need to work not only to preserve our biodiversity but to make sure that everyone in South Australia appreciates the importance of biodiversity and its significance for the quality of our lives.

We are, of course, also living with climate change. I am not sure that every person in this chamber accepts that climate change is not only happening but has been caused by human activity and is a very serious problem for our collective future, but I like to think that the leadership on the government side at least appreciates the seriousness of this challenge.

We must not only work towards an economy that is not full of stranded assets because we are still looking backwards into the high-emission version of an economy. We not only need to be part of this new and emerging economy with low emissions but we also need to prepare a natural environment for the warming that is occurring. This affects farmers with droughts; it affects every person who lives anywhere near a bit of bush that can be set on fire. We have seen the changes in our experiences of these challenges, and they can only get worse if we do not do something to arrest the progress of climate change and to better prepare ourselves.

The importance of landscape and seascape conservation cannot be underestimated. I understand that the Minister for Environment and Water appreciates this well. I am deeply concerned about the proposed loss of the NRM Act. I am deeply concerned that, while it is purported to make it better and more about landscape protection, we will in fact see our environment go backwards. We must operate land management and our seascape management with an understanding that this is a system we are working with and a system that has been put under severe stress by human activity, by extinction, by increases in pests, by overabundant native species and, of course, by climate change.

The pressure of human activity is also seen in our cities and everywhere humans live. It is seen in the quality of our air, the quality of our water, and this ever-growing pile of plastic with which we as a planet are dealing. The loss of the contracts with China to deal with our plastics recycling is of extreme concern but represents an opportunity if we are prepared to invest in an industry that is capable of recycling here at home. We must tidy up our own backyard.

Of course, of all the environmental issues, our water supply, the Murray, is of most pressing concern to every South Australian. We understand better than anyone else in Australia the importance of a river filling from the bottom. We need to make sure that we have a healthy river mouth and a healthy river that is capable of supporting the irrigation activities that we have long undertaken in the most efficient way possible, and that we have a supply that keeps the river being a healthy ecosystem as well as an important water source for South Australia. I hope that we see a combined effort across the chamber to be firm and unrelenting with the up-river states as to what our entitlements must be for a healthy river.

What is important is that the issues we deal with in relation to the environment are international in scale but local in experience. All we can do is activate our communities to make sure that people—particularly young people, but all people—understand our dependence on our environment, on our ecosystems, on a healthy ocean and on healthy fisheries, and that we give them the pathway (together I hope) to be able to participate in making our environment healthier.

When I think of what draws together the two portfolios I have chosen—education and environment—it is clearly about the future. Young people understand this. Young people are concerned, but energetic, about taking hold of this future and fixing the problems they have seen earlier generations perpetrate on the planet. We must take this seriously now. We are perilously close to that 'one minute to midnight' when it becomes too late. This is as important in South Australia as it is in the United Nations' headquarters in New York. We all must take responsibility and we all must give every resource possible to the community to fully engage in protecting and preserving the environment for our children.

I look forward to the next four years of respectful but honest debate about how we can make this a better state.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Pederick.

Sitting suspended from12:52 to 14:00.

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