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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-05-15 Daily Xml
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Address in Reply

Address in Reply

Debate resumed.

The SPEAKER: In calling the member for Badcoe, I remind members that this is the member's first speech, and accordingly I ask members to please extend the traditional courtesies to the member.

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (11:32): I acknowledge that we meet on the land of the Kaurna people and we respect their long and enduring connection with this land. Congratulations to you, Mr Speaker, on your appointment and re-election, and congratulations to all those who I am privileged to serve alongside in this 54th parliament.

They say everyone has a story to tell. I have spent most of my working life telling other people's stories. Today I thought I would tell you some of my own, how it has shaped my values and led me here to this point today. I am a somewhat unlikely parliamentarian. My parents, grandparents and extended family, some of whom are here today, never would have guessed that one of their own would be standing in this place.

My upbringing is a tale of fluctuating fortunes, tough times mingled with good luck, hard work mixed with opportunity. None of my relatives have been MPs or judges or anything remotely similar. I do not even know how my parents vote. No-one is a party member, and political debates in our home were rare. But curiosity, an interest in current affairs, compassion for those less fortunate and an ethic of working hard were instilled in me from an early age.

I learned by the example of my parents to work hard and then harder, to persist through adversity so that when your sliver of good fortune comes along you can make the most of an opportunity. When I was born, way back in the early 1980s in the northern suburbs of Perth, my family seemed to be on the cusp of cracking into a fairly comfortable middle-class lifestyle. My dad, a manufacturing worker, at the age of 14 had started a canvas goods business. My mother had left her job as a bank teller to have me, her first child. In fact, it was still pretty much expected at that time that a female bank teller would leave her job once she fell pregnant.

My parents worked hard at their small business, mum doing the books while dad cut and sewed the canvas. They employed people, contributed taxes and created useful things to make other people's lives more comfortable. In my younger years, hot summer days were often spent on the cool concrete of the factory floor. My younger sisters and I would fashion things from strips of discarded canvas, pop rivets and twisted eyelets. We were often underfoot of workers and apprentices, a time when OH&S was certainly a lot more lax. Occasionally, we would relish the chance to grab dad a vanilla slice and a Coke from the lunch bar down the road—our little adventure.

Once a week, we transformed, replacing smudged hands and knees with elegant pliés. Next door to dad's factory was a ballet school. My sister Nell and I would put on our lolly-pink leotards and jiffies, scrape our hair back into little buns and go to ballet practice. I loved it. I still have the little sequined costumes my mum so lovingly crafted for weeks on end: an elephant, a teddy bear, a Christmas elf. They were only worn once before being tossed in the dress-up basket. But ballet ended when dad shut down the business. It had taken a toll on his health and his finances and, with Chinese hands increasingly able to make sales of awnings and blinds so much cheaper, it was tough to turn a profit in small-scale manufacturing in outer suburbia.

Soon enough, we moved well out of Perth to the hopeful coastal hamlet of Yanchep. My parents bought a block of land just a few streets back from the beach, and with that purchase they also invested their hopes of building a dream—a dream home—in this idyllic retreat. The beach featured a narrow strip of reef just metres off the shoreline. Sunny days were spent tiptoeing across the jagged surface, collecting starfish and inspecting brightly coloured creatures stranded in the rock pools. Despite the sun lashing my alabaster skin, the beach was a joy.

In the late eighties, a lot of blocks around Yanchep were owned by none other than Alan Bond and a few of his decadent tycoon mates. They pitched grand visions for dolphin theme parks, marinas and trendy shopping centres, a playground for sun-lovers and for aspirational working families like ours. But amid a haze of corruption and excess, Bond's vision never materialised and, sadly, neither did my parents'.

The economy turned, and my parents were hit hard with unemployment and underemployment. They were forever reskilling, taking any job they could, each holding several different casual jobs at a time then sometimes no jobs at all, all while bringing up a young family that now numbered four girls. As budgets got tighter, things were sold. Someone bought the TV one night. It was unplugged and carried away right as we were watching Home and Away, and we were horrified.

An honourable member: Shame!

Ms STINSON: Shame! The family holidays stopped, and it was a strain to afford school camps. That block of land that held my parents' dreams was lost. Our Christmas stockings no longer bulged, instead looking deflated on Christmas Day. I remember the Salvos coming to the door just before Christmas one year and offering my mum gifts to give us kids. I thought, 'This is excellent. How cool—free presents,' only to see mum politely press the door closed while telling the good Samaritan that we did not need her help. I begged mum to take the gifts, but she calmly explained that there were people out there who were much worse off than us and we should leave the presents to them; that we were very fortunate to have parents who loved us, food in our bellies and a roof over our heads.

I do not know if my mum remembers that moment, but it was something that I never forgot: the realisation that we were lucky, but also the realisation that others were not and that we should do what we could do to help. So, despite dining on macaroni cheese for weeks on end, I knew that we would never go hungry; despite my parents' tense kitchen conversations about bills, I knew that we would always be loved; and despite wearing our clothes until they just fell apart, I knew that my parents would do anything to ensure that my sisters and I had opportunities that we needed in life.

To that end, trying to carve out some better employment opportunities, my mother studied, enrolling in uni for the first time by distance education when she was in her 30s. I remember her sitting on the bed with books and papers strewn all around on the doona. She would constantly be interrupted by us chatty little girls, but she was always calm and always had time to answer our endless questions.

No doubt there were many nights when she handwrote essays into the wee hours after we were all put to bed. I was so proud to see her graduate many years later. It made me see the value of education and how it can transform a person's life and the fortunes of their family. I have no idea how my mum studied full-time, worked full-time and looked after us full-time. Later, when I struggled at uni or work, I would remember mum sitting on the bed and remind myself that I had it easy.

When my grandfather on my dad's side died, it sparked another phase of upheaval and relocation. Two of my sisters and I crossed the nation, going to live with my maternal grandfather and my step grandmother in country New South Wales for a while. It was a different life: strict rules, strange food—we were always finding creative ways to get rid of those brussels sprouts—and going to Scripture. Eventually our family was reunited, this time at a place called Herons Creek, a timber-milling town with one street on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

I look back on that period now and realise how lucky we were to have my grandparents. They had already raised their families, but here they were in their 60s, bringing up little girls again. We were hard work, but they loved us and cared for us. I know now, especially through my work as a journalist and now as the shadow minister for child protection, that not every child grows up with people who care for them so deeply, people who sacrifice things for them and parents who make decisions in their children's best interests.

My parents had both faced difficulties in their young years. My mother lost her mum to a blood disorder when she was very little—I think she was around six. Her dad was a schoolteacher and raised her and her brother by himself. My mum's aunties, including Ros, who is here today, also helped to raise her. I am still very close to Ros and Gwen, and I am named (my middle name) after my grandmother Marion. I often wonder what she was like. She lives on through my mother and my aunties, and I know she is probably looking down on us now, being very proud of my mum and the daughters she raised.

My father grew up in a home plagued by mental illness and violence. As the eldest child, his younger siblings relied on him. He started working in the family trade when he was 14. He did not have the opportunity to finish high school or even do an apprenticeship, so meeting mum, falling in love, was certainly an opportunity for a bright new future. They married and moved to Perth to start a family. I went to six primary schools. I might have been a shyer girl, but I had to build confidence and learn how to make new friends and adjust to change. I was a good student, always keen to learn new things but somewhat a chatterbox in class if I was bored.

I did high school in Port Macquarie. I had plenty of friends and was into everything. I played six sports at one point because mum told us that we were allowed to play anything that was free and that she did not have to drive us to. Sport has been pretty pivotal in my life. It is one of the ways I have made new friends and fitted into so many new communities. It is also a great equaliser. No-one cares if you are rich or poor on the volleyball court or in the swimming pool; values like hard work and tenacity and, of course a little bit of skill, are far more important.

I was a school council representative. I raised money for local charities and I organised school events. I was very involved in our community and I got a buzz from helping people or making some small difference. I got myself a job at the age of 15 as a checkout chick at a discount grocery warehouse. I joined the union, the SDA. I remember getting my first pay packet. I bought a Billabong surf brand T-shirt. It was the first brand-name thing I had ever owned and I think I wore it almost every day of high school in our little surfie town.

By high school, I was pretty certain I wanted to be a journalist. I loved writing and hearing people's stories, though I was also very interested in visual art and the law, too. I did my year 10 work experience with local TV stations but also with my local MP, a Nationals bloke called Rob Oakeshott, who was then the captain of my surf club. He took me to Parliament House in Sydney for two weeks. I loved watching Bob Carr in question time and hanging out with the reporters—people like Leigh Sales and David Penberthy, who were covering that round at the time.

After school, I went off to Charles Sturt University, also known as Mitchell College, the same place my grandad did his teaching degree about 50 years earlier. I loved journalism and I still do. I wanted to be a newspaper reporter, but one lecturer encouraged me to take up broadcast because, he said, I had a deeper voice than most of the other girls. He said I would have a natural advantage in the very tight race for a job, and he was probably right. I got through uni on scholarships and working as a waitress. Although things were getting better financially at home, with mum getting a job as a public servant, my parents could not really afford to pay my way. I did my internships at Network Ten and Sky News in Parliament House in Canberra.

While a delegate on the National Youth Roundtable, I met a young, blonde senator from South Australia. I had seen her in Dolly magazine sporting Doc Martin boots. I was thrilled to meet Natasha Stott Despoja, a woman not too much older than me at the time. She offered me work experience over summer. It was just secretarial support, but I loved being in the middle of all the political machinations—and there were more than a few going on at that time in the Democrats. I am forever grateful to Natasha for giving me that opportunity. It was a window into a world I had barely seen before and it spurred a love of politics.

When I was little, Carmen Lawrence was the Western Australian premier. I never questioned that women could be in politics, but as I grew up I realised that that was an anomaly. Meeting Natasha, working for her and seeing that she was a real person I could relate to—someone who was passionate and intelligent—encouraged me and reinforced to me that women could be in the world of politics, too, as reporters or as politicians. You simply cannot be what you cannot see, and for me seeing was believing. I want to see more women in politics and I will be following Natasha's lead, encouraging younger women to have a go and showing them that they can do it too.

I went on to work for the ABC, Network Ten and, most recently, Seven News. I have worked in every mainland state and territory, including oil rigs off the coast of the Pilbara and remote communities out the back of Alice Springs. I also worked overseas, in India, Africa and Cambodia. Working internationally makes you realise the value of free speech and that not everyone, or even every journalist, has the right to speak freely or even report basic facts. I went to Cambodia after being made redundant from Network Ten, which was almost a rite of passage in the South Australian media industry. The irony did not escape me when I found out that I had won best TV reporter that year while at the same time I was completely jobless.

I used my redundancy payout to live in Phnom Penh for three months, working as a radio reporter at the nation's only independent radio station. Last year, it was shut down by the government. To work alongside Cambodian reporters who are risking their lives simply by being journalists makes you realise how lucky you are. They work under such incredible constraints and risks, but they do it because they believe in democracy and they believe in truth and in justice. I wish them all the very best in these incredibly troubling times that are now facing journalism and democracy in Cambodia, and I hope that my former colleagues know that there are people all over the world who are with them in their fight.

There are many stories I have covered as a journalist, from driving through cyclones in north-west WA and feeling the gusts of wind lift the four-wheel drive wheels off the road as I drove, to covering the shameful atrocities that Aboriginal people endure in Central Australia. I have done crosses from the ASEAN conference in Phnom Penh with Barack Obama, I have been entrusted with the story of the survivor of a senseless shooting spree and many men and women have shared with me their stories of suffering sexual abuse. The stories are many and varied and each one teaches us something.

As journalists, we are lucky to see the world through others' eyes and to have a window into other peoples' lives, even just for a day. Each of those stories informs my view, the way I see the world and the way I would like the world to be. It is what drives a passion in me for fairness and equality and justice.

There are so many people who do not have a voice. My job as a journalist was to give a voice to those people, and it is really not too different as a local representative. My job is to be the voice of my community and to fight for them but also to achieve change, to make life that little bit better for those people around me. Quality journalism is integral to the fabric of our democracy but, for me, it became frustrating to be a witness, a bystander. I felt a growing urge to act, to get involved and to change things for the better.

I am passionate about equality because I know how inequality deprives not only individuals but also our whole community from being the best it can be. I am passionate about gender equality because girls are just as good as boys and we are missing out as a community and as an economy if we cannot see that. I am passionate about job creation because my family knows what it is like to suffer the indignity and strain of unemployment and the joy of having a job. I am passionate about justice because being heard is part of healing. I am passionate about democracy and the right to free speech because I have seen what happens without it.

I am so lucky to have found a home here in Adelaide, in Black Forest in Badcoe, the seat I am so proud to represent. I have lived all over Australia and the world and I really do think that this is the best place to live. When I moved to Adelaide for a six-month contract almost 15 years ago, people my age said that it was so boring in Adelaide: there was nothing to do at night, the good bands never came here, there were no career prospects and no-one would want to stay there. But I did stay. Adelaide promised an affordable life with a good job, the ability to buy a home, not to spend all day on the train getting to work and to save enough money to travel.

The night-life has become a lot better: Adelaide Oval has brought the city alive, Leigh and Peel streets are filled with energetic small bars, the upgraded Entertainment Centre started getting the big acts, the trams were extended, the train electrified and the economy strengthened, despite the challenges. So, far from being a young person fleeing this state, I am someone who has chosen a life here for all its opportunities.

Some of my family have moved here since I arrived—my aunties and cousins who are here today—and I am working on the rest of them. My sisters are tuning in today from London and Hawaii and Bremer Bay in WA, and I thank them for their love and support. I am hoping to lure them all here for the promise this place offers to young families. After all, it is one of the most livable cities in the world. I intend to make it an even more attractive place to live in my time as the member for Badcoe.

Badcoe is a place that is compassionate, especially towards those who need a hand, a place that is affordable and comfortable, even if your life did not start out that way, and a place that offers good education, health services and job prospects. As a candidate, it has already been an honour to fight for and achieve better sporting and community infrastructure, such as the new grandstand soon to be built at Goodwood Oval, better educational facilities at every public school in Badcoe, and the little things like new air-conditioners at Active Elders in Ascot Park.

In the last 12 months, my team and I secured more than 20 wins for Badcoe and, with the help of Jeremy and Joel in my office plus our dedicated volunteers and our fantastic sub-branch, we will achieve even more. Nothing is done alone. I want to thank my campaign team—they ran an excellent campaign and the numbers show just how hard they worked—Jimmy, Bridget and Sean, plus Arabella, Grace, Sarah, Leah, Yan-Li, Olivia and Jen.

Thanks to more than 150 people who volunteered throughout the year-long campaign. Many of you are here today. To Dean, Claire, Barbara, Michael and Bruce, I thank you very much. You are gems. I would like to thank everyone who donated their hard-earned cash, too—no-one ever tells you how expensive it is—your faith in me is very humbling. To all the community and sporting groups and all the individuals I met on the campaign trail, thanks for your warm welcomes and the great conversations we had. I have learnt so much from you and I am looking forward to learning and doing even more for you in Badcoe.

I would like to thank the crew at party office, especially Reggie and Aemon, and the bunch at the SDA, ably led by one of this state's great leaders, Sonia Romeo.

Thank you to the labour movement. I have not always been a member of the Labor Party, but I have always shared our values of sticking up for working people. I would like to thank everyone in the former premier's office. You guys did some remarkable work for our state. I would like to thank our former premier, Jay Weatherill. You led by example, and your work ethic, your remarkable intellect and your passion to fight for South Australians rallied our team and showed me the way—thank you.

Thank you to my former bosses, who are now my colleagues: Zoe Bettison and Tom Koutsantonis. I have learned so much from you, and I am so glad to now be working alongside you. Thanks also to Chris Picton, to Michael Brown, to Blair Boyer, to Stephen Mullighan and to Emily Bourke. We have been friends and workmates over the years, and I look forward to working together with you. Thank you for all your advice.

Thanks to Mick Atkinson and Mike Rann, plus Rik Morris, who gave me my first gig in state politics, to Kate Ellis, whom I worked with federally—she will be a loss to the federal parliament—and to Brendan O'Connor. My work with Brendan was the most gruelling of my life so far, but it was a joy to serve on the team of such a great man. I look forward to seeing him as a minister again very soon.

Thank you to Steph Key and her team, Carol and Geoff in particular. Steph was an excellent local MP, and I will be lucky to be as well respected as she is by our local community. I would also dearly like to thank Peter Malinauskas, a bloke who took me seriously when I said I thought I had something to offer in politics. Your faith in me makes me want to work harder. I am so grateful for your advice and the opportunities you have given me, and I know you will be a wonderful premier. Our state is very lucky to have you, and I look forward to serving as part of your team.

I would like to thank a guy who has not had much to do with the campaign at all, an exceptionally smart, sweet and modest man, who reminds me of all the other great blessings in life and puts it all in perspective—plus, he feeds me delicious home-cooked food. Thank you very much to my partner, Ash. I love you very much.

Thanks to my parents for coming from Queensland today and for always being only a phone call away with advice, support and encouragement. Now that I am older, I realise all the things that you gave up for us, and I want you to know that all the things you have sacrificed for your kids have been worth it. We are each very happy, healthy, successful individuals, independent young women who are now giving back to our communities in our own ways and building our own families. We can never repay you, but we will live out what you taught us about hard work and perseverance, about justice and equality, about compassion and about using our good fortune to improve the fortunes of others.

The final thankyou goes to the people of Badcoe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this great honour, for the opportunity to serve you, for the chance to make our wonderful patch of Adelaide even better. It is the greatest blessing of my life, and I will not let you down.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

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

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (12:00): Mr Speaker, first, I congratulate you on your election to high office. I wish you well in your role. You are, and I am certain you will continue to be, an ornament to this house and to this parliament.

First, I thank the electors of Heysen for the confidence they have shown in me. It is the greatest honour of my life to represent the people of Heysen in this place. I acknowledge the presence in the chamber today of friends, colleagues, supporters and volunteers on our recent campaign. I acknowledge, too, those constituents, friends and family who may be tuning in to the streaming broadcast. I hope my parents, who could not be present today, might be among them. I have, I think, explained to mum and dad how to stream it at least four times: hope is a constant in my family. I especially want to say hello to those school students throughout Heysen who are online viewing this, my first speech, in this place.

On 17 March 2018, South Australians voted for change. They did so decisively, and their decision is reflected by the outcome on the floor of this new parliament; that is significant. The goal of democratic systems is to reflect the will of the people in the composition of a government and in the seats won on each side of this house. In the course of the last generation, South Australia has fallen short on this count, but this 54th parliament is different: its government truly is the product of the people's will.

As we know, the Liberal Party won clear majorities of the statewide vote in both the 2010 and 2014 elections but did not secure a majority in the House of Assembly; 2018 was different, and that difference came about from two significant developments. First, in December 2016, the Electoral District Boundaries Commission found that, as a result of a longstanding electoral imbalance in our state, new district boundaries should be drawn so that, as far as practicable, the party winning the majority of the statewide vote should form majority government.

Prior to the 2016 commission, the conventional wisdom was that somehow electoral fairness in South Australia might have been a theoretical ideal but not a practical goal. The argument went that this might be due to our state's geography, coupled with the high concentration of population in Adelaide. The commission found, however, that any such mythology was wrong, that fair boundaries could be drawn and that they should be drawn in the interests of fairness. Indeed, the commission determined that redrawing the boundaries in this way was necessary in order to address a 40-year imbalance in our state's electoral map.

Secondly, in February last year, a five-member Full Court of the Supreme Court unanimously held that the commission's redraw of the boundaries was both necessary and appropriate. As a barrister for the Liberal Party, I am proud to have worked on achieving these outcomes in advocating before the commission and in the Supreme Court.

I was part of a team. I want to acknowledge Tom Duggan of senior counsel. Tom led our case for the principle of fairness. He led it eloquently and effectively. I also want to acknowledge our instructor, Morry Bailes; Sam Hooper; and my friend the member for Davenport. Together with Liberal Party state director, Sascha Meldrum, we were a formidable team. We never set out to do the commission's work in drawing the boundaries but, rather, to advocate for the principle of electoral fairness. I am proud to have been part of proving that fairness could be achieved, that it could be done and that, at long last, it should be done. I believe the result of the March election bears out the importance of electoral fairness. Our government now has the legitimacy of its electoral mandate.

It is a great honour to serve in this parliament. When we look about us in this chamber, we are reminded of the long and stable history of democracy in South Australia. It is a proud history, but we should never take it for granted. We live in a time when democratic systems are in retreat in many parts of the world and when public faith in democracy is in decline. The preservation of democracy and the preservation of public confidence in democracy is a profound responsibility for all of us who serve here. I hope that I may fulfil my responsibilities in this house, to our democracy and to the communities of Heysen.

In opening this 54th parliament, His Excellency set out the program of the new government. There are more than 300 individual policies to make South Australia a place of enterprise, opportunity and confidence. I want to recognise the service of His Excellency and Mrs Le. Together, they bring grace, dignity and a sense of joy to Government House. They also embody our values as South Australians: a generous, open and welcoming people. I have been fortunate to have known His Excellency since his time as Lieutenant Governor and chairman of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission.

Heysen is more than 1,000 square kilometres of the most beautiful and most productive parts of our state. The Heysen Hills are comprised of more than 20 local communities, each built on the efforts of local people—from Willyaroo, Sandergrove, Woodchester and Strathalbyn in the south-east; to Ashbourne, Willunga Hill and Yundi, in the south; through the middle, from Macclesfield to Meadows, Kuitpo to Blewitt Springs, Kangarilla and Clarendon; and north, from Echunga to Mylor, Bradbury and Longwood, Bridgewater to Aldgate, to Ironbank, Stirling and Crafers.

The local enterprises that create jobs and opportunities in Heysen include a wide range of producers of world-class fresh food and wine, farmers, restaurateurs, artists, nurseries and schools. Of course, many people living in Heysen have jobs or enterprises in different places across South Australia but choose to raise their family in the Hills. Heysen is blessed with great natural beauty, including some of the most remarkable parts of the wonderful Heysen Trail.

Volunteers play a great role in the life of the Hills communities. They are to be found in groups such as Meals on Wheels; the CFS, where the Hills brigades carry the lion's share of annual volunteer call-outs not only to fires but also, importantly, to car accidents on the South Eastern Freeway; our local RSL sub-branches, which are led by some of the most dedicated individuals one could hope to know; as well as conservation groups, friends of which work tirelessly to preserve and enhance our environment.

Organisations such as these, alongside our sports clubs, churches, school communities, business associations, community associations, health networks and recreational clubs, bring people together and strengthen the fabric of community life. This government has come into office with a strong ethos of respecting these institutions and strengthening their role in the decision-making that affects our communities.

One of the greatest joys for my family living in the Hills is our long association with local community organisations, sports clubs and activities, including the Stirling Comets Netball Club, Crafers Tennis Club, Deb Twining's art classes, Stirling Districts Football Club, Crafers Netball Club and our local primary school. I am also proud to be the patron of the Courier Cup-winning Bridgewater-Callington Raiders Football Club.

There is a larger point relating to community life here in Heysen and in the electorates across our great state. With these institutions of civil society, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We are in an age of increasing fracturing of community life: the pressures on families, the growing problem of loneliness and social isolation, the echo chambers and filter bubbles of social media and the loss of face-to-face contact in daily life. These clubs and community groups enrich our lives and build connections between people of different ages, backgrounds and beliefs. They do work that no government can do. It is such an important part of our work as elected representatives to do all that we can to strengthen these organisations and the bonds of community life.

The recent Liberal campaign was a campaign for and by local communities. I want to share a story that exemplifies this campaign and the strength of our local communities. It is the story of Kalimna Hostel at Strathalbyn. Kalimna was built 30 years ago with funds raised by the local Strathalbyn community. Its purpose was to provide for ageing residents of Strathalbyn so they could stay near to their family, friends and neighbours. In January 2017, the former government closed Kalimna. That decision was made with no consultation with the local community. Upon its sudden closure, residents were relocated—not to a new facility elsewhere but to wherever a vacant bed could be found across the region. It was a traumatic experience for both the residents and their families.

The community felt a sense of outrage and betrayal. They came together and acted with solidarity and resolve. They established a working group to investigate Strathalbyn's growing aged-care needs, and through extensive efforts they reaffirmed a clear principle: local people should be able to access care without being removed from their community. The government is acting on this principle through our $8.7 million commitment to invest in local aged care to build a new high-care facility and to restore and reopen Kalimna. We are also acting on many more fronts. After 16 years of a city-centric Labor government, there is so much that needs to be done for families in Heysen, from investing in our regional roads, mobile blackspots and public transport to restoring investment in local health, aged care and schools.

To be South Australian is to know and love one of the most vast and remarkably diverse natural environments in the world. The environment is a key focus for many Heysen families, from local volunteer groups such as the Friends of Woorabinda, Friends of Scott Creek and the GWLAP to farmers and our thriving community of gardeners. I have been actively involved as a volunteer with Nature Foundation SA over recent years, and I have seen firsthand the great environmental outcomes that can be achieved when scientists, landowners and volunteers work together. The government is committed to working together with communities to restore confidence in our system of natural resource management.

As the new member for Heysen, I want to recognise and pay tribute to my predecessors, the honourable David Wotton AM and Ms Isobel Redmond. David Wotton served as the member for Heysen and the member for Murray for a total of 27 years, until 2002, and Ms Redmond as the member for Heysen for the last 16 years, before retiring at the recent election. Both served our state with great distinction. Both were sources of counsel to me throughout the campaign, as well as being active supporters.

As leader of our party, Isobel Redmond was the first woman to lead any major party in this state. Isobel is proud to have advocated for the establishment of an independent commission against corruption, against strident opposition from the Labor Party. She described it, alongside her leadership, as being probably the most significant achievement of her time as the member for Heysen. In government, we are now moving again against strident opposition from the Labor Party to make the ICAC more transparent. Isobel was, above all, a person committed to the community of Heysen. She described the opportunity to represent the people of Heysen as the greatest privilege of her life. I share that feeling as I seek to continue her legacy.

I wish to thank all those who participated in our campaign for Heysen. It was a tough contest. We prevailed, I believe, because we listened to the community and we demonstrated our commitment to the community. As I said very often at the door, 'Whether you vote for me or not, I will work to represent all and every person in Heysen to the best of my ability.' Our win in Heysen was a team effort. I want to thank the Premier, who regularly visited and doorknocked with me—always in good shape, relaxed, interested and quietly confident. I thank the Heysen SEC and all who committed to the campaign. In particular, I want to recognise my campaign manager and national treasure, Jeff Mincham AM, a mentor from day one. Thank you, Jeff.

I thank also Ian Wall OAM and Pamela for their support. I also thank for their extraordinary volunteer work Mike, Chris, Zachariah, Bryan, April and my dad, who was a constant by my side throughout the campaign. I owe each of you a great debt of gratitude. I thank also our central campaign volunteers: Scott, Brendan, Alex, Ben and especially state director, Sascha Meldrum, and state president, John Olsen AO. I thank also the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Stephen Wade MLC. Stephen is a lifelong friend. He is a man of great integrity and exemplifies the best qualities of serving in public life: humility, hard work and tremendous focus. Stephen was at the core of so much of our campaign that I often said at the door, 'If only to ensure Wade is in charge of Health, vote Liberal.' Thank you, Stephen.

I particularly want to acknowledge our candidates who did not win their seats. I am especially sorry not to be seeing in this chamber four of our candidates whom I got to know well in the campaign: Andy Gilfillan, Therese Kenny, Luigi Mesisca and Stephen Rypp.

I am a proud South Australian. I grew up in Adelaide, completing my schooling at St Peter's College. I studied law at Bond University in Queensland and at Duke University in the United States before completing my graduate certificate in legal practice at the University of South Australia. I commenced practising as a solicitor at MinterEllison in Sydney. I subsequently returned to Adelaide with MinterEllison before practising for three years in Stockholm, Sweden, with Hammarskiöld and Co. In 2005, I returned again to Adelaide to join the South Australian bar and I have practised as a barrister in South Australia since then. I was fortunate to serve as the Honorary Consul of Sweden for South Australia from 2009 until retiring from that role earlier this year.

I bring to this new role my experience in the legal profession and, more particularly, the last dozen years as a barrister, as a member of Bar Chambers and of the South Australian Bar Association. Representing clients in commercial litigation has inspired a deep interest for me in so many different areas of endeavour, from our state's economic development and attracting investment to small business, resources, farming and scientific research.

Through my years at the bar I have developed a deep respect for my colleagues' commitment to our system of justice. Our system of justice is a cornerstone of a society that upholds the rule of law. The independent bar is sometimes known as the private bar. That, in my view, is a misnomer. Members of the independent bar owe a duty to their client and, importantly, also to the court and the law. Their livelihood depends upon the system functioning efficiently, but they have no control over either the courts or the administration.

We do well to remind ourselves that the justice system could not function without them. Never again should they be politicised, singled out for criticism for simply doing their job, as they were, regrettably, repeatedly, by the previous government. The justice system must also be properly resourced. I have enjoyed immensely working with my colleagues at the bar. I have learned a great deal from them and I am proud to count myself among their number. I thank in particular the Hon. Tom Gray QC and I thank all of my colleagues at Bar Chambers. I am sure that I will continue to seek their counsel from time to time.

One perspective I bring to political life is a deep confidence in the common law and the process of its development. Our system of common law has played such an important role in the evolution of our democracy, yet it is often poorly understood, particularly in many of our parliaments. The system of common law has developed incrementally over many hundreds of years through decisions that built on a body of established precedent

I have often thought that the common law provides us a valuable precedent for the wider process of reform and policy-making, one which tests new facts and circumstances against established precedent and progresses incrementally. Sometimes, radical change may be necessary because of new facts and circumstances, but change is often more likely to be sustained if it builds on what has gone before, as we see in our system of common law.

I am most fortunate in my life to have been brought up surrounded and supported by a family with diverse interests and vocations, well grounded but with many eccentricities and a strong ethic of public engagement and service. My recent forebears are South Australian and Western Australian. My grandparents, Colin and Kath Teague, were South Australians. Colin Teague, born at Napperby in 1911, grew up at Port Pirie. He was the grandson of Cornish migrants, Simon Teague and Martha (nee Chapman), who had come to the Mid North in 1879 and 1880.

The Teague men were stonemasons and builders, and Colin continued in that line, serving his apprenticeship at the building firm of his father, Arch, in the late twenties. In December 1934, in the midst of the Depression, he moved to Adelaide. He met on the Glenelg jetty, during the extraordinary heatwave of January 1939, Kath Readett, the daughter of German and English forebears—Eckermanns and Ahrns from Mecklenburg and Dangars and Readetts from New South Wales. They were married in 1941. Colin went on to establish himself as a builder based at Somerton, where together they raised their three children.

My grandparents, Ted and Bette Packard, were Western Australians. Ted, born in 1915, the fifth child of Reg Packard and Harriet Emily (nee Chescoe), grew up at a farm called the Broadwater at Busselton, his parents having moved there in 1911 from their home at Coolgardie. In 1936, after receiving an inheritance, Ted bought a Francis-Barnett motorbike and planned and equipped himself to ride from Busselton all the way across Australia to Sydney. This was, in 1936, an epic journey. He was perhaps the first to ride solo across the Nullarbor and back again, the whole trip taking six months.

Bette Holloway was born at Bendigo, but at age seven travelled with her parents to WA. Ted and Bette joined the Australian Defence Force, Ted as an Army officer with the engineers and Bette in the Air Force. Ted was in uniform when they married in Busselton in 1944, before he sailed to Borneo, where he served on the active front. After the war, they raised their three children, farming and milling timber at Sparkling Springs near Yallingup and then near Frankland at Nardrup.

Besides farming sheep and cattle and sawmilling, Ted was one of Australia's early bulldozing contractors, and later Ted and Bette owned and ran a mechanical workshop and service station. Practical, enterprising and hardworking people, they also shared a strong Christian faith, which was at the centre of all aspects of their lives and which they instilled in their children and their grandchildren, including me. I am, to a large extent, the product of, and significantly influenced by, the history I have briefly described.

At the end of primary school I spent a term in WA at Frankland. The school goes to year 6 these days—WA, along with the rest of the country, having now made the move to year 7 in high school—but back then I joined in year 7. It was then a school of about 26 students. Frankland was a mixed farming area in those days, mainly sheep and some cropping, and it was particularly hard hit by the end of the reserve wool price, as the member for MacKillop described last Thursday.

I lived during that time with my grandparents, uncles and aunts. They were all particularly influential on me and remain so. Mum's younger brother, my uncle Butch Packard, a shearer, farmer and mechanic, was and remains a particular source of inspiration for me. Back in SA I recall telling my year 8 teacher, Jack Curtis, when asked to tell the class what I would like to do when I grew up, that I would be a fitter and turner and a farmer. I suspect that my 13-year-old self might be disappointed by my subsequent choice of a legal career, but I guess there is always time for a career change.

I am fortunate indeed to have had many teachers, mentors and friends who have supported me on my life's journey. I wish to recognise and thank, in particular, my house master for six years, John Lambert. I am honoured by his presence today. I thank also my friend Tim Dixon who, over the last 20 years, has been a constant counsel on the importance of public life.

The greatest influences on me have been my mum and dad. They have taught me to live with hope, joy and, above all, with love. I honour them and I will continue to endeavour to live the example they have given me in great abundance. Dad served as a senator for South Australia in federal parliament from when I was aged about three until 21. My childhood and our family life were immersed in that vocation. In his valedictory speech in the Senate, dad restated the core principles that had underpinned his career in federal politics: truth and justice, compassion, excellence, practical common sense, equality of opportunity and the Australian sense of a fair go. I would do well in my time here to emulate his commitment to those core principles.

My mum, a schoolteacher, recently spoke to the St Dominic's Priory College graduands in memory of the great Sister Maryanne Holland. Her words capture the ethos with which she has lived her entire life and which has inspired me and my brothers Matt and Nathan:

We have a responsibility to serve others, and to welcome others. That is expressed in loving most, the smallest and weakest—the outsider, the vulnerable, the poor. And we do well to remember, that as a community, as Australians, as people in the 21st century world, we are only ever as strong as the weakest among us.

Finally, and for me most importantly, I am profoundly fortunate to share my life's journey with my wife, Maria. Maria, in the words of her father Erik, who sadly died in 2012, is 'like the glistening water'. Anyone who has seen a lake in Sweden in the summer will understand the deep and exquisite beauty that is there. Maria is a woman of great depth, sincerity and integrity. We are blessed with three children, Emily, Astrid and Victor, of whom we are both very proud. Being a parent is the single most rewarding, challenging and worthwhile endeavour of my life, of our lives.

In the words of our Premier, I am here to participate in a battle of ideas. I believe in the enterprise of the South Australian people and our ability to be the best in the world at whatever we choose to dedicate ourselves to. It is time for bold ideas, vision and action. I relish this opportunity to work for the people of Heysen while I have the privilege to serve my community and my state in this chamber.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I thank the member for Heysen. I ask that members take their places, please. It seems like the place is full of Cornish miners today; there is another one, in the member for Ramsay, I think.

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (12:31): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Yes, I think we might start a club of the ancestors of Cornish miners.

Let me start with my congratulations to the Marshall Liberal government. You are now the state government, and with that great honour comes the leadership and the responsibility of running our state. I would like to recognise that history has been made with the elevation of our first female Deputy Premier, and I congratulate the member for Bragg on her new role.

As a former minister, I reflect on the four years in which I was the minister for communities and social inclusion. It was a role in which I met a diverse range of South Australians, all with a common purpose of serving people who needed support, assistance and guidance. In particular, I want to pay tribute to our multicultural community. They did keep me busy. With almost one out of two South Australians with a parent who was born overseas, this community is not 'the other': it is us. In my time as minister for multicultural affairs, I saw both skilled migrants start a new life in South Australia and humanitarian migrants who found safety and security here.

As well, of course, there are our communities, who have been here for many generations. What stays with me the most is the warmth of the different communities in welcoming me to share in their celebrations and commemorations and, most importantly, their shared characteristics of being bold and brave in moving away from family and starting a new life in Australia.

The ability to remain connected with family overseas through the use of technology and the decrease in cost of international flights changes the level of knowledge and understanding of everyday life here and back home. It does, however, place pressure on many here who regularly give support to family back home, and it can also make the ability to connect harder, as the links to home are so strong. This is vastly different from the experience of those who fled past wars and conflicts, who often were unable ever to return or who were unable to visit until many decades later and who lived on written letters for word of news.

Leadership within multicultural groups is taken by volunteers, and I take this opportunity to thank them for their dedication and their commitment. I also take this time to acknowledge the continuing leadership of His Excellency, who holds the annual Governor's Multicultural Awards. He and his wife, Lan, are regular attendees of many events. This is an added pleasure for many communities, several of whom have known His Excellency from his time as chair of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission.

I recognise the role that the Premier has taken as the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and, of course, the ongoing commitment from Jing Lee in the other house as assistant minister in this role. She and I spent many hours, weekends and nights together and I acknowledge her dedication to our community. But I would not be here without the people of Ramsay, and I want to take this opportunity to thank them—the people who live in Salisbury, Salisbury North, Salisbury Downs and Paralowie—for re-electing me to the South Australian parliament. This was my third election, and I am deeply humbled to represent this area.

Campaigns can be exciting and engaging, but they cannot be delivered without a team around you. In my local area, I want to give thanks to my campaign manager, Cathy Perry, and my volunteer manager, Kamal Dahal. With an increased use of social media this campaign, I was delighted to be shown support through endorsements from people in the fields of small business, sport, education and the veteran community.

I would like to thank Adam and Marta, with their small business Miss M in the Parabanks Shopping Centre; Sarah Caldwell, a leader in our school governing council; Jennie Dansie, heading up our athletics; Geoff Ambler of the bowling club; and Mick Lennon, a legend of Salisbury and a former president of the RSL. Special thanks also go to Des Jenkins, who opened his home to us and was quite a character when we talked about Tesla batteries and our plans for Housing SA.

But what stands out to me the most is the diversity of the volunteers who gave their time for my campaign. For many, it was their first time being involved in an election campaign, and they were enthusiastic to help. It was amazing to see people who have not had the opportunity, because of history or because they were not able to, participate in the democratic process and it is amazing to see how that opportunity presents to people.

However, the most significant thanks go to my family. My mum and dad have together been my rock solid supporters always. They said that they are retiring now from campaigning, at the ages of 75 and 71, but they said that four years ago, so I do not actually believe them just yet. They quite like being at the centre of it, but dad says, 'No more putting up corflutes.' At 75, that is off the table.

To my husband, Issac, and my son, Hugo—you are the joys of my life. Thank you, Issac, for your many hours of volunteering and your unwavering support during my very demanding schedule when I was a minister. I reflect now that my son was only one when I entered parliament in 2012 and he has grown, blossomed and changed—he is into taekwondo and soccer—but it was a big commitment to make and I thank him for his support.

I am now looking forward to the challenges of my new portfolio as shadow minister for trade, tourism and investment. It is an exciting time to be working in such a dynamic area and I would like to acknowledge the previous ministers, Leon Bignell and Martin Hamilton-Smith, for their amazing work and their commitment to this portfolio. I am sure that the new government will reap many rewards both from the positive relationships that have been formed with stakeholders and economically via the projects and programs already underway.

Not only is Adelaide one of the most livable cities in the world but it is a fabulous tourist destination. It plays a significant role in our economy throughout the whole of South Australia. Many are drawn to a particular event, the Tour Down Under, which we just heard today, in its 20th year, generated $63.7 million for this state.

Mr Bignell: Hear, hear!

Ms BETTISON: Hear, hear! To those who had the foresight to start the Tour Down Under and for those who continued to develop it, I say congratulations. Many also visit Adelaide for other events, such as the Adelaide Fringe, the Adelaide Festival, WOMADelaide, the AFL, or the cricket. Our challenge is to encourage them to stay for longer, for a drink or two or three at one of our famous small bars or a day trip to the cellar doors of the Barossa, the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale or one of the other 15 wine regions where they can stay.

Along with the well-known Australian icons, the rock, the reef and the Opera House, is our very own Kangaroo Island. It is nature at its very best, alongside a developing food and wine culture. Our investment in the development of the airport, whilst not supported by all, will be a catalyst for the next stages of development. The recent launch of the new Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail adds rigour to the diversity of experiences to be had.

When you think of South Australia, you think of the 12 regions that we have to offer. There are opportunities for domestic and international travellers to find their own special South Australian memory. Tourism is kicking many goals. In 2017, the total expenditure recorded reached its highest, at $6.6 billion, up 4 per cent. Under Labor, South Australia welcomed a record-breaking 462,000 international visitors in 2017, spending $1.1 billion. This reflects a rise in expenditure of 18 per cent, well above the national growth rate of 8 per cent. In fact, we are punching above our weight in regard to a range of benchmarks, including overall visits and overnight stays. Tourism in South Australia directly employs 36,000 people and this has increased by 15 per cent since the state tourism plan targets were set six years ago.

South Australia itself contributes 6 per cent to Australia's total tourism consumption. This is something for us to be proud of. But, of course, to build on this Labor legacy we need to continue to build this area. Labor has revitalised our CBD with the redeveloped Adelaide Oval, Riverbank Precinct, Adelaide Convention Centre, Festival Plaza, and laneways and small bars that have put Adelaide and South Australia on the world map. In 2017, Lonely Planet named South Australia one of the top regions in the world to visit. We have cultivated our nation-leading reputation as the festival state with a year-round calendar of events.

In the state budget of 2017-18, we committed a $14.5 million boost for the events and convention bid funds. These bid funds have been a key driver behind South Australia's record-breaking tourism figures. They have put South Australia on the map as a world-renowned host of major events and conventions. The forecast is that they will inject more than $500 million into the local economy and create 4,500 jobs. To date, 38 leisure events have been secured, with forecasted economic benefit of more than $120 million, and 63 business conventions have been secured, with a forecasted $370 million in economic benefit.

In the business area, we would expect to see more than 75,000 people come to our great state. Adelaide Airport continues to develop as a major economic generator. It contributes 2.1 per cent to our gross state product. It directly employs more than 8,700 people and indirectly employs an additional 9,000. Passenger numbers have doubled since the Airport's establishment in 1998, and we have now reached eight million, well ahead of original budgets. International passenger numbers have more than quadrupled over the same period, and we anticipate that this will reach one million per annum by the end of 2018.

We now have excellent one-stop connections across Asia, Europe, North America and Africa via global hubs such as Singapore, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Dubai, Doha, Auckland and Kuala Lumpur. In recent correspondence from the managing director of Adelaide Airport, Mark Young noted to me that:

Our 'Team Adelaide' relationships that we've had with SA Tourism Commission and other State agencies, under the leadership of your colleagues when in Government, has seen us attract top international airlines such as Emirates, China Southern and Qatar Airways, all in just the past five years.

As a major business centre, Adelaide Airport is making significant progress attracting major companies including OZ Minerals, Kennards Self Storage, Otis, Aldi and Australian Clinical Laboratories in the past 12 months alone.

Tourism is a sector that delivers enormous benefit to the economy. Events and conventions drive job growth, increase vibrancy and put South Australia on the world stage. Hosting major conferences and events has already injected hundreds of millions of dollars into our visitor economy. Tourism is a super-growth sector and our $70 million investment to market South Australia interstate and abroad has contributed to reach more than $6 billion in the visitor economy. The results speak for themselves.

Our state's tourism operators are world class and our events are renowned internationally, but we cannot stop. We must keep going, and our goal is $8 billion for our visitor economy in 2020. We have to keep going because we have great things to offer. In A Strong Plan for South Australia, the Marshall government has identified key areas in this tourism portfolio to continue to increase the number of tourists.

The Events Bid Fund is a key part of that, with funding between the Major Leisure Events Bid Fund and the Convention Bid Fund. The Adelaide Convention Bureau's Billion Dollar Benefit plan will target conventions, encouraging delegates to linger longer; a focus on ecotourism in national parks, beginning with Innes National Park, encouraging people to stay in our national parks and enjoy our beautiful environment; the Great Southern Bike Trail, a world-class cycling trail, to link South Australia and Victoria to have 1,000 kilometres, similar to our walking Heysen Trail. We know how well we have done in the TDU and the idea is that will leverage off that.

We know that tourism is a massive economic growth area, and I am certain that every elected member of the South Australian parliament is equally committed to seeing it continue to grow and flourish. I look forward to seeing continued growth in this sector, and I trust that it will continue under a Marshall Liberal government. But let's be clear: I will be watching, because we often hear, as we have heard in many of the first speeches, that we have an Adelaide-centric belief. If there is one part of our economy that supports the whole of South Australia, it is tourism. Although I was absent last week, I understand that many people expressed the beauty of their own electorates. Of course, we are very proud of the areas we represent, whether it be the Mallee, Yorke Peninsula or other areas of our state.

We also have a strong record in terms of increasing our exports and investment. In 2017, more South Australian companies than ever before exported their goods and services overseas. The 2018 Annual Investment and Trade Statement showcases the support provided to South Australian companies during the last 12 months, assisting them to embrace the opportunities that arise from doing business on the world stage. This year's statement highlights companies experiencing success in doing business in the state, nationally and internationally and how new horizons are bringing opportunities for economic growth in sectors such as information technology, renewable energy and space industries.

A key to increasing exports and state investment is to build strong international connections and engagement to welcome new people, new ideas, new investment, new business and partnerships. Exporting is a critical component of South Australia's economy. Our commercial ports provide a gateway to the world and are equipped to handle a range of containerised and bulk cargoes. Adelaide Airport has international services connecting Adelaide with all the major Asian hubs, as well as Europe and the US.

South Australia's export performance has been gathering momentum since the global financial crisis. Our export performance has seen strong growth recently in the value of wheat, metal ores and refined copper. In 2015-16, South Australia's overseas goods and services export market was worth $14 billion. India, China and Malaysia continue to grow strongly as markets for South Australian exports. While our traditional export strengths are in wine, cereals, meat and the automotive manufacturing industry, this is obviously changing as the traditional manufacturing landscape continues to transform. These are now augmented by exports of minerals, scrap metal and metal ores, and IT products and services.

With almost half our exports going to the Asia-Pacific, the world's fastest growing region, South Australia is strategically positioned to be an export base, but this did not happen without the support of the South Australian government. A range of policy measures have contributed to South Australia's growth in export and investment. South Australia has commercial representation in key target markets. Our overseas staff members provide export assistance to South Australia through our international trade offices. We have stand-alone offices in China and the United Kingdom, and we are embedded in Austrade in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

One of the absolute highlights of the Labor legacy that I speak of today is the business missions that we partake in on a regular basis. This year, we have business mission delegations planned for the Middle East and North Africa, South-East Asia, China, Europe, the USA, North-East Asia and India. I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to go on three of these missions, to India in 2013 and 2017 and to Malaysia in 2016.

We have had interesting commentary from across the chamber about these missions: 'It is just an opportunity to get a photo,' 'You are not supporting people,' and, 'They are not worth it.' I completely and utterly disagree. These business missions provide people with the opportunity to have business-to-business matching sessions facilitated by Austrade and the SA government, meet local distributors and importers, secure international orders for products and services, meet potential investment partners, enhance their international profile and better understand their cultural and regulatory requirements in international markets.

I will be watching very closely to see that we continue the regularity and the certainty of these business missions. If there was one message that was given to me when I went on these missions, it was that you must come back; you must repeat the opportunity for people to understand who you are and what you offer.

I would like to talk about Investment Attraction South Australia. Its key focus is to capture foreign direct investment, which leads to job creation and business growth. It is tasked with attracting large interstate and overseas companies to relocate to or expand their operations in South Australia. The agency can also provide support to new projects that deliver significant economic benefits to the state.

The 2017-18 budget committed an additional $60 million over four years to attract new businesses to the state, promote job creation and develop key industry sectors. It comprised $30 million in grants over 2017-18 and 2018-19 and $30 million in low-interest loans over 2019-20 and 2020-21. Some early successes of Investment Attraction include new jobs at international aerospace company Boeing, IT giant NEC, food processor Inghams and IT services provider Datacom. The strategic focus is on specific growth industries: shipbuilding and defence; renewable energy and mining; tourism, food and wine; health and biomedical research; IT and advanced manufacturing.

Since 2015, Investment Attraction South Australia has assisted 16 companies and secured more than $1 billion worth of investment projects to the state and created more than 5,600 direct and construction jobs for South Australia. The success has been achieved primarily through case management assistance, with only eight projects having received financial support. The Labor state government worked hard to make South Australia the best place in the country to do business.

We are the lowest cost state, centrally located with excellent infrastructure. With world-class education institutions and graduates, and cuts to business taxes, it makes sense for multinational corporations to do business here. The additional investment in Investment Attraction allows the agency to offer targeted incentives to get businesses over the line and convince them to make the move to South Australia, bringing new capital and longer lasting jobs of the future. In particular, we look forward to the future in defence. We know that we have invested heavily in this area and we look for that to continue in the future.

Of course, one of the key areas we have is international education, and we see continuing growth, increasing students from 28,000 in 2013 to more than 35,000 and 2017. But it does not just happen without support and involvement, including the International Education Office (IEO), which is part of the former Department of State Development's International Engagement division. We must continue to have that involvement.

Through its relationships with South Australian and Australian international education providers, the IEO taps into their international connections to identify new international education and training opportunities. It works very closely with StudyAdelaide in raising the profile of South Australian international education and training.

StudyAdelaide is principally funded by the South Australian government, the Adelaide city council, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flinders University. It also receives funding from TAFE SA and 40 participating member institutions. StudyAdelaide promotes South Australia as a premier learning city and undertakes marketing of Adelaide as an education destination, including targeted global digital campaigns. I seek leave to continue my remarks another time.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 13:59.

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