House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-28 Daily Xml

Contents

Lot Fourteen

Mrs POWER (Elder) (14:54): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house about any developments at Lot Fourteen and what they mean for South Australia?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:54): Colonel Light named this part of Adelaide. He called it Lot Fourteen, hence our name. I just wanted to clarify that because a few people have been asking me why it is called Lot Fourteen.

It was a great pleasure to be down at Lot Fourteen again. We have a bold vision for this part of our city, unlike those opposite who were in for a very long period of time deliberating what they would do on that site. They made a decision to move off that site, I think, in 2007. By the time they got to the election in 2018, I think they were on their third, fourth, or—I don't know. Everybody had lost count of the version of what they were going to do. At one stage, their preferred option for much of the last term of government was 1,300 apartments.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: That says to me one thing and one thing alone, and that is that they had nothing for Lot Fourteen whatsoever. They made the decision to get off that site, and they had nothing to put there except 1,300 apartments. This would have created some short-term construction jobs, and they are important for South Australia, but to me it would have taken away the great opportunity to create something which would have a lasting benefit to the South Australian community—seven hectares in the centre of the city, a wedge between our wonderful Botanic Garden and the university precinct on our major cultural boulevard.

We have a very different ambition, but most importantly we are getting on with delivering on that ambition. In the first budget that we handed down in September this year, we provided the $476 million for the redevelopment of that site over the next five years, and we have wasted no time. It was a great delight to be down at Lot Fourteen on Monday this week with two very special people, the Minister for Industry and Skills—my colleague the member for Unley, who is doing a great job in this portfolio of industry and skills—and His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, who is the Duke of York.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Mawson can leave for half an hour under 137A.

The honourable member for Mawson having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It is unfortunate that the member for Mawson would speak in such a disparaging way about a member of the royal family, especially one who has dedicated himself so carefully to promoting entrepreneurship in Australia and around the world. In fact, Pitch@Palace now operates in 57 countries around the world. It has created thousands of jobs. Most importantly, it has really provided inspiration and opportunity for the next generation of entrepreneurs worldwide. We are very, very happy to have His Royal Highness here in South Australia, most importantly to launch Lot Fourteen. We thought that it added another dimension.

We were also joined on that site by Jim Whalley, who is the first Chief Entrepreneur in South Australia. He has done an incredible job in trying to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in South Australia, and it is only essentially just the beginning. While we were down there, we had the opportunity to meet with many of the people who will be on that site. Myriota in particular, which is a fantastic company dealing with satellites and the Internet of Things, is using the great capability they have to enhance productivity for our state.

Of course, we are now waiting on an announcement by the federal government, which I think every person in South Australia is anxious about. We would like to win as much of the project for the Space Agency here to South Australia. It is an important announcement by the federal government. Every state has a capability, and every state has a bid in. We have a compelling and competitive bid. It is a bid on behalf of all people in South Australia because we know that this would be really fantastic for this state and it would augment already what we are doing on Lot Fourteen.