House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-13 Daily Xml

Contents

MTX Group

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:03): Supplementary, Premier: so how much was the value of the incentive of the $200 million? How much?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (15:04): This gives me another four minutes to answer this question. It's almost impossible to believe my luck today to give me an opportunity, a platform, to talk about the great work that is happening down on Lot Fourteen attracting some of the most important, impressive companies in the world.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Ramsay is called to order.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: The shadow minister shouts across, 'How much?' As I pointed out in the last answer—

The SPEAKER: The Premier won't respond to interjection.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —and indeed the one before that, we have an unlimited budget for skills development in South Australia. No specific amount has been negotiated because it depends on that training program. What they are attracted to in South Australia is not the mentality of the previous government of paying people, begging people, to come to their broken—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —economy, the broken economy they presided over for 16 years. Our focus has been to make this the most attractive environment of any state, any precinct, anywhere in the entire country.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: We make no bones about putting money on the table—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader will cease interjecting.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —for skills, no specific money—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —no specific money—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —but an unlimited focus on developing the skilled workforce that we need for the future. We know there is a skills shortage in critical areas like digital skills, like cyber skills—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Lee is warned for a second time.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —right around the world, not just here in South Australia and around Australia but globally. That's why we are working with these companies to develop bespoke solutions to the issues they have, and this is very attractive to those organisations.

Those opposite had 16 years in government, and they had handouts to organisations to come to South Australia. By contrast, what we have done is lower people's cost of operating in South Australia. We have lowered their energy prices, we have slashed their water prices, we have halved their emergency services levy in South Australia, we have taken an axe to land tax here in South Australia. We have done everything we can to improve the competitiveness of businesses in South Australia.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned for a second time.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I am just looking forward to the next supplementary on this question because the good news for South Australia continues to come. What is happening now in South Australia is that momentum is starting to create more and more interest. Only last week, with the SOUTHSTART conference in Adelaide, we had some of the most incredible people coming to our state, people involved in venture capital, people who had not been to South Australia for a very long period of time, and they loved what they saw.

They absolutely loved the transformation of the economy here. They loved the fact that we were talking to companies like Amazon, working with Deloitte here in South Australia on the GRAVITY Challenge. It started off as an Australian-based product, the GRAVITY Challenge, but it's now a global challenge operating right out of Lot Fourteen. It's something we feel very positive about, but I won't continue because I know that members of the crossbench are looking forward to asking us some important questions.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Mount Gambier, the member for Wright, the member for Playford and the member for Lee will leave for 20 minutes in accordance with standing order 137A.

The honourable members for Wright, Playford and Lee having withdrawn from the chamber: