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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-04-11 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

Member for Stuart

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart—Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Roads, Minister for Veterans Affairs) (11:59): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK: Serving as a minister has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. I have always believed in making the most of every opportunity that has come my way, and I have fought hard for the communities and regions that I have represented and been passionate about over many years.

Each one of the portfolios that I have been entrusted with—Local Government, Regional Roads and Veterans Affairs—matters to South Australians and shapes their everyday lives. Each day I have worked hard to try to make a difference. I have met some incredible people over the years. But nearly a year after my heart attack, I recognise that it is time to step back in the best interests of my health, my family and my constituents.

From Monday, I will no longer continue as minister, a position I have been greatly honoured and very proud to hold in this government for the last two years. From next week, my sole focus will be on my electorate of Stuart and local communities across Upper Spencer Gulf. Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring in a new era of economic prosperity for not only our region but in particular our state. It will be my job to make sure that this opportunity is seized for this generation and the next.

Stepping back has been a difficult decision, one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. This is my call, made with the love and support of my partner, Lyn, my two daughters, Hayley and Marisa, and my 12 grandchildren; and even though my great grandchild is not here yet, I am sure that my great grandson will be agreeing with this.

I appreciate the Premier's understanding when I explained my circumstances and my decision to resign as the minister. The Premier asked me to stay on until after the Major Economic Summit, which has been an incredible success for our community and Upper Spencer Gulf. My decision to resign now allows me to put all my energy into my role as the member for Stuart. I want to assure the house that I will be continuing as the local member for Stuart and I intend to contest the next election in 2026.

The support that the Premier and all my ministerial colleagues have given me over the past two years has been phenomenal. Being part of a cohesive and hardworking team has been a great privilege. I would like to acknowledge a few things that I am very proud of and have achieved under this government and under my portfolios.

Having served on Port Pirie Regional Council for over two decades, my passion for local government is well known. It has always been there and will continue to be there. The Local Government Advice Scheme, implemented by the previous government, commenced during this term. Despite heavy and misplaced criticism, the work of ESCOSA has provided assurance to councils and ratepayers and, where appropriate, identified risks to their financial sustainability. Transparency is the key to the scheme and I urge all elected members and ratepayers to interrogate the finances of their councils.

Another initiative close to my heart has been to undertake a review of how local government elections are run and how we can get better representation for local communities. The ideas that have flowed during this public engagement and consultation process have been pleasing and very creative, giving me reassurance that councils are important to the community and that the community wants stronger and more diverse representation at that local level.

One of my biggest challenges on becoming the Minister for Local Government was how to deal with the neglected mess that was left to me by my predecessors: four years of Coober Pedy being under administration and still no plan. Over the last two years I have visited Coober Pedy on about five occasions and have been able to put a plan in place with the task force and look at the opportunity to get that council back under council operation instead of administration. After two years of hard work and providing transparency by putting the facts to the public—especially up at Coober Pedy—I can say that I am confident that we are turning the corner. My successor will, I am sure, have more to say in the near future.

The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a unique mechanism that works to represent the interests of those tiny communities in outback South Australia where councils simply do not and cannot exist. I am proud of the work that I have done to reinvigorate the focus of the strategic directions of the board of the OCA. I thank all the board members and, in particular, the Chair Ms Jan Ferguson, for taking on the challenge and the leadership that they continue to show not only to the OCA but also to the minister in particular.

I have also commenced a process to encourage the local government sector to be more bold so it can build its already significant contribution to South Australia's economic growth. An important component of this was the development of a partnership accord between the state government and local government that would work to elevate significant council initiatives that have potential to build on the state's already significant economic growth.

The accord, when finished, will complement the role of the Premier's Coordinator-General so the machinery of government can prioritise agreed and significant projects proposed by councils. In a local government context, I have enjoyed the support of Mayor Dean Johnson, President of the Local Government Association, and I cannot thank Dean enough for his collaboration, honesty and transparency with me, and his honesty in our discussions. I also want to acknowledge the hard work of the Office of Local Government, led by Director Alex Hart.

As Minister for Regional Roads, I have been determined to drive as many of the 18,000 kilometres of state-maintained sealed roads as well as venturing, when possible, onto some of the 9,400 kilometres of our unsealed road network across our beautiful outback, and our beautiful state. I have spoken with all kinds of travellers far and wide, and they have always been keen to tell me about the roads they have travelled on—very much so—as we all talk about the roads we travel on.

When it comes to outback roads, I have come to understand the importance of local knowledge. I am very pleased to establish the Outback Roads Consultative Forum with this inaugural meeting next month convened by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport and the Outback Communities Authority.

As I have mentioned before in this place, the Intelligent Pavement Assessment Vehicle (iPAVe 3) has undertaken groundbreaking survey work now over 80 per cent of our sealed regional roads, gathering never-before-seen data to better inform the department and state's regional roads maintenance program.

I am very proud of my achievements in the Veterans Affairs portfolio, and supporting the brave men and women who wear our nation's uniform continues to be a priority for this government and all South Australians. During this term of government, we have seen some great outcomes for veterans and their families, including:

$2.075 million in new funding to enable the creation of the Veteran Community Security Framework, consisting of a comprehensive outreach program and veterans and family growth support program;

the inclusion of an identifier tick box on education admission forms to ensure that children of veterans and ADF members receive adequate support at school—I thank the Minister for Education very sincerely for that; it was a challenge, we got it through and it is there for those children coming in and being transferred;

the installation of a Thailand paver on the ANZAC Centenary Memorial Walk—it has been a great opportunity and very emotional, with Chook Fowler (the last POW of Thailand) being the instigator of that. I had great opportunities to have a lot to do with Chook. Unfortunately, the Premier and I were at his funeral—a man who will be remembered for a long time;

the successful delivery of the Adelaide pilot Cowork Coplay program, to support partners of ADF veterans pursue meaningful employment activities and build community connections;

the relocation of the Legacy Club of South Australia and Broken Hill to the Torrens Parade Ground; and

the announcement of 19 October as War Widows Day in South Australia.

There is, of course, more work to be done—there is no denying that—and the final report in September of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide will be instrumental in guiding future policy in the Veterans Affairs space.

Thank you to Chantelle Bohan from Veterans SA; Rob Manton and members of the Veterans' Advisory Council; Dave Peterson and Cheryl Cates—Dave Peterson is the new president of the RSL and Cheryl was the previous president when I became the minister; and Graham Ingerson and Rob Eley from Legacy, just to name a few of the many hundreds of veterans who have supported me over the last two years.

I am confident that all members of this house are determined to support the women and the men who have worn our nation's uniform, whose service and sacrifices have preserved our way of life that we enjoy today. I will continue to support our veteran community and will cherish the friendships I have made with our veterans and their families over the past two years. That has been very emotional at times. As with most people, I get very involved with their challenges and their issues, and sometimes one just has to listen to those people to understand what their trauma is and, once they have been able to talk about these issues, they feel they have been listened to. I have spent many hours on many occasions with some of these people.

I say farewell as minister. However, in my work as a local member of parliament representing the people of Stuart—work that I love and will continue—I will always put my best foot forward in their interests. I have always endeavoured to work collaboratively in the public interest with all who are willing to work with me, and I look forward to continuing to do so with everyone in this house. I have made quite clear every time that I am quite happy to work with everybody in this house to get the final result we want for our communities, which is the best for our communities and their future generations.

I thank my dedicated staff for the past two years. This is the hardest part of leaving a position: the welfare and continuation of my staff. That has always been uppermost in my mind. I would like to say thank you very much to my family. They have been very supportive of me, not only from 2014 to 2018 when I was a minister but as a backbencher from 2018 to 2022 and over the last two years.

It is a great privilege to be a minister in any government, but to be a minister in my role as an Independent is absolutely fantastic. I have to honestly say that my family are the ones who have suffered. When I say suffered, I do not mean physically, but they do not see me as much. My family is very important to me. I love my family. I want to do as much time as I can, but I want to provide in this house, for many years to come, some sort of service for their welfare and their generational comeback.

In closing, I thank everybody for their support. I know we have had arguments, but we are here for one reason and that is our communities. Again, I cannot thank the Premier enough for giving me the opportunity. As I said, my health is of the utmost importance for me and to my family. I congratulate everybody. I will not go anywhere, but I will not be sitting in this position.

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