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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-11-27 Daily Xml
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Private Members' Statements

Private Members' Statements

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (15:41): Today, I would like to use this opportunity to share with the house the success of the Unley Rotary Club's opportunity shop on Unley Road. It has been in various locations since the 1970s—I think it was first established in 1973—predominantly on Unley Road but has been on other roads in Unley, such as Glen Osmond Road. Currently, it is at 130 Unley Road and is open six days a week, 10am to 4pm.

I have the great privilege of working as an emergency fill-in every now and then, when an email goes around when somebody has called in sick or they are not able to meet their regular roster. If my diary is free at that time, I am always happy to jump in and go back to my roots as a shopkeeper on Unley Road. There is no doubt that you meet so many people from the neighbourhood but you also learn more about the good work that Unley Rotary does with the money that it raises. It contributes in excess of $30,000 a year on top of the other fundraising for projects that they do for children in particular, not just local children but children around the world.

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:43): I rise with exciting news for our electorate, that being that our health petition inquiry is finally open and accepting submissions. It was some two and a bit years ago that we launched our petition and secured nearly 11,000 signatures from constituents right across my electorate who were decrying the fact that our local health system is not operating to a standard at which they expect it to operate, so it is really exciting that this is now open. We congratulate and thank the Economic and Finance Committee on their work in that.

This petition languished on the bottom of the Legislative Review Committee for quite some time, but it is now open and I encourage each and every one of those people who signed the petition to now take the time, please, to write a submission to the committee. I am keen for everyone to make a submission. I want to hear stories about the good things that have happened in our local hospital so that we can encourage more of it. I want to hear about the experiences that people may have had that left something to be desired so that we can improve upon them. I want to hear from people who regularly travel long distances to access services that they think should be provided locally, those sorts of straightforward services. We acknowledge that we are not going to get neurosurgeons coming to the Wallaroo Hospital, but I want to hear about those sorts of straightforward services that people think should be provided locally. I would like for them to feature as part of the submissions.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if you are our local health networker in our region who feels that they have something to offer this inquiry, then please make a submission. You can do so anonymously. It will be most valuable, and I think it would be a tremendous addition. I am hoping the committee comes out to our part of the world to hear directly from people in due course, but in the meantime please make a submission. It is vitally important for our regional health system.

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (15:45): I rise with a great degree of concern about the latest development or, you could say, lack of development regarding telecommunications access in the west of my electorate. Telstra recently sought to improve access to reliable phone services by installing a new mobile tower at Ceduna south, but this application has run into a problem. The tower, which is vital for allowing the Ceduna community and surrounding areas to be connected successfully, got approvals through the local government funding stream approved for the Telstra processes, only to have their proposal rejected by the Native Vegetation Council.

The existing native veg laws are overbearing, preventing much development in our regional areas, not just when it comes to housing but, seemingly now, in just basic infrastructure. Mobile phone coverage should not be a luxury. Rather, it is an essential these days, and to have it bogged down by state government regulation, legislation and bureaucracy is a kick in the guts for my community. It is not good enough. I am grateful to Telstra for their efforts in trying to help Ceduna and the West Coast to stay connected, and I will continue to work with them to deliver this important piece of infrastructure but also call on the Minister for the Environment to show some common sense. Please, talk to your department, ensure that the West Coast, the people of Ceduna and surrounds, are not further disadvantaged.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:46): I am proud to be a member of the Australian Services Union, the ASU. In fact, I have been a union member since my very first job back when I was at university working in video stores. The ASU held their national conference at Adelaide Oval earlier this month. It was an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of workers in social and community services, local government, energy, airlines and the public and private sectors. These achievements include portable long service leave, family and domestic violence leave, a just transition for energy workers and so many other wins for this large union.

The conference heard from a variety of panels regarding challenges and campaigns ahead, including the Skilled Respected Equal campaign for social and community services. These workers deserve to have their skills respected, experience valued and equal pay protected. Additionally, they have campaigned for building climate safe communities, securing reproductive health leave for all workers and supporting local government workers.

It was fantastic to see the new national secretary, Emeline Gaske, lead the conference. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank state secretary, the amazing Abbie Spencer, and assistant secretary, Scott Cowen, and the whole union team for their hard work to make sure that this conference was successful, and I give solidarity to all ASU members.

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