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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-05-13 Daily Xml
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Bills

Supply Bill 2025

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:54): Resuming my supply contribution, I was talking about the opportunities within trade and the challenges, particularly here in South Australia, of living on the land, dealing with the vagaries of the seasonal changes and, sadly, the drought that the majority of South Australia is currently experiencing.

I did talk about the US tariffs, and I did talk about the opportunities I think that will present to our commodities, to our industries, particularly into the US. However, it is also giving us the opportunity to create greater relations with other trading partners that are also impacted by increased tariffs by the USA. Again, we talk about China; the majority of that headwind has disappeared, but it has changed. COVID has changed the world. Consumption of beverage is continuing to decline and, as I said, year on year it is about 7 per cent. That is going to have a significant impact on entry level wine, and the majority of that product comes out of the Riverland, which is really experiencing a very tough and uncertain future.

Some of the other challenges we are facing that I think the state government has gone missing on is shipping and the challenges of those shipping lines. There are four main shipping lines globally and one has said that it will not come below the equator, but what we are seeing now is that a lot of those shipping lines are not heading to Adelaide. We are having to move freight over to the Port of Melbourne, and that is adding cost to our exporters, it is adding a level of complexity, just like the container shortage is.

Touching on some of the other issues that I am really concerned about, we have a state government that continues to prioritise Adelaide. The freight corridor is looking like it is on ice at the moment. The Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass is a piece of infrastructure that will be timesaving, productivity saving, that will give production and efficiency gains. It is absolutely paramount that that Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass be started; it does not have to be finished all in one go, but it needs to be started.

Just like the Truro freight bypass, the majority of the freight that comes along the Sturt Highway out of the Riverland, and from the eastern seaboard, needs to have an easier passage down to the port, down to the distribution centres. It is also somewhat galling that this current state government continues to ignore the condition of our regional roads. Rather than building highways and doing upgrades on significant roads what we are seeing is that they are fixing a few potholes but nothing else.

The regional support in South Australia is ailing. Health, PATS, the education system have been put on the backburner in preference to Labor seats sandbagging in what is now a detriment to regional South Australia.

Time expired.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:57): I would like to speak briefly in support of the Supply Bill, and in doing so just highlight some of the expenditure that has been undertaken in my current electorate. I would also like to highlight some of the expenditure either undertaken or planned to be undertaken in the broader region.

I am proud to say that all the election commitments I made, and the Labor Party then in opposition made before coming into government, will be delivered in this term of government. In fact, all but two have already been delivered, with one currently under construction and one, I have been informed today, that will be fully constructed by November this year. It is important to highlight those projects, because I think they are important for the community.

There are a broad range of projects which deliver a whole range of services across health, safety, and recreation. There are also opportunities about sport, etc. These are all things that actually improve the wellbeing of our community, and I would just like to talk about some of the highlights.

During this term, in partnership with the Gawler council we have been able to deliver a new netball court facility. The state government invested $4.8 million and in partnership with the Gawler council, who undertook to manage and deliver the project, we now have a new netball centre with 10 brand-new courts. They are important.

First of all, the existing courts were of a quality which meant they could not have competitions on the site—the local club was not able to host events there in Gawler. These new courts are of an Australian standard, which means they can hold regional events and other events there, which is really important not only from a sporting and recreation point of view but also for attracting visitors to the town. It is also a facility which will hopefully attract more young women and girls to play sport on weekends and at other times.

One of the projects that is currently under construction is the new car park and kiss and drop adjacent to Mark Oliphant College, in conjunction and partnership with the City of Playford. This particular project will enable a safer place to drop off children near the school and also remove some of the congestion along some of the roads near Mark Oliphant College. Sadly, when we build schools we do not seem to cater for the needs of children being picked up and dropped off and for people to park.

This $2.5 million project not only will serve the school but, more importantly, is part of a bigger plan to develop a sporting precinct adjacent to the college. This car park will have a dual purpose, which means that every dollar we spend goes a lot further and serves that community. As I said, that project is currently under construction and I understand should be ready for use around August or September this year.

This car park and kiss and drop is just adjacent to the recently opened Newton Boulevard Road, the extension of Newton Boulevard from the existing development to Stebonheath Road. You might think, 'What's the importance of just a road being opened up?' It is really important because it actually connects two communities—the Munno Para community and the Munno Para West community—in a more direct manner.

This enables people living in Munno Para West, which is in the south-western part of my electorate, and also parts of Taylor to connect to a whole range of important social infrastructure. For example, people can access the local schools, local shops and the health centre without having to actually traverse Curtis Road.

From the point of view of access, it is going to improve access but also it is a much safer route. That was officially opened only yesterday and will be a well-received road extension. That road extension is also part of a bigger picture, which is to provide more affordable housing in that area, so certainly in the northern areas of this state we are delivering on housing to make sure that we do our part as much as we can to reduce the housing crisis.

One of the things that is under construction as well, and will hopefully be opened by the Minister for Emergency Services in the near future, is the new SES station in Willaston. Even though the station has not opened, it is doing gangbusters when it comes to volunteers—they actually have a record number of volunteers for this particular station.

The station will service those areas in between where existing services are available at Salisbury and Kapunda. The huge influx of volunteers means that we can help that community to meet the challenges of the impact of climate change in terms of weather and extreme weather, and they also do quite a bit of work in rescue and road accidents. It is good to see this facility being built, after a long campaign by some volunteers from the Salisbury SES, and it is great that we have invested over $4 million to build this facility.

Again, talking in terms of health and safety, under construction at the moment is also the new ambulance station at Willaston, which was a commitment made by the government that we are delivering on. There is a whole range of things happening in my electorate at the moment, which actually shows this government's commitment to the wellbeing of our community and, in particular, the commitment to my electorate.

Again, along the lines of health and wellbeing and also in the context of sport and recreation, recently we officially opened the new change rooms at the Karbeethan Reserve, which is a $1 million investment by the state government in sport and recreation. It was important for a whole range of reasons. The existing clubrooms were quite inadequate, having been built some decades ago, and there were no facilities for women to change in the existing centre.

This new centre enables both girls and young women to have an appropriate facility in which to change and not have to go home or change in cars, etc. If we are to encourage people, particularly young people, to participate in sport, which is important, we need to make sure we have the facilities to match. I understand from the president of the soccer club, which is probably the major beneficiary of the facility, that it is working well and is greatly appreciated by the hundreds of people who actually play sport in my electorate.

We also invested during this term over $680,000 for some major pedestrian works at what we call the Redbanks roundabout. That was predominantly to make a safer route for all those students who go to Xavier College to traverse this area: those who catch buses nearby, get picked up or walk home.

Unfortunately, previous governments said the standards were sufficient enough, but when you see young people walking between trucks and cars you get the impression that they were not; it was more by luck than design that nobody was actually seriously injured. This pedestrian crossing investment has made it much safer and by all reports students are doing the right thing and are using it. The college is very happy with it. The council again partnered with the government to deliver the project and we made the investment.

When building new housing areas, we do it better today. However, in the past we have built homes but often we have not built the infrastructure to support those communities. One of my communities that was in that category was the Reid community. There is a whole range of areas. It is a reasonably isolated community, but it had no infrastructure for children. That was identified through a number of surveys in that community, that the need for a playground facility and equipment was probably a high priority. The government has invested $600,000 in a new playground facility. Again, it was helped to be delivered in conjunction with the Town of Gawler.

At this point I would like to personally congratulate and thank the staff and management in the Town of Gawler's works department who have done a sterling job in not only managing projects but working closely with my office and other government agencies to make sure they have actually consulted and delivered the projects that the community wanted. This playground has been an extremely successful playground. It is used constantly and the parents are very happy.

One of the projects regarding equity and safety is the building of a new car park and kiss and drop next to the Tambelin Railway Station. That, I understand, is now going to tender, the tender closes at the end of this month, and that project will be delivered later this year. Again, we are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The project has actually come in a little bit higher than the original estimate some five years ago. There are a whole range of factors that have lead to that increase, but the government has honoured that commitment and actually made an additional contribution to the council to deliver this project.

The costs went up because the project itself was rescoped to make it a better project. For those people who understand civil costs and building costs, these were quotes made pre-pandemic; there were occasional increases since then. This will deliver a much safer parking area, encourage people to park and ride on our public transport and the train provides a major network to the city but also has improved facilities for people living with disability and also an improved area where buses can actually drop off students and pick up other passengers next to the station. Safety will be improved by additional lighting. At the moment it is just an unmade road. It will be sealed and therefore it will be much better for all the users and will encourage people to use it.

One of the projects that is about to go to tender for building is one where the process has been a little bit drawn out but I think is worth mentioning. I would also like to acknowledge, before I start on this one, the contribution made by the SES management to this project. The SES identified some land that was surplus to their needs and were happy to make it available for community use.

Part of that land was being used by the local Apex club for their facilities, meeting hall and storage. To their credit, the Gawler Apex Club were happy to share the actual site with two other organisations for community use. They are the Gawler car club—its official title is much longer but for brevity I will just say the Gawler car club—and the Black Ops garage. The Black Ops group helps men predominantly who have returned from service overseas who are finding it hard to cope with the trauma of having been involved in a conflict. That is nothing new but it is something that we need to address better.

There are a whole range of different models to support returned service personnel and this garage is where men, if you like, tinker with things and while they tinker with a whole range of things, as the name suggests in the garage, they benefit from the interaction with other men but also the interaction of actually talking through their issues. This garage will be built this year and it will be a great facility for that group. Until now they have been operating from somebody's backyard in a tin shed, so this group will actually be able to grow and provide a better service to our returned service personnel.

I would also like to acknowledge as part of that project the contribution made by Gawler Rotary Club who have supported this project and the former president of the Gawler Rotary Club who works for an engineering company that has provided enormous support. Mark has provided enormous support for this project and I would like to say that, if it were not for his involvement, this project would actually not be in the state it is now.

The other part of the project is the Gawler car club. They are funding their own development but the land is being made available through a long-term lease through the SES and they have now set up a separate managing committee to manage the site, ABC Incorporated, and that reflects the Apex club for A, the Black Ops for B and the car club for C. They will jointly manage the site and this will become a community hub in Gawler to service and support hundreds of individuals and people in our community. By working together through this grant of $250,000 to the Black Ops group, we are able to make our contribution not only to our returned servicemen but to other people in our community.

In terms of some smaller projects, we have contributed $81,000 to the Bacton Street Reserve at Evanston, $15,000 to upgrade the Gawler West play area and also an additional $30,000 for the Nolan Reserve in Munno Para. These grants are designed to provide, again, both recreation and also wellbeing in these areas. They are designed to provide cover for these playgrounds so kids can actually play safely when it is hot in terms of SunSmart play. Those things are really important.

One of the other contributions we made in conjunction with both the council and also the federal government was to upgrade one of the existing play areas adjoining Apex Park to make it much more disability friendly, particularly in terms of autism. This park has now been redesigned to enable all children, irrespective of their ability, to participate and have fun there. It has a really strong focus on nature, and therefore young people can actually have a greater sense of fun.

These are the some of the things which we have been able to deliver in this electorate, and I am proud to say that I have been able to support these projects. Also, more importantly, every commitment, every promise, made by this government to that community has been or is in the process of being delivered, and by the time the next election comes they will all have been delivered 100 per cent. It was interesting to note that some of these programs were actually criticised by those in opposition, though I thought that honouring a commitment was not something you would oppose but applaud.

The other thing I would just like to also mention very quickly is in terms of the greater region. The region to the north of my current electorate is doing it really tough because of the drought conditions. I would like to commend the government for making a range of funding available to assist farmers and, in assisting farmers, also assisting small businesses, sporting groups and other community organisations. It is really important to understand that when farmers—whether it is agriculture, viticulture; it does not matter what type of activity they are in—are not doing well those communities which serve them also do not do well.

So it is not only the farmers who actually do it tough; it is all the small businesses that do not have the cash flow because the farmers are not spending the money, it is the sporting groups that do not have the sponsors and, often, it is the people who actually do not have the money to actually be involved in sport. So it is not only the farming communities but also those communities throughout the area that are doing it tough.

That is why a range of programs and grants have been introduced specifically for the drought-affected areas. Only last night the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing from the other place was in Riverton with me, and we were meeting with a whole range of sport and recreation groups to explain to them the grants which are available and how, also, they can access those. Those groups are now doing it tough because the local economies are doing it tough, and therefore as a result we need to support them.

Importantly, they are not competitive processes. If you are eligible and meet the criteria, you actually get the grant. The idea is to make it simple. A lot of community organisations often get burdened by the amount of paperwork they are required to fill in for small amounts of money, but these grants make a difference and in the end government is about supporting our communities for their safety and wellbeing.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (16:18): I rise to speak in support of the Supply Bill and to highlight some of the initiatives of the Malinauskas Labor government in my electorate and also in my portfolio areas of responsibility. It has been an absolute honour and privilege to serve as Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs and Minister for Arts over the last three years. I have had the privilege of being able to enrich the lives of our community through our state's cultural life, while also enacting policies to protect our community and our small businesses.

Firstly, I am pleased to share with the house our recent announcement within arts, and that is the long-awaited South Australian cultural policy A Place to Create. This has been the culmination of the thoughts and ideas of more than 2,000 passionate artists, creatives, organisations, institutions, businesses and actually, most importantly, everyday people in our local communities. This policy stands on three pillars: (1), to strengthen our communities; (2), to enliven our places; and (3), to connect us through arts, culture and creativity.

A Place to Create will ensure all South Australians can participate and benefit from artistic, cultural and creative expression. Our state is a world leader that supports and celebrates home-grown artists and creatives, cultivating their careers through every stage of development. The arts, culture and creative industries sector enriches the lives of every South Australian and this policy will drive arts in South Australia forward for many years to come.

A Place to Create reflects the state government's commitment to supporting artists and creative practitioners, those people who are the heart of our state's cultural life. The policy outlines a vision for ensuring we have thriving arts organisations, cultural institutions and cultural businesses, with $81 million being invested initially to support the ambitions of this landmark policy. That includes $13 million of new money over four years to support the delivery outcomes that build upon the existing $149 million annual budget.

The policy will be realised through a series of short-term delivery plans, the first of which covers 2025 and 2026 and will include a First Nations first approach with more than $2.3 million being invested to support our First Nations artists and increase opportunities for children and young people, with a $2½ million investment to develop their creativity through Carclew, the Adelaide Youth Orchestras and a new fantastic interactive experience for children being built at the State Library of South Australia.

We are boosting music by injecting $1½ million into original local music and live music venues. Artists will be directly supported with more than $1 million to increase grants and funding programs and $15 million will be invested to support our beloved Art Gallery of South Australia to bring world-class programs and build new audiences. Further, we are providing an in-kind contribution of $4 million of land to establish the new creative hub at the Adelaide Central School of Art on the back of the federal Albanese government's $7 million investment in the project.

There are many more exciting initiatives and I encourage everyone to read the full delivery plan that goes hand in hand with A Place to Create. I want to thank everyone at the CreateSA team who has been part of building and forming this incredible policy. I look forward to working with the sector to realise the potential of arts and culture and creative industries and to share in the benefits with all South Australians.

I turn to my portfolio of Consumer and Business Affairs. I would like to discuss the government's investment aimed at stamping out the elicit tobacco and vape trade. I have spoken about this many times. I will continue to do so because the Malinauskas government is serious about protecting our communities. Today, I want to focus on the work in our regional areas and I want to note the member for Stuart who has been and continues to be a hardworking advocate for his constituency in the regions across our state.

We are not alone in this fight. We are not the only state dealing with this threat, but we are determined to be at the forefront and show everyone that the sale of elicit tobacco and vapes is not welcome here in South Australia. The Malinauskas government is cracking down on these elicit products in conjunction with the Albanese Labor government. As you might be aware, Mr Acting Speaker, on 1 July 2024, new national legislation came into effect banning the retail sale of non-therapeutic vapes, making it illegal for retailers. Alongside this, our government passed our own suite of legislative changes to position our state to tackle this unlawful trade.

We have identified that this trade is not isolated to the metropolitan area but has made its way into our regions. CBS has undertaken over 100 inspections in regional and remote areas. Of all inspections conducted by CBS, more than 21 per cent have been conducted in our regions and 38 of those regional inspections have resulted in seizures by CBS, with a total street value of more than $2.8 million.

I am pleased to inform the house and the member for Stuart that as a result of 36 inspections conducted by CBS and SAPOL in the Port Augusta, Port Pirie and Whyalla regions—and the member here would appreciate this—five interim closure orders were issued, one was in Risdon Park, two were in Port Augusta and two were in Whyalla.

As a result of these inspections and closures, CBS and SAPOL have seized more than 1.3 million cigarettes, over 400 kilograms of loose tobacco and over 800 vapes. These seizures have taken more than $1.3 million worth of illicit products from our regional streets, taking the total seized by CBS and SAPOL in the regions to over $6.6 million. We are tackling this problem head on. In fact, since 1 July 2024, CBS has conducted about 500 inspections across metro Adelaide and the regions. About $30 million worth of illicit tobacco and vapes has been seized by CBS and SAPOL.

In early February, CBS had its single biggest haul in which it seized more than $1 million worth of illicit product from a single business in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. Furthermore, the Adelaide CBD is a particular area of interest for the CBS. Of all the suburbs across the city, CBS has undertaken the greatest number of inspections in the Adelaide CBD, including 32 inspections in the CBD and multiple premises in the West End.

Since these provisions commenced on 13 December 2024, I have issued 33 interim closure orders to businesses, and we have had two successful long-term closure orders approved by the Magistrates Court driving home the message that the Malinauskas government will not tolerate the sale of illicit tobacco and vape products in our communities. Our government is committed to this important issue, and I am always happy to update the house on this very important topic.

As I have said many times in this place, small businesses are the driving force of the South Australian economy. We have around 160,000 small businesses, comprising nearly 98 per cent of all businesses in the state. In fact, 13,000 new businesses have opened since we came into government. Together, they generate $49 billion for our economy and employ almost 40 per cent of our workforce.

Since I established the Office for Small and Family Business, we have achieved some incredible milestones. I am very proud to say we have had over 10,000 businesses through our programs, covering everything from business fundamentals and sustainability to cybersecurity and mental health. One program I am especially passionate about is our $4 million Women in Business program. As someone who has been a small business owner, I understand that there are particular challenges and barriers faced by women who want to start and run—and grow, in fact—their own businesses. That is why the Women in Business election commitment was key for us, and why we are investing in and empowering women to succeed in their businesses.

Through our Women in Business Program, we are providing coaching, tailored mentorship and peer networks to help female business owners grow and scale. Our Women in Business Foundations Program, being delivered by the Adelaide Business Hub, focuses on building management skills and expanding into new markets.

Meanwhile, our Women in Business Advisory Program, delivered by Behind Closed Doors, offers one-on-one coaching, group coaching and mentorship for women leading high-growth businesses, helping them strengthen their leadership and entrepreneurial skills. This year, I was thrilled to expand the Women in Business Advisory Program, to introduce a fully funded First Nations stream, offering tailored coaching and mentoring. So far, this $4 million investment has supported over 3,100 women to build their businesses and chase their goals, and we are just getting started.

Our inaugural Small Business Week last year was a huge success. We had over 1,400 registrations and held over 30 events, workshops, and we had a full-day small business expo. I am very excited to say that planning is well underway for this year's Small Business Week—mark it in your diaries—being held on 22 to 26 September, right across Adelaide and in our regions.

We understand that energy costs are a big concern for small businesses at the moment. That is why last year we announced a $20 million Energy Efficiency Grants program through round 2 of the Treasurer's Economic Recovery Fund. These grants, ranging from $2,500 to $50,000, matched dollar for dollar, help small businesses invest in energy-efficient equipment like solar panels, batteries and energy-saving appliances. We received almost 1,400 applications, well surpassing $30 million worth of grants being applied for. Given the huge demand, with the approval of the Treasurer—which I am grateful for—we decided to remove the round 2 cap to allow all eligible applications to be considered.

So far, over 1,000 applications have been approved for a total grant value of more than $23 million at the moment. These grants are estimated to provide an energy cost saving of over $24 million per annum for our business sector—that is over $24 million back in the pockets of South Australian small businesses each and every single year.

We are also standing shoulder to shoulder with the Whyalla community during this tough time. To support local businesses impacted by the uncertainty at the steelworks, we quickly announced the Whyalla Small Local Business Support Grant program, offering $10,000 grants to businesses that faced a drop in their turnover. We have already delivered $370,000 to local businesses there and I have heard firsthand the positive impact that this program is having. We also introduced the SA Business Creditor Assistance Scheme, helping businesses that were owed money by OneSteel by covering debts up to $5 million per creditor.

Whyalla businesses are being prioritised and, as of last month, in April, we approved over $14 million worth of grants. On top of the financial supports, I made sure there was support for businesses on the ground in Whyalla. We made sure there was a business support officer from the Office for Small and Family Business there on the ground to assist businesses with access to government services and supports. The Attorney-General in the other place and I have expanded the Legal Services Commission in Whyalla to provide free on-the-spot legal advice for small businesses.

We have also made some important changes to strengthen the role of the Small Business Commissioner's office. We made amendments to the Small Business Commissioner Act that were passed through the parliament last November and will come into effect later this year. These changes give the commissioner broader powers to compel mediation where needed, not just for industries covered by existing codes but across all sectors.

On top of that, we are ensuring a faster, more straightforward way to enforce agreements made through the commissioner's mediation process. Businesses will be able to go straight to the Magistrates Court to enforce agreements without having to relitigate the whole issue. It is about providing certainty, saving time and keeping legal costs down so that small businesses can focus on running their businesses and not fighting in courts. While we are working hard behind the scenes to support businesses, it is great to see others recognising our efforts too, with the Business Council of Australia naming South Australia the best place to do business across the country for two years running.

We also lead the nation for hospitality growth, with the latest quarterly ABS data showing SA had the highest net restaurant and cafe openings. We had 141 restaurant and cafe openings in the 2023-24 financial year, and this represents that an incredible 28 per cent of all restaurants and cafes opened around the country were opened here in South Australia. In fact, since the 2022 election, as I mentioned, there are now 13,000 more small businesses operating in South Australia. We have major investments underway, from building homes to delivering infrastructure projects and bringing major events, and our government is making sure that South Australia is buzzing with opportunity.

As someone who has walked the small business journey, I know it is not easy and there are highs and lows, but ultimately it is hard work and perseverance that shapes your success. In terms of now being in government, being able to work with the small business sector very closely has been something that we have seen success with, and that is what we are seeing right across South Australia with the improvements that we have made in the last three years.

Lastly, I want to speak to some of the initiatives that the Malinauskas government has delivered in my electorate of Enfield. Recently, the Minister for Education and I officially opened the $21 million Roma Mitchell Sports Academy gym. The new facility has a two-court gymnasium of international competition standard, change rooms, additional classrooms, teacher prep areas, a first-aid room, a canteen and a cafeteria.

It will accommodate an additional 180 students, which increases the total school capacity to 2,114, and it provides a world-class indoor venue for students and also for the local community to utilise. I know the school has a really great relationship with its neighbour, Football SA, which will utilise the space to help train our future soccer superstars.

I want to acknowledge and thank principal Toni Carellas for her leadership and all the wonderful staff for their hard work in helping see this project come to fruition. Toni's commitment and hard work does not stop there. She is very keen to further enhance the school offering and plans for a performing arts centre, and I am keen to advocate alongside her and the school community.

We committed to a number of projects across the Enfield electorate to address some of the inequities and provide a pathway forward for a number of our community groups. I really want to see more young women playing sports, and that is why we are improving access to sporting facilities and opening up new opportunities for young women to become involved in team sports for not only physical but also mental, social and broader wellbeing benefits.

I had the pleasure to officially open the Blair Athol Reserve upgrade, which is home to the Kilburn Football and Cricket Club. A $750,000 election commitment has transformed the facility with upgrades to change rooms, female toilets, a new digital scoreboard, upgrades to the bar and social area, and new tables and chairs. A fresh coat of paint has given the facility a new look, and many minor upgrades have helped make this community facility a really wonderful space for everyone to enjoy, and there is a really good buzz around the club at the moment. The investment has helped to create a safer and more welcoming environment for everyone to get involved in their local sporting club.

The Broadview Oval Community and Sports Hub opened early last year and the new facilities offer our community a wonderful space to connect. The government, along with the City of Prospect and Broadview Football Club, invested over $5 million to build the function centre, change room facilities and clubrooms to cater for cricket and football activities. The multipurpose facility is great for community functions, weddings, networking events—and I have even myself used the facility for my community forums.

While we have made significant investments in our sporting clubs' infrastructure, the Malinauskas government has also doubled the Sports Vouchers program and expanded it to include musical programs, dancing, and learning to play instruments as well. We are very pleased to be able to expand that program and we know how valued it is. I was also able to commit $125,000 to my community in Walkley Heights for the upgrade of the RM Williams Drive Reserve, which officially opened last year. The upgrades include a new inclusive play space with additional play equipment, shelter, picnic area and shade sail.

The Malinauskas government's investment has seen a significant increase in the usage of the playground and, as a result, the City of Salisbury has decided to invest additional money for the construction of public toilets and a dog park. I want to thank the City of Salisbury staff and elected members for their support of this project.

My electorate office recently moved into the Lightsview Village centre, which is located on Folland Avenue, and that is exactly where the Lightsview Go Zone bus service operates. This was also an election commitment, and I want to thank the Minister for Transport for helping us to see this come to life. In fact, we have had increased patronage of some 44 per cent from July 2023 to July 2024, thanks to the Go Zone. Of course, we are offering free public transport for seniors at all times, and that is a great initiative of the Malinauskas government, something that I am really proud of.

I was very pleased to be able to establish the Go Zone running from Lightsview through to the city, and we are making significant investments in our public transport system. I am very grateful to be able to represent my local community to work towards putting measures in place to improve my electorate and to make sure that we have a better future for the people of Enfield. With that, I commend this bill to the house.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (16:38): I also rise to speak on the Supply Bill. I guess I come from an electorate that has been more than generously funded. The amount of assistance provided in both Whyalla and Port Augusta has been significant, but especially in Whyalla given the challenges we faced with GFG and the steel industry—a package of $2.4 billion in order to support the steelworks, the mines and, indeed, the broader community and the contractor base in Whyalla.

It has been said before that what happened in this parliament with that particular bill was unprecedented. Both the nature of the bill and the speed with which it was passed was, in a sense, unique. I do not think it has happened in any other parliament in Australia, a bill of this nature. Of course, you all know that the element of surprise was needed, and fortunately that element of surprise worked and enabled us to push the steelworks and the mines in Whyalla into administration.

I would like to acknowledge, when it comes to this $2.4 billion package, both the Premier and the Minister for Energy and Mining, and indeed the cabinet, given the incredibly important decision they had to make, as well as the Labor caucus. There are also a lot of people in my community who need acknowledgement: the union movement, our contractor base, the workers at the steelworks and the mines for the difficult period they went through and the uncertainty about the future.

This $2.4 billion package was massive, and to see the Albanese government join in partnership with the state government to provide a significant amount of funding was a wonderful thing indeed. The Prime Minister arrived in Whyalla on 20 February, and the Premier was there. We addressed contractors, we addressed a mass meeting of workers. I did say to the Prime Minister that I did not know how my family was going to compete: 20 February is my birthday, and here we were getting $2.4 billion for the community to sustain jobs, sustain the Whyalla community and sustain what is the last integrated steelworks in Australia that produces structural steel and rail. So 20 February was an incredibly big day, built on the big day the previous day and the events that occurred in this parliament.

Of that $2.4 billion, $1.9 billion will be available for a new owner, and it is encouraging to hear that companies are looking. There are always going to be one or two tyre kickers, but there are some very credible companies looking at what Whyalla has to offer. Indeed, Whyalla does have a lot to offer, albeit we do have an ageing steel plant. At the end of the day we have billions of tonnes of magnetite on our doorstep, we have a port, we have a workforce, and we have the industrial infrastructure in place.

There are a number of options when it comes to that $1.9 billion and that will, in part, be determined by whoever the new owner is. We did flag those options—electric arc furnace, direct reduction ironmaking, potential upgrade to the mill, and the potential need for gas supply infrastructure. If we are to make a transition, the odds are it will be to direct reduction ironmaking and an electric arc furnace and that, by its very nature, assumes the availability of gas at a price that makes the production of iron and steel viable.

A lot has been said about the hydrogen power plant. That was a difficult decision, but I think you have got to be principled and pragmatic, and that is what happened. The hydrogen power plant was essentially a peaking plant. It would have assisted to firm renewable energy capacity in South Australia, allowing further investment in renewable energy. However, for the hydrogen power plant itself, even though it was an enabling technology and it was getting our foot in the door when it came to producing hydrogen and the long term uses potential uses for that hydrogen, especially in the steel industry, that money, close to $600 million, had to go to supporting the steelworks.

When you look at a peaking power plant, the employment would be limited. Maybe for a modern peaking power plant we might be talking about 30 people or so, albeit there was enabling technology that would have allowed other developments to happen. But the various reports over recent years on the steel industry in Whyalla indicate a number of around 4,000 direct and indirect jobs supported by the steel industry in Whyalla. So in a sense, when it came to opportunity costs, it was a no-brainer decision that the money had to go into the steelworks.

That $1.9 billion is on the table for a potential new owner. With the period of administration, we are looking at $384 million to maintain the current plant. I know, and a lot of the people who work down at the plant know, that the place was being run into the ground when it came to critical maintenance. That $384 million will initially be spent on critical maintenance that needs to be done and, as part of that critical maintenance, addressing some of the issues around safety, which always has to be a priority. That $384 million is going to be money well spent, albeit on maintaining the current plant so it continues to operate until such time as a transition starts to happen.

One of the other elements of funding in that package was the $100 million to support businesses and community infrastructure in Whyalla. I was incredibly proud of the effort made to support the contractor base in Whyalla and further afield. We are essentially talking about the small contractor base: we are not talking about the Goldings of the world or the other big operators that are national or international companies. We are talking about an industrial ecosystem that has developed over many years in Whyalla, often small family-based businesses that have provided specialised services. A lot of those businesses were owed money—in some cases, a lot of money—by GFG.

During the previous administration, many of these businesses went through that whole cash flow issue, and at that time it was once again a Labor state government that stepped into the breach to provide support in the form of loans. The federal Liberal government, the Coalition, was absolutely nowhere to be seen when it came to providing that support for small businesses—we did. But there were some valuable lessons that were learned from that process. It was a good process; it worked—I think 19 companies at the time received support. But this time, we have decided to take a grants-based approach so that these companies are not having debt just hanging over them forever and a day.

I have to say, the intervention when it comes to the contractor base has been impressive. When I was there with the Premier on the morning of 20 February, we spoke to a large gathering of contractors of companies that were facing an existential threat to their futures. When the Premier went through what was on offer, there was initially silence. The Premier said, 'I thought you would be happy.' They were, but they were stunned about the degree of support that they were going to receive, so they burst into applause. A whole industrial ecosystem—in Whyalla and further afield, because there are other smaller or medium-sized South Australian companies involved—has now been incredibly supported.

There was also just over $32 million for infrastructure projects in Whyalla. I will not go into detail about all of them, but probably the most important was a partnership—once again, between the federal Albanese government and the state Malinauskas government—to ensure that we had an ongoing airport in Whyalla.

Qantas were shifting over to larger planes. This was a national process so there was no way we were going to get out of it, but the current airstrip could not sustain the nature of the planes that were going to be introduced. That required nearly $30-odd million in investment for the new runway and the various upgrades that were needed to accommodate the larger Qantas planes.

That was quite controversial in my community, but the consequences would have been that, if that money had not been made available, there would have been no commercial flights anywhere in the Northern Spencer Gulf, and the implications were very serious for businesses, for our health services. We would have seen the loss of visiting specialists—health services, in all probability—to Whyalla and indeed to Port Augusta, given that practitioners also fly into Whyalla to service Port Augusta. So the implications of the loss of that one remaining commercial service would have been very serious.

It is a pity that we still do not have two services. We did lose Rex, and I will not go into the arguments here, but it is never a good thing when you have got a monopoly. I think the Fels report, when it looked at gouging in the corporate sector, identified that with the airlines where there is no competition, and Qantas in particular, inevitably prices are higher. The prices at times to fly to and from Adelaide from Whyalla can be very high to the point where, as a local member I am not prepared to have the public pick up the cost of me flying. I now drive to and from Adelaide for parliament.

There is an issue there and I hope the current federal government—the previous one failed to address it and it has not been addressed yet by the federal government, but one way that the cost of a flight can be reduced is if the federal government agree to smear the security costs that they impose in small airports across the whole national aviation system.

We have been talking about cents, but what we are talking about when the burden is placed on a community like Whyalla, and other smaller communities, it is around about $40 to just cover the cost of security and there is a fundamental inequity there. I do acknowledge that the federal government generously came to the party to sustain a commercial airline flying into Whyalla, so that is a positive, but we need to address the cost of security.

There are a number of other initiatives. The job matching and skills hub have a $6 million hub for Whyalla that also services the region and there is the deferral of state taxes and the government business charges for companies in Whyalla that have faced some major challenges.

Clearly, there is a long way to go, but I have always argued that the underlying fundamentals in Whyalla are good on-the-line fundamentals. As I said, there are the billions of tons of magnetite on our doorstep in the Middleback Range, a port, and a port with the potential for expansion. And, of course, we had the announcement of the initiative today to legislate to ensure that GFG does not control the port. It is one of those things which could not be addressed in the legislation that we originally put through the parliament but which will now be addressed.

The situation was that one GFG company leased the port out to another GFG company and in so doing did not consult with the state government as required under the indenture . So we will take control of the port. I have always been a long-term advocate, going back over 20 years now, that the Whyalla Port is an underutilised strategic asset that, with the right investment, could do far more than what it does at the moment with potential customers in the north of the state, both as an export facility and an import facility. Indeed, there are already third-party users utilising the port but that could grow. It is good to see that the port is now going to be shifted into the hands of administration.

There are a number of other initiatives. Some of the important ones are in the health sector. The investments in the Whyalla Hospital and the Port Augusta Hospital are positives. I was a bit of a consistent writer to the previous government about the delays when it came to the response from ambulances to people often in dire need—no fault of that great workforce but it was the fault of being under-resourced. So a new ambulance station in Port Augusta, with additional crews, and that is now going to be replicated in Whyalla as well. I think the additional crews are about to start and we have it now, so it will be a new build in Whyalla to accommodate those additional crews.

We have seen smaller communities lose birthing services. We lost a birthing service in Whyalla due to internal factors and at the time I called on the support of the minister for an independent review to look at what happened. I acknowledge the work that has been done by a number of people in rebuilding that birthing service, and indeed we have some great midwives now. We had fantastic midwives before and we have some great midwives now, a couple of whom have come from the United Kingdom. They love Whyalla; they want to stay here.

One has bought a house but, because she does not have permanent residency, because they wanted to get her here as quickly as possible, the Foreign Investment Review Board has slugged her $40,000 for buying the house. They are treating it as a foreign investment, which it is not, it is her home. So we have written to the federal government about addressing that and it is my view that we need to address a range of issues when it comes to visas for skilled workers in Australia. Systems in place like Canada's seem to be far more efficient. I know that the current government, once it was elected over three years ago, started work on bringing the system up to scratch but it still has some way to go.

One of the other great announcements was regarding the historic wharf at Port Augusta, which has been fenced off now for years—an incredibly important attribute for that community with a fascinating history. The old photos of Port Augusta, looking down what was the main street and all the sailing boats, the clippers and the other boats that would service the agricultural industry and other industries are fascinating to look at. Now money has been allocated towards the wharf, once again in a partnership between the federal and state government, to get that wharf back in use close to the central business district so that that use can be maximised and turned into what could be a very attractive area indeed.

There is other funding. There is the ongoing funding for the Arid Lands Botanic Garden. That is $750,000 a year over a four-year period, so that is a real plus. There is a range of other projects that I would like to mention but I do not have the time.

Ms PRATT (Frome) (16:58): I rise to speak to the Supply Bill for 2025. It is certainly an important time in the parliamentary calendar to address what is the accountability for the government of the day and the parliament as we ensure that the machinery of government keeps working to deliver what we would say are essential services, and we do that until we bridge the gap until the next financial year's state budget is finalised. To support supply is to support South Australians who have to maintain their confidence in government services and certainly those services that they have funded as taxpayers. So it should be with great interest that not only do taxpayers pay attention to the conversations we are having here; we also have a duty to share with them our conversations on their behalf.

I have reflected on the matters relating to my electorate of Frome—next year it will be called Ngadjuri, but to bridge that divide the electorate of Frome, as it is now—and it is a pretty sombre picture. I know I am a glass-half-full kind of girl, and there are always positives to find: this is an opportunity to speak to government about their management of the financial year budget that we are operating in still and the needs of my communities. They are vast, they are disparate and they are different.

What I find as I reflect on the advocacy services and support that I provide my communities is that there is an underlying theme of a lack of safety or a question mark over standards and risk and how a lack of investment by government, particularly in its assets if not in its community, can lead to increased risk and a lack of safety.

There is no better example than to kick off with a reflection of some primary schools that I have strong connections to. I am deeply concerned when I visit schools. I see them in the country, which formed the better part of 15 years of a previous career for me: country schools that are in a state of disrepair, that are dilapidated and that are ignored or put in the too-hard basket by the department.

I will preface that by saying that our public servants who work in our agencies, particularly in the education department, are there because they are passionate about outcomes for students and outcomes for teachers. I have no question that the department is working towards investing in schools every day of the week. But we know the adage 'Squeaky wheels get the oil,' and I think the further we are from the city the more difficult it is to even find the trades and the local service centres that can support our schools; it is so centralised.

I have spoken previously about Two Wells Primary School, which concerned me greatly from a safety point of view, where students were definitely at risk of getting caught up in a game, chasing a ball out beyond an imaginary fence line and finding themselves in a rail corridor with no provision for a barrier that would keep them safe.

I am really proud that the parents and the caregivers of the Two Wells Primary School through 20 years of raising this matter have finally unlocked a great level of advocacy from members of parliament and a fence that is promised, which pleases me—and to speak on behalf of the Two Wells community, I note the pleasure and the delight they have taken in seeing the government commit $10 million to investing in a country school. We see it invested in city schools, and it is welcome. The former Minister for Education, John Gardner, oversaw record spending in our state assets—in our state schools—and it is important that that continues.

The Freeling Primary School had also raised concerns with me through the parents and the governing council as well as the principal. I met with them on site a number of times to observe something I had never seen in my previous teaching career, and that is the largest number of asbestos stickers I have ever seen on a site anywhere. That is not to say that there is not something that we can do about that.

Freeling Primary School has 10 transportables on site, 10 classrooms, and 70 per cent of them are littered with asbestos stickers. There has been a productive conversation I have been able to have with the current Minister for Education to demonstrate, firstly through his own staff and then a visit by the minister in person, that this is a school, again in the country, that needs significant investment.

We understand when there needs to be a staged approach but at the heart of these appeals to government—and it does not just take my advocacy—it is really disappointing that the tipping point for this government is when the local and mainstream media get involved, but the outcome is worth it. Investment from this government into government assets actually should not be commended; it is what they are meant to be doing. However, it is satisfying when we can achieve these outcomes and when we can unlock that from opposition by rocking up, by being advocates, by being available for the community, by identifying need—and who could possibly turn their back on safety issues in primary schools?

The third example just defies logic. I take this opportunity to implore the member for Wright, the Minister for Education, to fast track the department's attention on Manoora Primary School. They are a community without mains water. It is a rural remote township, a happy, thriving, proud, hardworking, football playing, MinMan supporting community, but the school and the students who attend this primary school do not have access to mains water.

At the moment, in drought conditions, things are exacerbated. As I have said before, bores are salty, dams are empty and there is great pressure on water carting at the moment. For this primary school, which has done everything it can to maintain its bore and have generators available and rainwater tanks on site—they have a fantastic veggie garden—when the bore is offline, when the power is out and the bore pump does not work, then we are talking about students in a state public school who cannot with dignity use the bathrooms and flush the toilets properly or have access to appropriate drinking water. Here are examples of how the government spends its money. I argue that in my community more can be done when it comes to managing a government asset.

Following on from my Freeling Primary School example, there are other things happening in Freeling around government assets that I think the government has turned its back on. The Freeling Country Fire Service, the CFS station, again is another legacy issue for this government where, through rotating ministers and a couple of letters here and there, we find that we are still waiting for any real sign that the Freeling community are going to be respected, the volunteers of the CFS are going to be respected enough to see the construction, delivery and handover of a four-bay station.

They continue to volunteer and train in a hay shed that has three sides to it and a lot of dust. Sadly, there is not much mud because there is no water. When we ask our volunteers to protect their communities, then I think they are entitled to provide that service with a degree of dignity. I again implore the latest Minister for Emergency Services to look closely at this site and progress that build. Volunteers like Captain Ricky Noakes, Neville Kernick, Gavin Schuster and advocates like Phillip Earle are really out of breath from begging.

This is a community that is one of many that will be sombrely marking the 10th anniversary of the Pinery bushfire that raged through the Adelaide Plains, Balaklava, Mallala, all the way up to the edges of the Barossa, and I know that as a state we will commemorate that time with them through this year. This is again a community that has demonstrated great need for these services.

Regional health also falls under the banner of safety standards escalating risk, and the non-operational helipads is a factor that has a lot of my colleagues scratching their heads. It is not just in this chamber where the government might think it is white noise and they do not need to listen to us: we stand representing 30,000 people at a time and across country SA there are a number of helipads that the government wants to politicise as being the hero for the next thing that needs to be upgraded.

CASA was very clear that helicopters would need to be upgraded and that, through load-bearing issues, helipads would then need to conform. We have seen that work, and I have asked the minister questions in this chamber to seek an update for my community at least about what appears to be a completed construction site but the helipad is still non-operational, and the safety risk as follows: on the weekend at Balaklava, a football match was interrupted because the chopper had to land in the middle of the oval. We are so lucky in our state to be looked after by our MedSTAR pilots, our paramedics, to have better facilities than most, but just a few minutes down the road at the hospital is a helipad that has been newly completed but is non-operational.

Thirty minutes towards the Clare Valley and it is the same story: the helipad at Clare Hospital remains completed and is non-operational. The helicopters are still landing out at the aerodrome, and we see that in Victor Harbor and we see it in Murray Bridge. The question I want to put to the government is: what is the hold-up? What is the industrial issue or the compliance flaw? Are the reports right that fencing that has been constructed around the helipad is too high? The helicopter pilots are concerned about risk to them and their patient, and so money that has been spent on fencing these helipads, perhaps to keep citizens safe, has really been a wasted investment and a false economy.

Communities are beside themselves at the idea of their loved one in the back of an ambulance being shuttled around between hospital, ambulance and chopper. In fact, the ambulance—if it had left Balaklava on the weekend—would have got to the Lyell McEwin faster than what was required to stabilise that patient and get them in a chopper. It does not make sense, and the government really needs to account for the non-operation of these helipads.

Another growing concern that I think speaks to safety for the community is mental health, particularly in the regions. I want to recognise, finally, the financial commitment that the government made to Lifeline Connect centres in Clare and Port Pirie of $250,000 that is to help their bottom line for the next 18 months. These are services that are life-saving, but they are living off crumbs. They are ably led by Rob Martin as the CEO, but funded by op shops around the state.

What makes me really sad is that our trained volunteers and our social workers who support these centres, which are no fee, no referral, walk-in support offered in business hours, are also having to find time to fundraise, to run raffles, to go to local country fairs, to set up stalls and to rattle the can to try to underpin their work. There is an opportunity ahead of us in the budget for us to see more money being invested in mental health. It is not just a service like Lifeline but it is also the anxiety that is bubbling away in regional communities where we continue to feel the impact of the drought, and that is not going away anytime soon.

We know it has not rained and we know that nothing can be done about that, but it is how governments and local members of parliament respond to those circumstances. I see an opportunity for more money to be invested in services closer to home and closer to where people live. That would go a long way to contributing to reducing the anxiety, the tension and the despair that some families are experiencing. There are real examples, like Safe Haven at Salisbury, or Lifeline in Clare and Pirie, or the fabulous work of the KM Foundation, as well as our Suicide Prevention Network, particularly the Mid North SPN in Jamestown. I thank them for the work that they do.

When it comes to the drought, the most recent relief package of $55 million showed a breakdown that $2½ million would be allocated to an immediate and comprehensive strategy for mental health services. What I am hearing from industry is that that is still being written. We have not seen the details, we do not know what it looks like and we do not know how people can access it. If we can understand how to support farmers with their day-to-day frustrations and worries, then I do believe we will also be able to alleviate some of the mental health pressures. One of my farmers recently corresponded with me in regard to the drought package, saying:

I have been waiting almost 13 weeks to hear back about the On-farm drought infrastructure rebate scheme, my dams are dry, and I am now relying on a well and I don't know how long that will last…If we are successful with the grant, we still may face a lengthy wait for the bore driller…We have no access to mains water at Manoora.

I thank Rob Willmott for being prepared to share into this chamber real-life examples of how the government might release or make funding available, but if it is not flowing back to our communities then for all intents and purposes it is Monopoly money.

Small business is struggling. They continue to feel the pain from persisting drought, and they are often the forgotten people. We are not seeing that discretionary spend. Main streets are hurting. I worry when I see a business make a decision to fold, but it is not even that. It is the business that continues to rack up debt hoping for better times to come. Clare has a lovely lady called Erin Pearce of Urban Fringe, and of course fabulous Buff Burn from Logo Co., both of whom have recently reported in the media slower spending at their Clare business.

There are a lot of issues that I think speak to the government absenting itself from its responsibilities by investing in the regions, and it is of deep concern. I think there is an opportunity for the budget coming forward to send a better message. I support the bill.

Ms O'HANLON (Dunstan) (17:18): Representing a community like Dunstan is both an immense privilege and a responsibility I take very seriously. The best part of this job is getting out and listening to people on the doorstep, at the shops, at school pickups, at local businesses and community events. It is where the real priorities come from and it is what should guide everything we do.

My community tells me they are very appreciative of how accessible I am, because my community likes to let me know what is on their mind, and I respect and, of course, encourage and welcome that. We are a community that is proud of its heritage, with strong values and a deep investment in the wellbeing of our people.

When I think about the role of government and what our work in this place is really about, I think about the people I meet every week in my electorate. I think about the families I see taking their kids to school, the local business owners who have been in the area for decades, the new businesses that regularly choose to open their business in our electorate, the people enjoying retirement and the young people thinking about their future and how they will get a start in life.

That is why the Supply Bill is so important, because it ensures that the essential services we all depend on—health, education, jobs, housing and more—continue. It keeps the lights on and the doors open in the services that make our state function. Australia has the best health system in the world, and while we have our challenges, as we adapt to an ageing population and other factors that have an impact on healthcare delivery, I am particularly proud of the massive investment the Malinauskas government is making in health.

Recognising this challenge, this government has invested well over $7.1 billion, including a planned more than 600 extra hospital beds and, at the same time, a substantial investment in addressing demand pressures and, importantly, an extra 1,400 health workers have joined the system, including nearly 700 nurses and 330 doctors.

One of the most significant investments in our local health system has been the brand-new Norwood Ambulance Station located on the corner of Portrush Road and Magill Road. This investment is not just in a building, it is a commitment to safety, responsiveness and care. I have spoken to locals who now feel that extra peace of mind knowing that we have an ambulance station in the east.

I also want to recognise the paramedics and ambulance officers who work in incredibly high-pressure situations with compassion and professionalism. They do not get to choose when or where they are needed, but with the resources we are now putting in place, including an extra 278 paramedics, we are backing them the way they back us.

Equally transformative has been the introduction of the Norwood 24/7 pharmacy. I have heard from parents who needed medication for their child in the middle of the night and were so relieved when they could get it when they needed it. I have been there with young children, and I know that the alternative was often heading into the Women's and Children's. I have heard from carers, shift workers and elderly residents who now have much better access to the medications and advice they need. I have used it myself. There is no doubt it has made a big difference for our community. That is what good government should be: responding to people's needs with practical solutions.

One of the things I find most rewarding as the member for Dunstan is spending time in our local schools. Whether it is presentations, plays, book week or talking about leadership to student leaders, every time I visit our local schools I walk away smiling having seen so much enthusiasm and spark emanating from the beautiful, bright students. At Norwood Primary School, principal Mel Evans leads a school that is warm, inclusive and full of energy.

The students are engaged and curious, and the school's connection with the wider community is strong. You can feel it when you walk through the gates that this is a school that genuinely values every child. My own daughter was a student there, and she is now doing so well in high school because of the excellent grounding she received at Norwood Primary School.

Trinity Gardens Primary School is also doing outstanding work. Under the leadership of principal Brenton Conradi, the school is focused on both academic achievement and fantastic student wellbeing. I have attended student performances and, in fact, the Premier and I went on a morning run with these beautiful kids. I have met the parents and spoken to teachers, and what always strikes me is the strong sense of pride and shared purpose. Whether it is sustainability projects, their kitchen garden, the beautiful produce they make from their own kitchen garden, their inclusiveness or leadership opportunities for students, Trinity Gardens is preparing young people to thrive not just in school but in life.

I also want to mention East Adelaide School and Marryatville Primary School. Both are integral parts of our public education system and each is making a unique and meaningful contribution to our community—their local communities. The staff at these schools are doing a remarkable job. They are not just delivering the curriculum, they are creating learning environments where children are safe, challenged and cared for.

Then there is Marryatville High School, a real jewel in our public education system. Every time I visit Marryatville High School I am impressed by the way principal Julie Ferguson and her team approach education. It is thoughtful, it is innovative and it is grounded in respect and student wellbeing. Whether it is in the music centre, the science labs or on the sporting field, Marryatville students are being encouraged to stretch their thinking and believe in themselves, and are achieving at an incredibly high level.

The parents and students in the Dunstan community can be confident they are getting the best education money can buy. These are not just good schools; they are producing confident, socially aware and ambitious young people who will shape South Australia's future, and they do it because they are supported by dedicated staff, active families, and a government and a local member that believes in the power of public education.

When I think of our children's future I also think of the importance of secure, well-paid jobs. Nothing is more important to a family's stability than having secure, meaningful and well-paid work. I have spoken to young people starting their apprenticeships, mid-career workers, and small business owners working hard to build a thriving business, and they all want the same thing: a fair shot, a steady income, and confidence about the future.

Under this government we have a strong economy and a strong jobs market. We are investing in the industries of the future—renewable energy, health, education, advanced manufacturing—while also ensuring our traditional sectors have the support they need to thrive, with the most notable recent example being the massive transformative commitment of $2.4 billion to secure the future of the Whyalla Steelworks.

In Dunstan, local jobs are being supported by investment in future industries and targeted grants. Small businesses benefit from our incredibly liveable city, with sensible and strategic medium density housing creating more foot traffic. There is a real sense of energy in our local economy right now. The recent Eastside Business Awards just demonstrated that, with businesses rewarded each year for 20 plus years of business and many businesses receiving awards over multiple years, demonstrating their success and support in the community.

In fact, not only is South Australia the best mainland state in which to do business, the City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters has been recognised as the best council area in Australia, out of 58 council areas, in which to do business. However, we do not take that as a job done. We need to ensure we maintain momentum so that workers, whether they are public servants, tradies, educators or carers, can continue to do the vital work they do.

One issue of continuing importance is our community housing. We know that stable, affordable housing is the foundation for everything else. Without it, people cannot focus on their businesses, their jobs, their studies or their health. That is why the Malinauskas government is prioritising housing, not just as a policy issue but as a moral responsibility. We know we need more supply, and that is why the government is pulling out all stops to open up record amounts of land for new homes.

The importance of this cannot be overstated, because what this means in practice is less urban infill in our suburbs. This is important because it means we can be more strategic in looking at how we implement medium density housing, ensuring it is done in a thoughtful and well-planned way, and making sure we protect our heritage and design values in the process. These are issues that have come up time and again for me. People have asked for these policy areas to be addressed, and they have been.

We are building more public and affordable housing. We are helping first-home buyers enter the market, and we are working closely with the community housing sector to help those most in need. It means that when a child falls ill in the middle of the night, the pharmacist is at hand. It means that when children go to school, they are getting an excellent education locally. It means that young people can believe that they can get into the housing market again. The progress we have made in jobs, in health, in education and in housing goes on.

Supply means communities like Dunstan—vibrant, engaged and full of potential—continue to receive the support they deserve. I want to thank the teachers, nurses, paramedics, public servants, construction workers, carers, small business owners and all those who keep our state running. The Supply Bill is about making sure they can continue to do their work without disruption and with the backing of the parliament.

There is more work to do, but we are on the right track. I am proud of what we have achieved already, I am proud to be part of a government that listens, is thoughtful, that acts and leads with compassion. I will continue to work every day for the people of Dunstan and for the vision of South Australia we all believe in—respect for the past, an eye on the future, a great way of life, and full of opportunity. I commend the bill to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Odenwalder.


At 17:30 the house adjourned until Wednesday 14 May 2025 at 10:30.


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