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

South Australia Social Statement

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:00): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: My government has set an ambitious agenda for our state's economy, one that is fit for the future—a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. We have made significant progress towards realising this ambition by taking decisive action that has positioned South Australia to thrive in a turbulent global environment. We have been smart about the way we embrace technology to drive innovation, investing in education at every level—from early childhood to vocational education and our universities—to ensure our workforce can deliver. We have strengthened our global reputation as the destination for sustainable investment in business, leading a green reindustrialisation that has deepened our renewable energy capacity for today and for generations to come.

Today, unemployment is low, consumer confidence is growing and our economy is consistently one of the top performing in the country, but the true measure of success is not found in economic indicators alone. It is about whether all South Australians share in the benefits of our state's prosperity, whether they can see themselves in the direction we are heading, whether they have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the community and whether they feel a sense of belonging to the future we are building for generations to come.

Inclusivity and economic strength do not exist in opposition. As South Australians, we know they go hand in hand. Our state is shaped by a long and proud history of leading social reform by thinking differently and taking decisive action towards inclusion, from being the first state to empower women to vote, to pioneering Indigenous land rights, to delivering our nation's First Nations Voice to Parliament, to banning political donations, to bringing civics into the state curriculum and to our strong and sustained advocacy to protect children from the harms of social media.

The social reforms our state has led make abundantly clear that the more effectively that we remove barriers to participation, the more our people feel connected to their neighbourhood and the more we invest our energy in giving our children and young people the best start in life, the better off we all become.

That is why today I announced that South Australia will develop the state's first social statement to realise our ambition for an inclusive economy where the wellbeing of our people is front and centre. It is proposed that the social statement will contain three priority areas for government that will underpin our collective efforts with the community and business sectors to progress towards a better future for all South Australians. Through this critical work, together we will set our children and young people up for life, build healthy communities and strengthen community cohesion, democracy and belonging.

I have instructed officers within the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to progress this important work. My intention is to deliver the social statement by the end of this year. My government will continue to work with South Australian organisations and businesses about how we get there, building on the significant work already underway, to make our state an even better place for today and for the long term.

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