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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-03-06 Daily Xml
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EMPLOYMENT

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (15:09): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about employment opportunities.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER: A recent pamphlet from SACOME states that of the 108,500 permanent visas to be granted this financial year only approximately 4,500 skilled workers will reach South Australia. In the face of this, the government has announced $150,000 for training to encourage South Australians into mining careers. My question is: what provision has been made to encourage people into equally needy industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (15:10): The question asked by the honourable member is an important one, because this government is addressing the dramatic increase in skills that will be required by the mining industry through bodies such as RESIC, which is the committee involving government and senior mining company executives in relation to infrastructure and skills shortages in the mining industry.

While we are taking that initiative because of the significantly growing demand for skilled labour within the mining industry, one of the risks we face is the pressure in other areas that will occur because of the capacity of the mining industry to take labour from other industries, and I know that it is a matter that my colleague the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries is certainly aware of. PIRSA looks after the minerals and energy resources division, but it also encompasses agriculture. I know that, through contact with its chief executive, it is looking at what it can do to alleviate the impact on the farm sector and, of course, other sectors of the community.

One of the huge problems we will face in this country relates to the ageing of the population. Earlier, I answered a question about the Ageing Atlas, and the figures I provided indicated just how rapidly the number of people over 75 and 85 will grow: it will almost treble by about 2030. There will be a huge increase in that population, and there will be a big demand for carers and other workers, as well as for a skilled workforce in other sectors of the economy.

To deal with the ageing of the population, we will need to look at a number of other quite radical solutions. I notice that yesterday the House of Assembly accepted the changes to the superannuation scheme, which will encourage people to keep workers in the workforce longer. It is important that we keep our senior public servants (whose average age is increasing) in the workforce. Obviously, we must look right across the board at what we can do to encourage people, particularly those with skills, to stay in the workforce longer.

We will need to look at immigration to fill the skills needs, and we will also have to develop other strategies, because I believe that it will be one of the most challenging issues facing this state both politically and economically in the future. We face a huge challenge, and I do not pretend that there is any easy solution.

I know that Primary Industries and Resources SA is looking specifically at the agriculture sector, and I think that that is the area the honourable member specifically referred to in her question. Clearly, every sector of the economy will be impacted by the changing nature of the economy and by the ageing of the population. My personal view is that one of the sectors that will be most difficult to deal with will be the care sector because, with the ageing of the population, that is where demand will grow even more rapidly; however, it is probably where, traditionally, wages have been the lowest, so it will be the hardest sector to attract people to, but that is just my personal observation on the problem.

It is an issue the government is aware of, and that is why I announced projects such as the Ageing Atlas so that, in terms of housing and accommodation, we can look at the changing demographics of the population, and that is just one part of it. Clearly, specific issues need to be addressed in agriculture, and I am happy to ask whether the Minister for Agriculture wishes to add anything further to the answer in relation to that sector in particular.

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