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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-04-10 Daily Xml
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PLAYFORD TRUST

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:36): I rise today to speak about the Playford Trust. On Monday 8 April I had the great pleasure of attending an award scholarships presentation by the Playford Trust along with the Leader of the Opposition, Steven Marshall, and David Pisoni, member for Unley, together with Rachel Sanderson, member for Adelaide, and I would like to give special thanks to the Hon. Dean Brown, Chairman of the Playford Trust, for his kind invitation to this special event. It was also great to catch up with the Hon. Robert Lawson, who is also a member of the Playford Trust. I would like to congratulate all the committee members for their excellent work and contribution to the Playford Trust.

The trust enjoys bipartisan support and works with government, tertiary and further education institutions, industry and the community. The charter of the trust is to provide scholarships in supporting South Australians to develop the research and skills base required to advance areas of strategic importance that will benefit South Australia.

The organisation has been operating for over 25 years, following a resolution by the South Australian government to establish a trust to honour the memory of the great leader, Sir Thomas Playford, the state's longest serving premier. Sir Thomas Playford served continuously as premier of South Australia from 5 November 1938 to 10 March 1965, the longest term of any elected government leader in the history of Australia.

His tenure as premier was marked by a period of population and economic growth unmatched by any other Australian state. Playford took a unique, strong and direct approach to the premiership and personally oversaw his industrial initiatives. He was known for his parochial style in pushing South Australia's interests, and for his ability to secure a disproportionate share of federal funding for the state. Many decisions made during his long term in government transformed South Australia from a predominantly agricultural economy to a modern industrial state. Sir Thomas Playford led the state continuously for over 26 years and left a legacy as one of the most significant South Australians.

As I acknowledge Sir Thomas Playford as South Australia's longest serving premier, I would also like to pay a special tribute to another great leader, the Rt Hon. Baroness Margaret Thatcher. From grocer's daughter to MP, a most remarkable politician of the 20th century, the Iron Lady, who shaped a generation of British politics, passed away at the age of 87 on 8 April 2013—the same night as the Playford Trust presentation.

Baroness Margaret Thatcher was born in 1925 and was the longest serving prime minister of the United Kingdom, from 1979 to 1990. She was also the first and only woman to have held the post. She has been credited with transforming a nation in one decade, putting Britain back among the leading industrial nations of the world. Former Conservative PM Sir John Major described the Baroness as a 'true force of nature 'and a 'political phenomenon'. She led the Tories to three election victories. The world shall remember Lady Thatcher for her uncompromising politics and formidable leadership style.

Returning to the Playford Trust, I would like to give my congratulations to the 2013 scholarship winners who are in seven categories, and I would like to read their names. In the Regional Science and Engineering Scholarships, Matthew Wright, from Victor Harbor High School; Samuel Brown, from Naracoorte High School; Thomas Muecke, from St Joseph's School at Port Lincoln; and Jordan Wray, from Port Lincoln High School.

In the Playford Trust Honours Scholarship category, we have four from the University of Adelaide, Brett Lange, Simon Blacket, Talia Wittmann, and Alicia Hurkmans; from Flinders University, Krishna-Lee Currie, Scott Forsythe, Jai Strempel, Luke Volgin; and, from the University of South Australia, Adrian Creek, Ricky Martin (not the singer), Phillip Skelton, and Arna Smith.

In the category of Playford Trust PhD Scholarships, we have Sean Clark, Tiffany Reeves and Ric Porteous. In the Scantech/Playford Trust Honours Scholarships in Physics are Phong Huy Nguyen and James Cheuk-Heng Lau. In the Australian minerals institute/Playford Trust Honours Scholarship, we have Naomi Tucker and William Hagger.

In the Beach Energy/St Ann's College Playford Trust Residential Scholarships are Jonty Dear and Alana Cuthbert, and in the last category of Hillgrove Resources/Playford Trust Honours Scholarship in Geology we have Dennis Conway. Congratulations to every one of the scholarship winners.

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