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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-14 Daily Xml
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Opening of Parliament

GOVERNOR'S SPEECH

His Excellency the Governor, having been announced by the Black Rod, was received by the President at the bar of the council chamber and conducted by him to the chair. The Speaker and members of the House of Assembly having entered the chamber in obedience to his summons, His Excellency read his opening speech as follows:

Honourable Members of the Legislative Council and Members of the House of Assembly:

I have called you together for the dispatch of business.

First, I thank Uncle Lewis O'Brien, an elder of the Kaurna people, for his gracious welcome to country.

Since the opening of the first session of this 52nd Parliament, a distinguished former Governor, Sir Donald Dunstan, has passed away. I acknowledge this loss with sadness.

Sir Donald's passing occurred on 15 October 2011, bringing to an end a most distinguished life of service to the nation, and in particular to his home state of South Australia, which he served as Governor for slightly more than nine years until 1991. He was and still is the longest-serving holder of this office.

I also acknowledge the passing of two former Members of the House of Assembly.

In May 2010, Mr William Alan Rodda, passed away. He had been the Member for the electorate of Victoria, later MacKillop, from 1965 until 1985, and a Minister for two periods during that time.

In June 2011, we were saddened to hear of the death of the Honourable Leonard James King AC QC, Member for the electorate of Coles, now Morialta, and Attorney General, from 1970 to 1975. He subsequently served as a justice, and then Chief Justice, of the Supreme Court until 1995.

We acknowledge the contributions made to our State by these great South Australians, and we offer our sincere condolences to their families and friends.

Honourable Members:

My Government believes that, more than at any time since the formation of the first government for this State 175 years ago, our future will be determined by the decisions we make in this decade.

We have a decisive opportunity to make a difference—but it is an opportunity that must be seized, not an opportunity to be taken for granted.

The Government understands that many South Australians are troubled and uneasy about the shifting and uncertain times the world now faces, on so many fronts. We understand too that uncertainty and doubt can be the enemies of action. This is precisely why we need to act, and to embrace bold new approaches.

For these reasons, this Government has comprehensively reviewed where the State stands now, and made decisions about where its focus needs to be for the future. Its emphasis is not just on the next year, or the next decade, but on a future which will provide rich and worthwhile opportunities for our children, and for our children's children.

From this process, this Government has identified seven primary areas of focus for action. These can be summarised under the following headings:

Clean, green food industry

The mining boom and its benefits

Advanced manufacturing

A vibrant city

Safe and active neighbourhoods

Affordable living

Early childhood

The Government recognises that these fields of focus do not include every subject of importance in the life of the State, or every area of government endeavour. It has made choices. These choices are strategic. They are fundamental to the changed direction which this State must take to assure a flourishing future.

The Government's aim is not limited to improving the material circumstances of South Australians. It seeks also to help to transform the way we all think about ourselves, and the way we relate to one another. The foundation of this endeavour is the traditional strengths of South Australia.

First, our food industries. These have sustained our State from the earliest days of European settlement.

Previous generations, living in the driest State in the driest continent, had to create an innovative and enterprising culture in order to build what we have today—a wide range of produce from a pristine environment.

This spirit of innovation needs to continue. As the world's population grows, so too does its demand for food. Our State must not miss the opportunity to meet this demand.

We will need to involve all sectors that intersect with our food production system—energy, land use, conservation and tourism. People throughout our region and the world will know that South Australian produce is clean and green.

And it comes from land we value to the extent of creating specific legislation to protect it.

The Government will bring legislation to this Parliament to protect the iconic South Australian districts of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale from urban growth, and from other development that could threaten their role as world famous food and wine regions.

But our food industry can only be sustained with help of our most crucial resource, the water of the River Murray.

This Government will resist, by whatever means necessary, the depletion and pollution of the Murray through over-allocation by upstream states. South Australia must have a healthy River Murray.

Another great and long-standing strength of South Australia has been our mining industry, now about to be expanded beyond what we could have imagined in past eras.

In 1842, copper was found in Kapunda. Soon after this, more discoveries were made throughout what became known as the Copper Triangle. This resource carried a fledgling State to prosperity.

Copper will be as important to our future as it has been to our past.

The copper deposit at Olympic Dam—the fourth largest in the world—together with the other nineteen mines now in operation across South Australia, will be hugely important to our prosperity.

South Australia's mineral exports are increasing at a rate unheard of in the State's history. Last financial year, they earned 4.22 billion dollars—an increase from 2.85 billion dollars only a year before—and they will increase more. This accelerating growth will be further enhanced by increased exploration, particularly as restrictions within the Woomera Protected Area are lifted.

South Australia's natural resources belong to all South Australians, and every person in this State should share in the prosperity they will bring—now, and into the future. This needs a new approach.

To this end, the Government will establish a bipartisan committee to explore the potential for a Future Fund, to ensure that the benefits of a mining boom are shared amongst all South Australians for generations to come.

The development of our mining sector also involves particular obligations to the descendants of the first South Australians.

The Government will therefore introduce new legislation to replace the Aboriginal Heritage Act. This will put Aboriginal people at the forefront of decisions about their own cultural heritage, and will give to both the Aboriginal peoples and the mining developers simpler processes and greater certainty.

Around the middle of last century, manufacturing joined agriculture and mining as an intrinsic element of our State's prosperity.

This development was based on this State's competitive strength of low costs, and protected by a solid tariff wall.

The removal of tariff protection, and the opening-up of the global economy, have radically changed the conditions under which our manufacturing sector operates.

What has not changed is that manufacturing is one of our biggest employers and must remain so. Manufacturing makes up 14 per cent of our State's economy—well above the Australian average. And for every job created in the manufacturing sector, between three and five are created in the rest of the economy.

But manufacturing must evolve. South Australia needs to develop an advanced manufacturing sector—one that can offer high-value and innovative products, and flourish in a volatile world market.

An advanced manufacturing sector will drive productivity and innovation in our industries, and provide secure, fulfilling and skilled work for many South Australians.

Our defence and clean technology sectors have led this transition into advanced manufacturing.

Massive projects—including the construction of Air Warfare Destroyers and the forthcoming construction of parts for the Joint Strike Fighter jets—along with our leading role in renewable energy technologies, have helped to build our State's capacity to undertake skilled and sophisticated manufacturing processes.

Together, mining, defence industries and clean technology provide great opportunities that South Australian businesses can grasp, to transform themselves into preferred suppliers for companies around the world.

The Government will support them as they do so. We will develop a detailed strategy to support the growth of advanced manufacturing in South Australia. A central contributor will be the single department which has already been created to drive advanced manufacturing, energy, technology, and, crucially, innovation. This will be supported by legislation to establish an Advanced Manufacturing Council.

But an advanced manufacturing sector cannot grow unless it has access to a suitably skilled workforce.

The Government has already committed 194 million dollars to the Skills for All initiative, to provide an additional 100,000 training places over six years.

As well, the Government will bring legislation to Parliament to modernise our TAFE system. This will ensure that TAFE is best able to assist South Australians to gain the skills they will need to prosper.

And an advanced manufacturing sector can only evolve from a strong manufacturing base.

It is therefore crucial that we sustain our existing manufacturing sector, particularly our car manufacturing industry that employs about 8,000 workers in South Australia.

This government will invest to keep General Motors-Holden in South Australia for the next decade and beyond. Our investments will make sure that the company has a secure future here, as part of a global supply chain.

These efforts to secure and re-energise our great productive capacities will come to nothing, however, if not complemented by other changes. One change must be to the City of Adelaide. Our capital city centre should be a vibrant place that expresses our State's confidence and vitality.

This is more than symbolism. We need a vibrant city to attract and retain the talented people on whom the success of our State will depend.

Increasingly, well-educated and well-trained people have choices, and are willing to make those choices, about where they will live to find fulfilling work.

A large factor in those personal decisions is the quality and variety of life available where the fulfilling work is on offer.

For all these reasons the Government will introduce a new City of Adelaide Act, and work with the Adelaide City Council to make the changes that will enliven our public spaces.

This Government has already enlivened the Capital City Committee to include both the Premier and Deputy Premier, so that revitalising the centre of our city receives the attention and direction it needs.

And the investment that my Government is making in the regeneration of Adelaide Oval, and of the Riverbank precinct, will do more than create a world-class sporting facility in a setting that makes the most of Adelaide's natural beauty.

It will bring life to the centre of our city. A lively city will encourage a richer participation in all aspects of our culture—watching sport, taking part in festivals, eating in restaurants and cafes, enjoying our great cultural institutions.

And alongside all this, the shops will be open. The Government will bring legislation to this Parliament to enable shops within the city centre to trade on public holidays.

This will be supported by the recognition that is only fair for the people working on our most special days to be properly compensated.

An exciting capital-city centre will project a positive and forward-looking image of South Australia to the world.

But a great city also contains liveable neighbourhoods, the spaces where our families and communities can gather together in other ways.

Local solutions—such as better walking and cycling paths, and more diverse recreation areas—that fit the needs of individual communities will have the biggest impact on the health and well-being of our people.

The Government will develop a State Public Health Plan, and assist all councils to create Healthy Neighbourhood Plans.

These plans will ensure that the Government, and all councils, can identify particular patterns of need in each neighbourhood, and local solutions can draw on that knowledge.

Flourishing and active neighbourhoods, with expanded opportunities for neighbours and friends to interact in public space, will in themselves add to people's sense of safety and security—because, as research has shown, where there are people, opportunities for crime are reduced.

We know that there is now 36 per cent less victim-reported crime than there was in 2001. Nevertheless, being safe from crime remains the most important single concern for South Australians. And securing the safety of the people is a primary role of government.

The Government will therefore introduce legislation to attack head-on the most dangerous and violent criminal conduct.

This will target the criminal actions of gangs and also their assets, to ensure that the full force of law is available in the effort both to prevent and to punish their conduct.

The legislation will add to South Australians' confidence in the safety of their community, while keeping in place the rights of ordinary citizens. But the safest and healthiest neighbourhoods, the most vibrant city, the emerging new job opportunities, can only be enjoyed if South Australians also have the stability and security that comes from living in homes they can afford.

For too many South Australians this security is not available.

This Government is setting itself the task of restoring South Australia's reputation for affordable living at all levels.

A new urban renewal authority will revitalise our city. Importantly, it will increase the supply of affordable homes.

It will renew public housing stock, develop opportunities for the community housing sector and provide certainty in urban renewal projects to help unlock private capital investment.

This authority will also have a role in planning neighbourhoods which, in themselves, provide relief from everyday expenses.

Being close to public transport, being near essential services, and living in homes that are both energy-efficient and water-wise, can deliver savings to households every day.

The Government will also find other ways to reduce the burden of living costs on working families, by developing flexible payment options for service charges, well targeted concessions, and specific relief initiatives, and by working closely with the non-government sector.

I come now to the seventh of the priority areas the government has identified—early childhood.

Investment in our youngest children is the single most important and enduring commitment among all the long-term investments this State can make.

Ninety per cent of a child's brain development takes place in the first few years of life.

This development is profoundly affected by early experiences—and will permanently affect learning, health and happiness.

The quality of our children's early years will shape the well-being of our future citizens and, consequently, the capacity of our State.

That is why investing in our youngest children is the highest priority for any lasting improvements in social justice and in prosperity.

My Government will bring legislation to this Parliament to articulate and entrench the importance of children and families.

This legislation will change the way all sectors in the community integrate policies, planning and support for children's development. And it will provide sound principles to underpin policies and practices across all parts of government.

We will build on this State's reputation as an international leader in the early years, finalising the establishment of a further ten Children's Centres to provide families with young children the services they need in the one convenient location.

To be able to achieve all that my Government believes we can, South Australians must have confidence in our public institutions, and in the way these institutions arrive at decisions which affect everyone's lives.

The Government believes that our public discourse should be more civil—that we should be slower to attribute blame, and quicker to accept responsibility.

Parliament should demonstrate how debate and dissent can be constructive—and not be a forum for endless squabbles that lead nowhere.

To this end, the Government will call on all Members to maintain the proper standards during this session. And beyond this, we will enact a Code of Conduct for all Members, to ensure that their public lives are beyond reproach.

Legislation for an Independent Commission Against Corruption will be introduced, which will ensure the integrity of public process and decision making.

The Government will also explore further reforms to systems of public accountability. As well, the Government will continue to make decisions in a way that respects the dignity of all people—involving them in the decision-making process and increasing the scope of their personal autonomy and their opportunities for self-expression.

As a demonstration of this new approach, the Government will create a new Disability Act, that will enable every person with a disability who currently receives more than six hours a week of support to make their own decisions on how to manage their own funding and lives.

It will hand choice and control back to people living with disabilities, and allow them to live their life with the dignity that is every person's right.

Much of what this Government has set out as paths for action will require us to unlock that undoubted ingenuity and enterprise which exists within our State, whether in the private, the non-government, or the public sector.

This will include harnessing all the creativity which is potentially unleashed by new information and communication technologies. And a cultural shift will be necessary in our public sector, along with a new sense of urgency and purpose.

A new era of public sector reform will be embarked upon. It will not be characterised by slashing numbers or removing conditions, but by a resurgence of innovation and productivity. The Government seeks to build a vibrant new government sector where new ideas and creativity are welcomed, where risk-taking is rewarded, and where new social enterprises are generated.

The Government has no illusions about the magnitude of the task it has described today. It has specified actions that it proposes to take in the short term, and for which it will seek the endorsement of the parliament in specific legislation.

These actions, however, are only part of the task it proposes to undertake. Furthermore, urgent as the government believes it is to begin the task of renewal and transformation, it is clear that not everything will bear fruit in the next year, or even the next decade.

The Government seeks to engage the enthusiasm, the energies and the skills of all South Australians in the task which confronts us in this defining decade. It invites everyone to join in and contribute to the debate about the best way forward. We all have to be willing to listen to one another.

This Government believes that this second decade of the twenty-first century is a defining historic period in which South Australia can and must transform itself for an exciting future, a safe and secure future, a sustainable future.

There is not a moment to be lost.

Honourable Members:

I now declare this session open, and trust that your deliberations will serve the advancement of the welfare of South Australia and all its people.

The Governor retired from the chamber, and the Speaker and the members of the House of Assembly withdrew.

The President again took the chair and read prayers.


[Sitting suspended from 13:26 to 15:07]


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