Regional South Australia

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about her recent trip to regional South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: The minister has often spoken in this chamber about the delightful people and experiences she has when travelling in regional areas. Can the minister please advise the chamber of her most recent regional visit?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for his most important question and his interest in regional South Australia. Unlike those opposite, this government actually cares about our regions. This government is, as I said, strongly committed to regional South Australia. I was very pleased to be able to travel to Port Pirie, Peterborough and Clare.

My first meeting was with the human resource staff at Nyrstar who were working with the workforce as the company transforms their operations away from a primary lead smelter into a highly flexible ply-metallic processing and recovery facility. They have done some tremendous work there. I was very impressed to see their plans. In conjunction with TAFE, they are identifying both current skill sets and future needs required for workers when the new processes commence. This collaborative work means that the future is looking bright, both in terms of jobs growth for local jobseekers and also job security for employees.

I was also pleased to be able to visit BoysTown, recent recipients of the adult community education grant, and met with staff and some of the young people undertaking accredited training with them. I am also quite sure that, if they maintain the level of enthusiasm and attention that they demonstrated on the day we met them, they will indeed be valued employees in coming months. The Yorke and Mid North Domestic Violence Service provides invaluable support to women and children affected by family violence as does UnitingCare Wesley for people experiencing homelessness.

These people, as with all the people I met with on this trip, are the salt of the earth—committed, passionate and hardworking people—and that is why I am just so disappointed that the federal Liberal government is reviewing the homelessness national partnership which could, in this instance, rip out, they estimate, up to 30 per cent of the funding for these extremely invaluable, very highly regarded and much-needed services. It is an appalling thing that the federal Liberal government is doing.

Port Pirie TAFE provided yet again an opportunity for me to meet with committed regional staff and students. This campus has more than 1,500 students enrolled, with a strong contingent of students studying traditional trades in engineering, automotive, construction, nursing and children's and retail services. I was also able to visit the Men's Shed, another fantastic program offered by UnitingCare Wesley Country that hosts programs that mentor young people and adults to interact with each other in the community through teaching woodwork and metalwork and also provides a casual meeting place and offers many opportunities for volunteers as well. One of the wonderful programs overhauls donated computers which are then distributed to families and individuals who may not otherwise be able to afford them. Apparently almost 300 computers were gifted each year.

I visited Peterborough High School and learned again of the very effective collaboration between TAFE, the school, and the Trade Training Centre that they have set up there, and I would like to congratulate the school on their tremendous efforts which increased the number of SACE completions by some 70 per cent over four to five years. I think they said it was from something like 17 or 18 per cent up to 70 per cent—remarkable work over a very short period of time. Well done to the leadership, teachers, students and families for this outstanding achievement.

In Clare, the local Zonta club is contributing much to their local region and also internationally with volunteers providing 600 birthing kits to women in Kabul and Pamper Packs to women who are homeless and a number of other important services. I was also pleased to visit the Clare office of the University of the Third Age and I was pleased to discuss how the funding announced in the budget would assist with the promotion of courses across the state as well as updating equipment used by the U3A alliance members.

It was wonderful to visit these regions and as always I offer my thanks to the non-government and government organisations and community members for their unwavering support to their communities and the work that they do, as well as for their wonderful hospitality.