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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-03-20 Daily Xml
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State Liberal Government

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:53): It is a great honour today to speak about the 12-month anniversary of the Marshall Liberal government. One year ago, on Sunday 17 March 2018, the people of South Australia declared their confidence in the Liberal Party's strong plan for real change and delivered a new majority Liberal government. Local community members I meet every day and delegates visiting from overseas have expressed to me that it is an incredibly exciting time to be in South Australia right now.

I am extremely proud to be an integral part of the Marshall Liberal government, and I am very honoured to serve as the Assistant Minister to the Premier. Under the strong leadership of the Premier, the Marshall Liberal government's first year in office has delivered real outcomes for South Australia. There has never been a better time to work and live in South Australia. Business confidence is rising to levels not seen in more than 10 years, and reports such as the recent ANZ report show that South Australia's economy was the stand out among all states and territories.

It is no wonder that our economy is looking set for a buoyant 2019 when we have delivered on a wide range of election commitments to support businesses and our community. The Premier, through his strong leadership and his determination to make South Australia a state to be envied, has ensured that our government embraces a new mindset in creating more productive and more beneficial relationships with the federal government. Some of the key initiatives will strengthen our state to be more competitive and a better place to live and do business in.

Some of our achievements in the first year of government include abolishing payroll tax for small businesses, thanks to the Treasurer; establishing the Skilling South Australia fund to create over 20,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships; and securing $11.3 billion for new roads and infrastructure projects. We understand the rich potential of our regions and established the Regional Growth Fund to support businesses and create jobs for country South Australians.

Our government understands that South Australians were doing it tough under the previous Labor government. Therefore, the Liberal government put our focus on delivering lower costs at the grassroots and community level. Since taking office we have reduced emergency services levy bills for households, businesses and community organisations; we doubled sports vouchers for our children—

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: Doubled!

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Yes, doubled. We have also abolished DCSI screening fees for volunteers. Our government will continue to focus on delivering cheaper, more reliable power through the rollout of our Home Battery Scheme. The Minister for Health and Wellbeing has been working tirelessly to fix up the mess and failures in the health sector created under the Labor government. The minister is working with local communities to reactivate the Repat; upgrade The Queen Elizabeth, Noarlunga and Modbury hospitals; and invest in Country Health.

The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment is on track to deliver five new offices overseas. The offices in Shanghai and Tokyo have already been opened. The other offices will be opening soon. South Australia will benefit from the increased activities and economic prosperity flowing from trade, tourism and investment.

Keeping our communities safe is critical. Not only did we extend police station opening hours but the Minister for Human Services has delivered a comprehensive domestic violence package to ensure that vulnerable members of our community, women and children are protected and kept safe. The Minister for Education has delivered a record investment in education, including capital works upgrades to transition year 7 into high school, and has implemented our Literacy Guarantee package, including phonics screening checks to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students.

I wish to congratulate the Liberal Marshall government, under the leadership of the Premier, on its efforts to reset our state's relationship with the federal government and on ensuring greater commonwealth investment into South Australia across a range of infrastructure and transport projects, and so much more. We have successfully secured the headquarters of the national Space Agency, proving that the sky is no longer our limit. Up, up and beyond!

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