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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-03 Daily Xml
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Regional Government Service Location

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (16:20): Over the past year, the cost of living for South Australians has skyrocketed. This is not news to anyone in this place or indeed in the community. The opposition has crunched the numbers with regard to the increased costs of housing, food, electricity, petrol and other essentials and found that the average family of four would have needed to find an extra $16,000 to $17,000 a year to maintain their lifestyle over the past 12 months.

Indeed, with 10 and now 11 consecutive interest rate rises, one of the most onerous expenses for most people, of course, is their housing. More than ever, I believe it is incumbent on governments to devise and implement strategies to help lower the cost of living and, most importantly, to ensure the dream of home ownership is still within reach.

To this end, I am of the opinion that one such strategy worthy of consideration is to establish significant government agencies in our regional cities, where appropriate, in order to increase their presence on the state stage, if you like. Co-locating government services in our regional areas such as Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Port Pirie, Port Lincoln and Port Augusta, where housing is significantly more affordable than it is in Adelaide, would no doubt stimulate these cities in many ways.

The creation of potentially hundreds more job opportunities would attract more South Australians to these locations as well as those from interstate and potentially overseas, as the lower cost of living would be attractive to many. Not only would the individuals who choose to relocate to the regional areas for employment with the government benefit financially but the decrease in demand for housing within metropolitan Adelaide, for example, would likely slow the rate of increase here in Adelaide.

I note the concept of moving government services to regional areas to revitalise regional cities and encourage population growth is one that is already being implemented by the Victorian state government. It is not a government I would normally quote, but in this case I think they have got it right. It is coined as government hubs; that is what the Andrews government calls it.

They are focusing their attention on transforming Ballarat, Bendigo and the Latrobe Valley, where the development of regional government hubs are now accommodating up to 1,000 public service employees in each of those locations in addition to what was there before, generating long-term jobs growth, increasing business confidence and furthering private sector investment.

These projects are also creating hundreds of jobs during the construction of new buildings and redevelopment of existing facilities, utilising local trades and services throughout the construction process. Each of Victoria's GovHubs, as they are called, is unique to its local area, having been developed in close consultation with the local councils and communities, including the use of focus groups and stakeholder briefings, which have indicated overwhelming support for these initiatives. To date, they have been very promising.

In Ballarat, for example, services included in the government's expansion are Consumer Affairs Victoria, Regional Development Victoria, the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Justice and Community Safety, the State Revenue Office, VicRoads and Service Victoria. Bendigo is, or soon will be, home to the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions; the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning; the Department of Premier and Cabinet; Parks Victoria; and the Department of Transport, among other services. Numerous agencies are or will be situated in the Latrobe Valley GovHub, again as they call it, including Parks Victoria, Earth Resources Regulation, Solar Victoria and the Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority.

Our own state government likewise needs to be pragmatic in the way it approaches our current cost-of-living crisis. I think there is a real opportunity to counter some of the major challenges South Australians are facing by emulating what the Victorian government is achieving in some of their more populous regions. Similarly creating economic hubs in our state's South-East and Mid North would diversify those economies and offer an option for families and individuals seeking to reduce their living expenses, enter the housing market, or simply explore a more relaxed lifestyle.

I strongly encourage the Malinauskas government to consider the vast benefits catalysing greater growth in our regions would have for our state as a whole. As stated previously, the benefits are not just extended to those directly employed by these proposed initiatives but the multiplier effect, to use an economic term, on local businesses and communities would be significant. The result would be stronger, more vibrant regional cities in South Australia with growing populations and services. Everybody wins. If it works in Victoria, I have no doubt at all it can work here.

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