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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-15 Daily Xml
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Supply Bill 2023

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 1 June 2023.)

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (11:16): I rise to indicate that I am the lead and only speaker for the opposition on this bill. The Supply Bill 2023 enables the supply to government of an amount of money until the government lays down its budget via the Appropriation Bill, which is forthcoming by the Treasurer this afternoon in the other place.

From the outset, I will say that we on this side of the chamber support this bill. This is an important step and an important convention that we support. Recently, we have seen in the United States Congress what happens when the two major parties cannot agree on funding such as this and the government simply grinds to a halt. It is the people with jobs, government services and the reliability of bureaucracy that hurt the most.

The benefits of convention and precedents, which keep so much of what we do in this place running smoothly, are not something we should take for granted. Having said that, $6.628 billion, as set out in this bill, is an enormous amount of money, and no doubt more will come through the Appropriation Bill later this afternoon and this week. How does the government plan to spend this enormous amount of money for the populace?

Through some intentional leaks from this government, they have broadcast some of what they have characterised as good announcements, which leaves those of us on this side of the chamber to wonder what surprises they will announce this afternoon when the budget is handed down. But we know that this government has already overspent, so there is only one thing left at the bottom of the announcement list for the population to be informed of, and that is blowouts.

The government were only elected a mere 15 months ago with grand promises, which they were warned were too large, too expensive and too experimental to pursue, but as we know the Labor Party is good at spending other people's money and when they have run out they will simply come for more of our money. But, to give credit where it is due, this government is good at two things: reannouncements and delays.

On the weekend we learned about the pool blowout for a cool $55 million, which the government has characterised as 'rescoping' to now include a pool, which begs the question: did they forget to include a pool in the initial quote of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre? The Premier and the Minister for Infrastructure were emphatic about the need to do it right the first time. It is just that no-one was there around the cabinet table to remind them that this is the second time they have announced it, and they say now it will not be delivered until 2026—more delays, and the spin continues.

Poolside Pete is still the Premier and there is not much substance under the surface. He has the wrong priorities for what South Australians want at this time: cost-of-living concessions, energy concessions and housing assistance. The Premier has been a bit too quiet on the things that matter to everyday South Australians. Cost of living should be their numbers one, two and three priorities, but the Premier is happy to pose for the football, cricket, golf or overseas trips with his mates.

South Australians are living through a cost-of-living crisis and are looking for relief. South Australians are living through a housing crisis and looking for housing relief. South Australians are living through an energy crisis, and winter has barely begun. South Australians looking for a hospital bed will no doubt suffer as this government has not kept its word on the most obvious promise, to fix ramping—and influenza is already at triple reported rates for the same period as last year.

Sometimes it is useful to look at history and what people have done rather than what they have said they will do. In this case, we have their budget from last year, when Minister Koutsantonis said, 'We're not going to be putting this state into a valley of death when it comes to important infrastructure projects.' He said that at the same time as pushing back the largest and most ambitious infrastructure project of our time in South Australia, the north-south corridor. Instead of completion in 2030, it is now to be 2032. Nobody around the cabinet table today, or very few people around the cabinet table today, will be seeing this project finish in their time in this place. We wait to see how long it will be pushed out again—more delays followed by more delays.

Last year, the Treasurer, the Hon. Stephen Mullighan, committed to no new taxes while maintaining balanced budgets. Well, they have already blown the budget in one year. They benefited from the groundwork that the former Liberal government put in place with strong trade figures, great business confidence as we emerged from the pandemic and a record infrastructure spend, but still the spin and delay goes on.

All through the election they said, 'We will fix ramping.' Where is the ramping at today? Almost double what it was at the end of February 2022, which was 1,522 hours. In March this year, just a year on from their election, total hours lost in delayed transfer of care hit 3,968 hours, the worst on record ever. This government has absolutely no credibility in health. They have overseen the worsening of the health system, and we have only just settled into winter.

The very theme from Labor in the last election campaign was ramping. Since the election, we have seen the highest rates of ramping ever recorded in our state's history. Yet, at the same time, in their own style of spin, they have crab-walked away from their central election promise, trying to shift the metric that they were asking to be held accountable for, trying to claim somehow that when they said they would fix ramping, when 'fix ramping' was plastered on all their posters across the state, when 'fix ramping' was on billboards and at election booths on election day, and when every candidate was reminding every voter that Labor would fix ramping, that was not what they meant. It is absolutely unacceptable and, quite frankly, outrageous.

As I stated at the start of my speech, we will pass this legislation but, as a strong opposition, we are doing our job to ensure that the South Australian public knows just how badly this government has fumbled the budget in just its first year. To be frank, we cannot afford any more budgets from this government, let alone another term. South Australians are struggling, and this government has the wrong priorities.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (11:23): I rise to speak in favour of the Supply Bill and in so doing I echo the statements made by the Leader of the Opposition in that it is a testament to the strength of our system that we do not see the spectacle that is unfolding in the United States where political parties are seeking to block supply and create crises for the government of the day. Of course, the Greens are supportive of providing the Malinauskas government with supply so that it can continue with its priorities.

I do want to take this opportunity ahead of the budget to highlight some of the things that the Greens have been advocating for in the lead-up to the budget. Last month, we actually wrote to the Hon. Stephen Mullighan, the Treasurer, with our own budget submission. It is a shame that the Hon. Clare Scriven is not here; I know she would be very interested in that. We did make a formal submission to the Treasurer with our priorities for the budget, where we detailed a range of priorities that we would like to see the government deal with during this financial year. Fundamental to that, of course, was dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.

I will highlight some of the things that the Greens have been calling for in the hope that these things are actioned in the budget. We have asked the government to commit to not just building more public housing—and I do recognise the efforts of the Malinauskas government in this regard—but doing a lot better. We need 10,000 public homes over the next year. We need to see some action on Airbnbs and short-term accommodation so that we can bring more accommodation into the long-term rental market.

We are also calling for the Cost of Living Concession for renters to be at the same level as home owners and we are wanting to lift the eligibility for the Cost of Living Concession so that it is in line with the threshold for the Low Income Health Care Card and ensure a partial concession for low income earners in share housing. These are some of the things that have been advocated for by those working in the social services sector. We want to see an increase in funding for Foodbank because we recognise that so many South Australians are relying on their services during this economic crisis.

We also want to see action on power prices. One of the ways the Greens have been advocating for that is for the government to establish a commission of inquiry to look into how to reform ETSA so that we have ETSA as a publicly owned statutory authority that is powered by renewables that can deliver cheaper prices to South Australians. After the Liberal Party privatised our electricity network back in the 1990s, we know that a complete calamity befell our state and South Australians have faced rising energy prices ever since. Whilst we recognise the efforts of the Malinauskas government in taking back public ownership of our train network, we need to do the same for our electricity, and the Greens are proposing a commission of inquiry as a way to do that.

We are also pushing for an increase in energy concession expenditure by 50 per cent and pay concessions as a percentage of household energy bills rather than just a flat rate. Much has been made of the state government partnering with the federal government to provide a flat rate to energy companies on behalf of consumers. But that money is going straight to the energy company. It is not going to the individual consumer and, of course, it is not addressing the structural problems that are endemic in our system. That is what the Greens are calling for.

One of the issues in the last Malinauskas budget that we had some significant concern with was the decision of the government to axe the grid-scale storage scheme and the Home Battery Scheme, which were programs that had previously enjoyed support across the political divide and had been supported by the previous Marshall government. It was very disappointing to see those programs axed.

The Minister for Energy, the Hon. Tom Koutsantonis, articulated in the media that his rationale for doing this was that this was aimed at higher income earners. If that is the government's concern then why not reconfigure the scheme and orientate it towards renters and people who are on low incomes to provide relief for those who need it most during this energy crisis. We really want to see a program like that being restored to the budget. We are also looking for rebates to support home owners and renters so that they can replace old gas appliances with more energy efficient electric ones.

Much has been said about health by the Leader of the Opposition. The Greens have always argued that prevention is better than cure. It is really important that we see an appropriate investment in preventative health in this budget.

We are also pushing for the government to take action on recruitment of nurses and paramedics. We want to see a $3,000 package—a thank you payment—put in place to match that which has been rolled out in New South Wales and Victoria to provide an incentive for those working in our public health system and to thank them for the work they did during COVID. It is a slap in the face to those South Australian health workers that so many other states have provided their health workers with a thank you payment, yet that has not been offered to South Australian health workers, despite all of the heavy lifting they did during the pandemic.

We are calling for free paramedic services for those on the Age Pension, JobSeeker and low incomes. A lot of people do not have ambulance insurance and it is pretty outrageous that not only will, potentially, older people or those on JobSeeker be scared about calling an ambulance because they could be ramped for hours and hours, they are also going to be slugged thousands of dollars in ambulance fees. Surely, in a state like South Australia, we can make that service free for vulnerable people so that everybody has access to health care without needing to pull out their credit card.

We are pushing for a minimum 5 per cent of ongoing health expenditure to be spent on disease prevention and health promotion. It is not always sexy to talk about preventive health, but it is very important and it is something the Malinauskas government needs to make a priority in this budget. In that vein, they should be rolling out free flu vaccinations for all South Australians as well.

I have spoken in this place previously about the need for pill testing to bring South Australia into line with other jurisdictions. Why do we not have a fixed-site pill testing service available for South Australians so that we can protect people from some of the harm that can flow from drug use, particularly our state's young people.

We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and that is being felt by a lot of people in our community, particularly families. I do welcome the news last week that the Malinauskas government will be expanding the rollout of the free breakfast program. That is a really good thing and I want to recognise the leadership of the Minister for Education, the Hon. Blair Boyer, in that regard, because I know that is something he is passionate about.

But we need to go further than that. We also need to roll out free lunches for every public school student too. That is something the Greens have been advocating for. We are also pushing for free—genuinely free—public education, so scrapping the materials and services charges and other fees for students. We would also like to see a major public school upgrade program so that we can accommodate breakfasts and lunches.

Finally, in the area of public transport, we need the Malinauskas government to read the parliamentary inquiry report on public and active transport, look at the recommendations and start to action some of those in their budget. One thing that we are advocating for, from the Greens' perspective, is free public transport for the next six months to provide immediate relief to families who are struggling with fuel prices. That would cost approximately $50 million, or just over $50 million, but it would provide a lot of relief to families who are struggling with the rising costs of fuels.

We want to see a public transport expansion fund so that we see an expansion of public transport across the state, and of course regional rail and a significant investment in a state bike fund so that we can improve cycling infrastructure. That is a snapshot of some of the things that the Greens have been calling for.

One area that I would really like to see the Malinauskas government take action on as well in this budget is revenue. It is really appalling that in the middle of this inflation crisis we have South Australians facing soaring interest rates, soaring rent prices, soaring energy costs and soaring fuel prices, while big corporations continue to rake in record profits.

The banks are making record profits. That is one of the reasons the Greens have been calling for a big bank levy similar to the one the Weatherill government proposed in the previous parliament when Labor was last in power. That would have raised a significant amount of revenue that could be put into public services, and the Greens have said: why not bankroll free breakfast and lunch for every public school student off the back of a big bank levy?

We have also been pushing for developers to pay their fair share of tax, and have been advocating for a 75 per cent developer tax on land value gains from rezoning. This would really discourage parasitic land speculation and actually help stimulate development of housing in our state as well as ensure that developers actually contribute to the bottom line.

We want to raise the refined mineral and mineral ore concentrate royalty rates to 20 per cent of the value of resources. They have not had an increase over many years, and they are making a lot of money. We are also pushing for the government to establish a COVID recovery levy, similar to that which has been introduced in Victoria. They could increase the land tax for those who own multiple investment properties, as well as increase the payroll tax for big businesses and corporations that are raking in big bucks.

The reality is that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. People are doing it tougher than ever before, yet we have developers, big corporations and mining companies making massive profits and fuelling the inflation crisis. Well, they need to pay their fair share, so I really hope the Malinauskas government has the guts to take them on in this budget. The Greens have given an undertaking to the government that if they go after these big corporations and require legislative reform to do so we will, of course, support their passage through the parliament. With that, I conclude my remarks.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (11:36): I rise to support the Supply Bill 2023, a bill that will allow this Labor government to continue with its sound judgements and wise investments. Here within our South Australian community there is growing optimism for a prosperous future as we, along with the rest of Australia and the world, emerge from the effects of COVID.

Today, I want to speak about the sense of confidence that this Malinauskas Labor government has inspired. Things are really taking place here in our wonderful state, and we have had some incredibly successful events during the past 12 months that demonstrate this. Recent data confirms that the total visitor expenditure in March 2023 was the third highest month on record, coming in at $906 million.

Anyone who has been out and about in Adelaide or travelled around our regional areas will know that South Australians are feeling more positive. The Business SA Business Confidence Index released on 16 May 2023 showed that business confidence in South Australia has increased to 96.9 points and that it is now 13.2 points higher than the national average. In fact, Business SA cited that the Malinauskas government's commitment to prioritise large-scale events such as the VAILO Adelaide 500, the AFL Gather Round and LIV Golf stimulated the increase in business confidence in SA compared to the rest of the country.

The AFL Gather Round games had the Norwood hospitality and retail business sectors buzzing. This footy event pumped people and dollars into the local restaurants, cafes, bars and shops in this one suburb. Two games were played at Norwood Oval on 14 April, and the spending came in at almost $900,000. The Sunday match on 16 April recorded a spending of $770,000. No wonder the Norwood Payneham & St Peters Mayor, Mr Robert Bria, is keen to lock in the Hawks to play at Norwood Oval over the next Gather Round matches. Overall, the 2023 inaugural AFL Gather Round resulted in sellout crowds, bringing in around $85 million to the South Australian economy.

Business SA also highlighted SA's role in the AUKUS submarine announcement, a project that anticipates around $2 billion in expected investment and one that will create thousands of jobs. The Premier announced over the weekend that an office will be established to coordinate the $368 billion nuclear-powered submarine construction. As the Premier has announced, AUKUS will transform our state economy for generations to come. This new office will coordinate agencies across government so that we deliver the highly skilled workforce and infrastructure this unprecedented nuclear-powered submarine program needs.

People around the world are noticing South Australia as a place that is making a difference. This government has world-leading plans for green hydrogen. This is a bold and collaborative initiative that has inspired confidence in our state. As members will know, the Premier recently returned from a four-day overseas trade mission to Europe to promote investment in the Whyalla-based hydrogen project.

During this one day in Berlin and three days in the Netherlands, the Premier met with senior government and industry figures in order to accelerate and generate ideas regarding SA's hydrogen plans. As more and more countries in the world work at decarbonisation, they are becoming increasingly interested in South Australia and our future plans in this space. Having recently returned from a trip to Taiwan, I can confirm that the Taiwanese are also planning to set up infrastructure, as they too are keen to pursue hydrogen.

In recent months, this government opened doors for continued overseas collaboration and trade by creating a valuable opportunity for importers from five of SA's biggest trade partners to visit our vineyards and meet wine producers. Wine exports are important contributors to our economy. A report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that SA wine exports were valued at $1.3 billion in the year ending March 2023, making up 65 per cent of the total value of Australian wine exports.

From making a difference overseas to making one here at home, the Malinauskas government has committed $127.2 million for the National Energy Bill Relief Plan, which will be matched by the commonwealth dollar for dollar. The two levels of government have jointly committed $254.4 million to the Energy Bill Relief Fund. Households eligible under the plan will receive rebates of $500, while around 82,000 small businesses will receive rebates of up to $650. South Australians will get some relief on their 2023-24 energy bills, which is in addition to the existing state government energy concession worth up to $263 per household in 2023-24.

For the South Australian female population, Labor is providing support for women to start and operate successful businesses with the Women in Business Foundations Program. Approximately 450 women have enrolled in the program since this government launched it in November 2022. This initiative followed on from the Premier's Council for Women survey, which indicated that the main barriers for women wanting to start a business are a lack of capital and limited business knowledge. This $4 million dedicated program is another election commitment Labor has delivered. The program delivers one-on-one mentoring, small group workshops and support administered by the Adelaide Business Hub.

This Supply Bill will continue to ensure all our essential health services keep running. The budget delivered last year set us on track for four years of investing in more health workers and more health resources. New data shows the Malinauskas government has successfully increased staff numbers at our hospitals in health science. We intend to continue to make a difference to our state's health sector by launching a campaign to entice even more interstate and overseas health workers to South Australia to join the extra 550 clinical staff recruited during our first year in office.

We have increased our multicultural budget by $16 million over four years to assist in the delivery of our key multicultural commitments. People from more than 200 diverse backgrounds live in South Australia, and I know firsthand from my own lived experience that when people choose to make Australia home they also want to continue to celebrate their own culture and make sure their children understand and are proud of their family's background.

The support given to our community language schools by this government will help our Australian migrant communities to keep traditions alive. By passing languages on to our younger generations, we are encouraging them to value the culture, history and traditions of past generations. The Malinauskas Labor government has certainly showcased the diversity of Adelaide's multicultural community in the past 12 months. There has been a great development of grant programs and other initiatives to support an expansion of multicultural activities and events in our state.

We know for a fact that everyone can contribute and feel included when they feel connected to a respectful inclusive community. This government has acted on this by annualising the Multicultural Festival for the many diverse cultures in our state, with this year's Multicultural Festival scheduled to take place in November.

A skills and professional experience review of SA's multicultural communities will inform this government about how we can also maximise the valuable contributions of our onshore migrants. The Malinauskas government does not want their skills, knowledge and lived experiences to go unnoticed. These initiatives will not only help to showcase these traditions of South Australia's culturally and linguistically diverse communities but they will also inspire a sense of belonging.

I am especially enthusiastic about the government's establishment of the Multicultural Chamber, which is a collection of business people managing small chambers of commerce in SA who represent international business. Our Multicultural Chamber initiative will help to strengthen business ties and grow South Australia's import and export markets.

The last initiative that I will speak about today is housing. Labor governments know that every South Australian deserves to have somewhere they can call home. We were elected on a platform of building and upgrading hundreds of public housing properties. This is a government that understands the importance of increasing our public housing. A Better Housing Future is Labor's long-term plan to tackle the many issues we face as we work to address the current housing crisis.

We want the most disadvantaged in our community to feel safe and secure and have a roof over their head. Our 2023 Homelessness Winter Strategy will include funding for community groups to set up daytime warm-up sites through the coming winter months. This means extra support services will be available for people sleeping rough, including more options to find shelter.

The Malinauskas Labor government is delivering initiatives to put South Australia in a better position to navigate the changing landscape ahead with skill and preparedness. I thank the Malinauskas Labor government for its wise investments and priorities and commend the Supply Bill to the house.

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (11:49): I rise to speak in support of the Supply Bill. Of all the things the Malinauskas Labor government has done and will do that I consider to be a sensible and future-focused use of public funds, nothing stands out more to me than our government's investment in hydrogen. For anyone who is still unclear on the details of what our investment in hydrogen is about—which is hopefully nobody in this place, but one must never assume—hydrogen energy generation uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to produce electricity.

When conditions are suitable with the wind blowing and the sun shining, South Australia often creates more renewable energy than our state needs. Using this excess of energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for later use when conditions are not suitable for renewable energy generation is a green way of storing energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Hydrogen has the potential to reshape how we generate and store energy, and it can enable us to heat our homes, meet the fuel needs of transport and decarbonise heavy industries such as mining and steel production. When hydrogen is made using renewable energy, the result is a carbon-free fuel with only heat and water as its by-products.

On top of Labor's impressive record on renewable energy generation in South Australia, the Malinauskas Labor government is positioning our state to become a world-class, low-cost, green hydrogen supplier, not just to meet our own community's energy demand but, ultimately, to export globally. Our geography gives us a remarkable advantage, and there is every reason to believe that we will excel in this endeavour. We have the wind and the sun in great abundance, we have the vast expanses of land, and we have a skilled workforce. The conditions that create the potential to succeed in hydrogen are just about ideal in South Australia. All that is required is a government with vision that understands that potential.

For those who doubt that potential, let me tell you what is happening at the Port of Rotterdam. Much of Europe is on board with hydrogen and investing accordingly, but Rotterdam is doing something highly specific. The Dutch government is spending billions of euros—billions—to build capacity at the Port of Rotterdam as a storage and distribution hub for hydrogen. They are investing this money in their intention to become Europe's hydrogen hub through a combination of energy generation and import storage. For them, it is an investment, not a gamble. The Dutch government can see the opportunity, and we in South Australia are positioning ourselves to seize the opportunity.

South Australia's strong investment in renewables has resulted in 68 per cent of our electricity being generated by renewable resources in just over 15 years. Last year, we marked what I understand to be a world-first achievement, when we had a run of more than 10 consecutive days over which the average production of wind and solar accounted for 100 per cent of local demand. By 2030, South Australia is expected to be a net 100 per cent renewable energy generator, so hydrogen is quite simply a logical next step forward.

The Malinauskas government is committed to delivering new hydrogen projects and infrastructure. In doing that, we are investing in the future. We are investing in decarbonisation, and we are investing not only in energy independence but in a strong export potential. A global hydrogen economy is taking shape, and clear demand is emerging among nations and jurisdictions in our region, particularly those who have a high population but neither the landmass nor the sun that they need: Taiwan, Japan, Korea, to name just a few examples.

Where there is a market, someone is going to produce the product. Our government is acting so that that someone can be South Australia. We are building an industry that not only will benefit our environment but will benefit our community by meeting energy demands. We are building an industry that has the potential to respond to global demand and to help other nations access and utilise hydrogen's enormous potential as a source of clean energy. It will create thousands of jobs and a knowledge base that the world will want.

The world is watching us. I greatly look forward to the tremendous benefits our investment in hydrogen will offer our state, our region and our future generations.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (11:54): I rise to speak in support of the Supply Bill. A supply bill is necessary until the budget has passed through the parliamentary stages of the Appropriation Bill for 2023 where it receives its assent. In the absence of special arrangements in the form of the Supply Act there would be no parliamentary authority for expenditure between the commencement of the new financial year and the date on which assent is given to the Appropriation Bill. The amount being sought under this bill is $6.553 million.

I will be brief in my presentation. If I was to speak here on all the achievements of this government over the last 12 months, I would probably have to surpass the recent five-hour speech of the Hon. Mr Pangallo. But it is also better to speak about the future, not the past, and this government's budget for 2023-24 will give me plenty of opportunity to talk about the many great things we have in store for this state.

It is important to also acknowledge the terrible lack of leadership that this state has had between the years of 2018 and 2022—the lack of leadership, lack of initiative, lack of policy development, I think a lack of everything that you would expect of a government during that period. Most of my speech I will save for another day when I have so much to speak about for the future in terms of our initiatives from this government.

I would like to just speak a little bit about our health. We are investing right across our healthcare system, from ambulances right through to discharging people out of hospital. Probably the most critical component of that is building the capacity of our beds in the healthcare system. In fact, we have increased, since our election, our commitment to additional beds in the system. We came to office promising 300 beds for the system; we are now promising over 550 extra beds. That is funded within the bill that we are bringing to the parliament at the moment.

These are additional beds, which we have not seen for a long time, being brought into the system under successful governments. These are absolutely critically needed to make sure that we have the capacity now and into the future. We have increased our commitment to the Lyell McEwin Hospital. We said at the election we would put 24 more beds in there; now we have increased that to 48 more beds at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

When we came to power in 2002, the Lyell McEwin Hospital was just a shadow of what it is now. This government has committed enormous resources in the northern suburbs, because we have a fundamental belief that people in the northern suburbs have the right to the same great care as people have in the city. We have developed that hospital. I was there only recently and I was just astounded at how that hospital has increased from the small little unit that was there in 2002 to what is there now. The people of the northern suburbs should be proud of the fact that they have a world-class hospital system.

Not only are we delivering on commitments we made but we are increasing those commitments, because we understand the absolute need for world-class services for the people of South Australia. The Malinauskas government is delivering on its election commitment to supporting a strong mental health patient voice by providing funding to a peak independent advocacy group. The state government has committed $800,000 over four years to the Lived Experience Leadership and Advocacy Network (LELAN) to advocate for and represent people who live with lived experiences to help improve mental health services and outcomes for South Australians.

South Australians with lived experience of mental health have been able to influence improvements to the mental health system through the state government's engagement with LELAN. The peak body has already contributed to a wide range of projects, including the development of a draft model of care for 72 new mental health rehabilitation beds at Modbury, Noarlunga and The Queen Elizabeth hospitals. It is a very important initiative, especially when we think back to those dark years between 2018 and 2022 when mental health issues were seriously neglected.

The Malinauskas government has also unveiled another initiative to take pressure off the state's emergency departments, committing $2.1 million to build two new hospital avoidance hubs in the 2023-24 state budget. Following on the success of hospital avoidance programs in Sefton Park and Daw Park, the new hubs will be developed in Adelaide's northern and western suburbs, providing rapid multidisciplinary care seven days a week without needing to go to hospital or being admitted to an emergency department.

The new hubs are modelled on the services that have been rolled out successfully at the Hospital Avoidance and Support Discharge Service, run by the Central Adelaide Local Health Network at Sefton Park, and the Complex and Restorative (CARE) services at Daw Park, run by the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. We see patients referred from emergency departments, general practice and the SA Ambulance Service—patients have complex needs, such as residents from aged-care facilities and people experiencing homelessness.

The CARE service provides care for older people either in their homes or at the CARE centre through a team of specialty doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers. Providing care and services for patients outside the hospital setting increases the accessibility and effectiveness of health services, reducing the pressure on emergency departments. Capital works to prepare the sites will begin this year, with the first patients likely to receive services at the new hubs in 2024. The service will be funded through SA Health's operational budgets.

One of the biggest contributors to cost-of-living pressures and stress on people doing it tough is housing. At the 2022 election, Labor recognised the challenges faced by too many people in the housing market and committed an extra $177.5 million into the public housing system. This funding was designed to deliver 400 extra new homes, later increased to 437, plus to upgrade 350 vacant properties so they can be homes again for people in need. We also committed to doing additional maintenance on an extra 3,000 homes.

We provided an additional $6 million to inner-city homelessness services—Hutt Street, Catherine House and Vinnies—that had lost funding in an absolutely appalling way under the Liberals. Following the election, we recognised that more action was needed and announced another $55.2 million for 127 new public housing properties at the Mid-Year Budget Review. Not only did this additional Mid-Year Budget Review funding allow for more construction but it also included funds to purchase extra land to minimise potential delays waiting for blocks of existing public housing land to become available.

In our first year of government, we have committed an extra $232.7 million to public housing—almost a quarter of a billion dollars that will see the first proper increase in public housing in a generation. We have stopped the planned sale of the 580 public housing properties. Combined with our additional construction, we will deliver 1,144 more public housing properties in 2026. This follows public housing dropping by 1,095 homes under the former government and a drop of around 13,000 public housing properties when they were last in government before that.

We made public transport free 24/7 for Seniors Card holders. That helps tens of thousands of older South Australians to work, socialise, shop and get to important appointments without paying a cent. Boosting public transport usage is also very important for our environment. We are working with federal Labor to deliver energy bill relief to households and to small businesses. In the coming year, we will once again deliver the biggest concession payment in the state's history, almost triple the record we broke last year. Over the coming year, around 400,000-plus households may receive $500 off their energy bills. Many thousands of small businesses will also get $650. This is worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars from the state government.

In regard to road infrastructure, a key stretch of South Road will get a major makeover in the coming months, with $22 million of vital resurfacing works set to kick off as part of the River Torrens to Darlington project. The initial works will be carried out in both directions on a three-kilometre section between Glengarry Avenue, Glandore, and Bennet Avenue, Melrose Park, delivering a vastly smoother and safer ride for motorists above where the southern tunnels will be.

From later this year, further works will be undertaken from Daws Road to Lloyd Street, St Marys, as well as on the northern section of the roadway from Ashley Street, Torrensville, to Sir Donald Bradman Drive. The resurfacing work is one of a package of 13 infrastructure projects, together valued at $850 million, designed to support and complement the revitalised Torrens to Darlington project released by the state government in 2022.

Other projects in the package include building a new road directly linking Selgar Avenue, Clovelly Park, to Mab Circuit in the booming Tonsley Innovation Precinct; widening Richmond Road between South Road and Railway Terrace; and introducing two right-turn lanes from James Congdon Drive, city bound, onto Sir Donald Bradman Drive. We can all remember the farce between 2018 and 2022 when the only achievement of the Liberals during that time were the walls collapsing at Darlington; it made an absolute mockery of this state watching that occur on such a major project, and certainly delayed the construction of the road.

Tap and pay validators are to roll out across Adelaide's train network. Tap and pay conveniences will be available to all commuters across Adelaide's entire public transport network, with new smart validators to be installed on all metro train services, completing a rollout that began with trams and buses. The Malinauskas Labor government has allocated $7 million over three years in this month's state budget to implement the final tap and pay rollout on all Adelaide metropolitan trains, giving customers the same easy way to pay already enjoyed on trams and currently being rolled out on buses across the network. The new funding will also be used to replace barrier gates at the Adelaide Railway Station.

New electric trains on the Gawler line have already been fitted with smart validators. These validators are currently Metrocard only, but will start accepting credit cards when the broader tap and pay rollout is completed on all trains by mid-2025. This will allow customers to choose to use their Visa or Mastercard, including on their smartphones or other devices, as well as their Metrocard, to easily transfer between all Adelaide metro buses, trains and trams, with a consistent experience and one type of smart validator across all forms of transport.

The Malinauskas government has also had a strong commitment to our South Australian arts. The Labor government is offering grants of up to $15,000 to South Australian songwriters, artists and music businesses to support the creation of new music. The state government's Music Development Office project support grants offer two streams of funding to support musicians to continue their creative development and to help sustain music businesses in the contemporary music sector.

Grants are available for creative development to support recording and performing artists, songwriters, producers and artist managers on behalf of their artists in the creation and/or release of new original music composition or content. Grants are also available for business development to support recording studios, promoters, record labels, booking agents, live music venues, artists, managers, self-managed artists and other music entrepreneurs, businesses or organisations, with their efforts to facilitate the creation, presentation, production or delivery of original music.

The Malinauskas government is investing $1 million to support local artists to bring new performances and works of art to South Australia. As part of the Arts and Culture Grants Program, 60 grants were provided to South Australian artists across literature, visual arts, craft, design and the performing arts. The grants will create jobs for 292 artists, 119 arts workers and 49 supporting workers.

Artists and musicians suffered greatly during COVID. Many found themselves without employment and many of them found themselves in dire need, and none of them got very much support from the government at the time. We understand the struggles of artists. We also want to create a whole new environment to develop the live music industry.

In accordance with our Boosting Arts Grants and Enhancing Inclusion election commitment, which was designed to increase engagement with diverse artists and communities, 36.1 per cent include artists and participants who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders; 21.3 per cent include artists who are deaf or with a disability; 26.2 per cent involve people living regionally or remotely; 32.8 per cent involve people under 26 years of age; and 42.6 per cent include artists and participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

The funding round spanned nine categories including an additional Major Projects—Major Commission grant. Slingsby Theatre Company received this grant and secured funding of $100,000 for A Concise Compendium of Wonder, a new major theatrical series of three parts for audiences of all ages. The funding will support the first production, including design and construction of an innovative touring set which will eventually accommodate the entire three-part performance. The series is anticipated to tour from 2026 and further build on Slingsby's reputation as an international leader in immersive theatre.

The recent Mad March festival, one which many of us took part in, was an absolutely overwhelming success. Mad March has proved extraordinary for South Australia's tourism industry, with the Festival month clocking the highest increase on 2019 levels since the start of the pandemic. New data shows that visitor spend in South Australia in March 2023 was 134 per cent of the same month in 2019, thanks to major events like the Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival and WOMADelaide driving a surge in domestic spending.

The $906 million total visitor expenditure in March 2023, is the third highest month on record. It follows $930 million spent in October 2022 and the all-time high of $940 million spent in January 2023. The new National Visitor Survey for March 2023 shows that the total expenditure in South Australia for the month of March was $906 million. This is a 134 per cent increase on March 2019, which was $677 million, making it the strongest monthly comparison growth since the start of the pandemic.

Intrastate overnight spending was $303 million, up 52 per cent on March 2019; interstate spend was $324 million, up 32 per cent on March 2019; and the domestic day trip spend was $209 million, up 57 per cent on March 2019. The new figures come after March 2023 recorded the strongest month ever for Adelaide accommodation occupancy, with an average of 8,376 room nights booked each night of the month.

March 2023 holds the top two spots for room nights occupied to date, with the Saturday of the March long weekend and WOMAD, as well as the Tuesday of the Ed Sheeran concert during the same week, holding the number two and number one spots respectively for most hotel rooms sold across Adelaide of all time.

Those few words show that this state is moving ahead since the dark days of the Liberal government. With this current government today, you will see that there are a lot of good things in store. We understand that health, cost of living and energy are the big issues affecting people in this state and no doubt this budget will adequately target those people most in need. I seek this chamber to support the Supply Bill.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (12:15): I am pleased to speak in support of the Supply Bill, a bill that will enable our government to build on the considerable investments made over the past year. This bill will also ensure that our government can continue delivering vital public services until the assent of the Appropriation Bill later this year.

The annual debate of this bill gives us an opportunity to reflect on some of the incredible strides our government has made for our state. I would like to highlight a few initiatives amongst many that I believe are very important: that is, our government's focus on human services. When this government won the election last year, there were a number of challenges presented to us. The chaotic policies of the former government, compounded by a global pandemic and other national and global events, had left South Australians frustrated.

During a period when so many households in our communities were struggling, the reduction and inefficiency of social services were sorely felt. This meant that people in need were left without support and resources when they needed it most. Our government acknowledges that health care is an essential area of reform. We went to the 2022 election with a series of commitments to improve the quality of our health system and health infrastructure.

I am pleased to speak on a few of the health initiatives we have planned for this year. This includes a $2.1 million commitment to build two new hospital avoidance hubs following the success of hospital avoidance programs in Sefton Park and Daw Park. These care hubs will help more people receive timely care in the most suitable setting and take pressure off our emergency departments. Sustainment works will be funded by a $27 million investment, with $20 million going towards a significant upgrade of the Women's and Children's Hospital's paediatric ICU.

An amount of $2.2 million will go to upgrading the ED triage and waiting room at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. This upgrade, first proposed by clinicians at Royal Adelaide Hospital, will improve access and privacy for patients and help treat patients faster. A multimillion dollar package for Adelaide's metropolitan hospitals will allow more doctors, physios, pharmacists and other staff to be rostered on weekends. These initiatives form part of a broader strategy to ensure that our health infrastructure meets the needs of patients and improves flow in hospitals to reduce ambulance ramping.

Our government also recognises that cost of living is a challenge for too many South Australians. Rising interest rates and the cost of goods and services mean that people feel pressure in all aspects of their lives, with many having to choose between buying food and paying their rent. Housing was and still is an area in critical need of reform. Access to safe and secure housing is one of the most basic human rights, which is why our government approaches this issue with a focus on inclusion and compassion.

Recently, our government invested more than $237 million, on top of the initial $177 million, for new and improved public housing. Additionally, we cannot underestimate the significance of the changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 and the expansion of the Private Rental Assistance Program. A key focus in human services for our government has been prioritising those most vulnerable, such as those experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness services are always important but never more than when our community is faced with such significant pressures.

A sum of $115 million over two years will be invested into our state's homelessness alliances to extend contracts for workers pursuing homelessness services. These services are accessed by about 6,000 people in any given month, and cost-of-living pressures, domestic and family violence, and the current housing environment are adding thousands of new clients. This investment will ensure that staff will be able to continue working confidently and securely and that the alliances are able to retain a committed, knowledgeable and effective workforce.

In conjunction with this, a first-ever strategy to help rough sleepers through cold, wet and windy conditions during winter has been established by our government. Grants will be available to support local community groups to open daytime warm-up sites where our most vulnerable will be able to get shelter from the cold and access warm space, clothing and hot food.

During these critical times we recognise we also need to build communities so that South Australians feel supported. One-off funding of $1.5 million has been made available for women's and men's community centres to promote mental health and wellbeing, as well as an extra $2.4 million per year.

Our government is also committing further investment funds to an early intervention program helping young mothers to break the cycle of long-term involvement in the child protection system. Considering that during times of hardship women face additional burdens in their domestic and family lives, this is an incredibly important initiative. It will offer support services to young mums aged 25 and under who have had one or more children removed from their care and who are at increased risk of repeated removals.

Many of these women would otherwise fall through the gaps in the social safety net and face issues in other key life areas, including housing, mental health, employment and community connections. There will also be additional funds to support children, young people and their families in the child protection system, which will ensure that the safety of young people and support for families is prioritised.

Not least, I want to speak about the cost-of-living relief that our government is providing to directly support families and children. In the upcoming state budget there will be millions of dollars allocated for measures to relieve pressure on families and reduce barriers to student learning. This includes a continuation of the $100 materials and services charge discount as well as a $6.5 million boost to the School Breakfast Program to provide more than 1.4 million meals to children over the next four years.

Food security and nutrition play a significant role in student engagement. Over the past 12 months, Foodbank found that there were 78,000 children living in severely insecure households in South Australia. It is simply not good enough that any child goes hungry in our state. Our government's funding will be targeted to help public schools with the greatest need, helping to ensure better academic, social and emotional outcomes for students.

There are many more government initiatives that would be worth talking about today. These examples are only a few that represent this government's significant efforts in protecting and enhancing the wellbeing of all South Australians.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (12:23): In speaking on supply, it is good to start to structure, for those avid followers of Hansard or those listening at home, exactly the kind of thing you want to be seeing when it comes around to these annual statements of how you do it. Really what we are all talking about today is how we are setting the task for the largest employer in this state—which is, of course, the state government—to spend, how it spent the last year and then also looking forward a little bit in terms of what we are doing.

If you like, and to break it down to its smallest part, it is like coming in for a bit of an exam at the end of the year, because you would not want to be sitting there saying that the only thing you had on your agenda was a basketball stadium. If you did that, you might get in trouble by the time of the end of your exam.

In speaking on this, I think it is pretty important to start to outline the types of things that the government have achieved since we came into government last year. We came in with a pretty broad kind of mandate. We were looking at health, we were looking at the economy, we were looking at transport and infrastructure, and we were looking at education and better child protection, I think it is probably safe to say. These are the kinds of areas where really we came in with quite a bit to say.

The truth is I think that there has been a change in the state's fortunes in the last year. I understand that the opposition has their job to do in trying to state and put a case to say that there are better avenues to take, but I think it is pretty clear to see that the change in momentum has been noticed, particularly by those in the Eastern States. They are looking over their shoulder at what we are doing. I have given that speech already in this place, and I think that a lot of what I said in that is applicable in how we have been going. There is a sense of momentum in this state, and that is particularly incredible given that, in this same year, we have seen the Reserve Bank smash us with 12 straight interest rate increases.

What we have done is start to prioritise certain things that we said at the last state election. Certainly, one of them is the promise we made about health. We have employed over and above attrition, over 500 additional clinicians. That is a pretty significant addition no matter how you choose to look at it, and it is a pretty difficult environment to achieve that in when it comes to not only attracting but retaining those clinicians as we go.

Of those numbers—it is worth breaking them down a little bit—we have 278 nurses and more to come. I have been out and seen a number of those nurses training as they come through. It is great to see the really big increase in nurse training and graduations and the sense of confidence that I am starting to see in those trainee nurses as they come through. They are not just coming into, if you like, a critical care environment, they are coming into something where they feel a great deal more support, at least that is what they have been telling me, which I think says a lot about this state government's commitment and, indeed, ongoing commitment.

Furthermore, we have recently announced a $67 million package to reduce bed block. I will not start to go into exactly how that is going to roll out, but I think it again speaks to a certain level of priorities. What we are looking at is trying to keep to those statements that we made at the last election and roll them through over the four years to try to achieve the result. There is $27 million over four years to help medically ready patients to either return home or be transferred to an appropriate recovery setting. We are also hiring additional doctors and health staff to work on weekends across metropolitan Adelaide.

You can start to see how these types of initiatives are going to start to add to the additional clinicians that we have already put on and the additional nurses that we have already put on. We have also committed $39.9 million over five years to assist with freeing up beds for NDIS patients. That is also pretty critical. The package includes $17.6 million over five years to provide short-term accommodation and home modifications for medically able patients to get them out of hospital sooner.

We are starting to see, if you like, the various building blocks come together where we can say it is not one simple thing; it is many things operating together that are going to help build up a South Australian response to the health crisis that faced us when we came into government. Of course, as part of all that, there are extra beds in our public health system thanks to our government, of which a significant number will be mental health beds. We know that the health system is incredibly challenging, and it is even more challenging for those in our regional areas.

I suppose that is why it is pretty good to see, and certainly I have seen, a continued investment into improving the health outcomes for our regional population. I am pretty proud in that respect to say that I recently visited the construction site of the new Port Augusta ambulance station. Indeed, there was a commitment by the last Liberal government to commence that station, which is all well and good, and that station would have been at a rate exactly commensurate to the old station that was there: so a station which had the capacity for four ambulances.

The new station being built was modernised in some respects, so for instance you might have doorways that need to be higher in the new station. If Ms Henderson was here I could get my 'higher' going on—Ms Henderson, I am sure you are watching on TV somewhere. So the doors would have been higher, but at the same time it did not allow for more ambulances. It only allowed for exactly the same amount as what they had, which was four.

I am proud and pleased to say that the new Port Augusta station is significantly larger, which we have committed to. We have put a $187 million investment into building and upgrading ambulance stations, with this one included as part of that because it is going to allow for more ambulances to be based out of Port Augusta. Instead of having just the four bays, we are now going to have six bays.

The important part of that is that otherwise you would just have ambulances driving around the streets uncharged, so by the time you actually wanted to have some sort of response to what you were doing, that ambulance might be parked somewhere on a street. Aside from the safety aspects of that, it is not being charged, so its facilities are not available when you want it.

The new station we are building is not only going to have capacity for the new ambulances we are bringing to Port Augusta but it will also raise the overall standard of health service we are going to see in that region. It is something which, I have to say, is quite impressive when you go out there. It is something the community has raised with me, not just members of the ambulance fraternity out there but indeed members of the community who are happy to see the kind of investment that their town has warranted for quite some time.

We have not just stopped there when it comes to our commitments to health in the Upper Spencer Gulf. We have also committed $8 million to upgrading the hospital in Port Augusta. Certainly, I have toured that facility, I have spoken to a number of the clinicians there and a number of the doctors there, and to say that it is much needed really sells it quite short. The $8 million is very much welcomed by everybody working there.

I think that in this space it is also pretty important to say that over the last year, in regard to PATS, we have doubled the travel amount that can be claimed under that scheme. Aside from the fact that we are putting $8 million into the Port Augusta hospital, not all operations will necessarily—in terms of allied health or indeed surgeries—be able to be performed there. In that regard, some people will need to travel and will need to come to Adelaide for the facilities that are offered here. When that does happen, they will be able to claim double the amount through PATS that they previously would have been able to claim.

It is important, in regard to that, it really underlines the kind of commitment that we are bringing to regional health in South Australia. It was something that there was four years for those opposite to do while they were in government, but they did not necessarily step up to do that. It is a bit disappointing that they did not see that. I say that not necessarily to bait them here today, but the feedback I have received from those in Port Pirie and Port Augusta when I have been up there is: why was this not done sooner? No-one mentioned the Liberal Party, but that is the fact of it: why was it not done sooner, and I think this is something those opposite should perhaps be considering.

To move from there to the cost of living, we also know it has been pretty challenging for South Australians. I said up-front that we had 12 interest rate rises in a row. That is certainly causing quite a bit of heartburn for anybody out there who has a mortgage or cost-of-living factors brought about not just by what they do but also their family's needs. I think it is pretty important in that regard to underline that we are delivering over $254 million for electricity bill relief in partnership with the federal government.

What will that rollout look like? It is $500 in energy bill relief for 420,000 households. It is $650 in energy bill relief for 86,000 businesses. I received my statement of power increases from my retailer recently and I can tell you they are substantial; I am sure I would not be alone. Many South Australians would be receiving these letters from their retail companies stating that costs are going up and, to some extent, rebates are coming down. If you have a solar rebate, you are going to see less for it. I think that is going to lead to substantial cost-of-living pressures for everyday South Australians.

It is something we are acknowledging here in conjunction with our good friends in the federal government who seem to be able to also take a similar approach to recognising this pretty critical cost-of-living challenge for many South Australians. This $254 million, or $500 in energy relief for 420,000 households, is pretty critical in that regard. I think it is also important to underline in regard to that that this is not $500 in your bank account. This is not back to the old Howard-era days where you would just get a cheque and you could spend that on a big TV or something else like that. It is specifically targeted to come off your energy bill.

I would hope it will bring about a pretty significant amount of relief for when those power bills come in for South Australians, particularly if you are (a) eligible but (b) if you are in one of those vulnerable areas, for instance if you are a pensioner or some such, and it might just allow you to sleep or rest a little more easily knowing that that money is there.

Further to that simple measure, we are also providing $18.5 million in cost-of-living pressure measures for families with schoolchildren. I am one of those families. It includes a $100 discount on material service charges for public school children, and that will be continued again in 2024, so it is nice to see that that is for the third year in a row. We are also expanding the School Breakfast Program, as outlined critically by my colleague the Hon. Ms Pnevmatikos. This is going to be a really important program, which underlines again what we need to be thinking about when we are in a cost-of-living pressure environment.

These are the kinds of programs where KickStart for Kids and Foodbank will be able to step into the space where those families who are most vulnerable, those who have children going to school who might not have had a meal for the morning, are going to receive the kinds of initiatives where government needs to step into those kinds of spaces where we have to make sure that children who are attending school are fed and ready to learn for the day. I think that is a really good initiative and a great example of exactly the kinds of things where government in conjunction with excellent organisations like Foodbank can step into these spaces and work together on a great community need.

Indeed, when I had the opportunity to tour Foodbank, I noticed that the amount of food going out in terms of tonnage has increased quite substantially. I remember while I was there they told me that for the Victorian branch of their organisation they had something like another 500 tonnes increase—I think it might be in something like a week—going out of their operations over there. That was not mirrored to South Australia, but it certainly starts to put a bit of a light on the size of the problem and the types of cost-of-living pressures that we have seen come in, in recent times, certainly after COVID disrupted our society so very much.

While on education, last week we announced $100 million for important school infrastructure upgrades. Indeed, upgrades, repairs, maintenance—and that is not just in Labor electorates, that is in 66 schools across this state. Why do I mention that? Well, we have seen certain programs roll out through other governments, usually past federal Liberal governments, where we only sort of saw the rollout in certain areas, usually in electorates where the Liberal Party was maintaining its hold, but we have not seen that here. We have seen it rolled out across 66 schools all across the state and, in saying that, I think it is really good.

I would like to take the opportunity once again to congratulate a couple of schools that I know are certainly not in Labor-held electorates: Highgate Primary School, Parkside Primary School, Augusta Park Primary School, Leigh Creek Area School and Leigh Creek Kindergarten. In each of those schools—again, not in Labor-held electorates—we are going to see a substantial amount of money go in for the kind of fundamentals that you want to see to not just make education easier for students now but also to attract further students to those schools, so they have the confidence to learn in those environments and so the parents have the confidence to keep them there.

At Highgate Primary School we have seen structural cracking, and the money there is going to go in and, if you like, firm up the foundations of that school, literally and figuratively. So we have that kind of thing. We have some window frame replacements at Parkside Primary School. We have roofing replacements at Augusta Park Primary School. At Leigh Creek Area School and Leigh Creek Kindergarten we have significant facilities upgrades. It really quite covers the field in terms of capital works and upgrading our public education system to truly take our public education system forward and make sure that we instil that confidence in students and in parents to continue to send their children to our very valuable public education system.

It was nice as well while I was in Port Augusta recently, while I was at the secondary school there, to speak to Simon Owens, the principal, and have a chat with him about the banned mobile phones in classrooms, to allow students to focus and thrive, which is a really great initiative we have also brought in this year. The Malinauskas government, I think, took the quite bold step to say, 'Look, you can't learn in an environment with mobile phones in the classrooms.' In talking to the principal of Port Augusta Secondary School, he was certainly a big fan of that, so much so he brought it in one term earlier than what he needed to.

I think it has really underlined the outstanding steps taken by Minister Boyer and the Malinauskas government in education to start to reimbue that sense of: it is the best place to be, it is the best place to send your children for the future, and really to keep those minds—the next generation of South Australians—focused on what they should be focused on, which is learning what they can to take on the vocations, to take the jobs in South Australia, and take our state forward.

For those who might be struggling in the school environment, I think it is really great to see as well that the Malinauskas government is there again. We are putting mental health support staff into schools. That is something that I think is going to take some rolling out while we obtain those staff so that they can be installed, but it is certainly something which we have started to see roll out since it was announced I think late last year.

It has really been a feature for many of the schools that I have visited during the past year. They are very happy not only to be receiving the funds for those staff but also, for those that already have staff in place and have it rolling out now, to see the effect that that has brought about for students in those schools. I was at Unley High recently, and they have great facilities for mental health support for students already, but they were very happy to have the additional investment, which would certainly ease the amount of pressure in terms of staff assisting their students.

I think sitting over the top of all of this is looking, again, into the future. We have the Supply Bill, and supply is not just about now, it is about looking over the horizon a little. Certainly, the Malinauskas government was there for that too. We did no less than have a royal commission into early education. Not mucking around, we went straight to the top and got the best person we possibly could. We went and obtained the former Prime Minister to conduct that royal commission.

I think it is fair to say, again, that that had the east coast looking at us, looking at what we are recommending, looking at what we are putting in place, looking, again, at South Australia as really these bold initiatives, these great ideas start not just to be talked about in election campaigns but to be put into practice. Indeed, others start to look at us as the federation leader, if you like. So we are building the technical colleges—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Putting horses in the city behind the courts; what do you think they're saying about that? Oh, my goodness me.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: Aiming too high, are we, Ms Lensink? Should we aim lower? Would the Liberal Party like us to be a bit more realistic? Well, we are building—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: '2026—The Liberals: Aim lower.'

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: That's right. I take your point, the Hon. Mr Maher. Liberal Party policy: aim lower. We are building the technical colleges—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Back to the 1900s. Giddy up.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: —the Hon. Ms Lensink, to skill up our young people for the future workforce we are going to need to support the new economy which we are doubtlessly transitioning to. Whether we choose to or not, it is coming for us, and in that regard we are going to need people who can fill those roles.

We have had some big wins with regard to the types of roles which we are going to need in this state. The state government boldly stepped into the space in relation to hydrogen, and we are seeing the world start to respond to that, start to see South Australia for the world leader that it is in that regard, in the renewable space, a foundation put in place very firmly by a former Weatherill government, which I was, at least for one year, a part of.

That is now continuing with the Malinauskas government. We are now not just transitioning from renewables but transitioning to base load renewables like hydrogen, which will possibly provide us with the ability to get into the space like green steel, to get into the space of green manufacturing, to bring those jobs back to our state. That is something which is over the radar, I will concede, but I tell you what: if you do not start doing it now, it definitely will not happen.

As part of that, we are going to need those technical colleges we promised—and not just for hydrogen but also for those defence jobs, too, which are going to roll into this state. We have seen an enormous announcement around the nuclear subs which are going to be built here, another thing that has the east coast again looking at South Australia. We are the defence state. We will be taking those jobs and we will be transforming our economy with the billions of dollars, the hundreds of billions of dollars, that are going to come with that, and we are going to need to have those technical jobs ready—trained up and ready to go on those projects.

I think that is a pretty exciting place for our state to be. I think that that is the kind of thing that is going to keep people here, that is going to give them the confidence to stay in South Australia so that we are not just the transition economy that the Liberal Party said they wanted to stop but did not.

We can be the kind of economy which again has the east coast looking at us. We are not them. We are not the same as them. We are something different again. Recently, our Premier went off to Rotterdam and wandered around. I know it is one of those fantastic economies, the Hon. Ms Lensink—I know that you were there, too, and I know that you would have seen the kind of response we were getting to the jobs which we are looking to attract. It is not just a matter of the jobs we are going to build but the industries we are going to attract as part of it.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Did he have to pay to promote himself in Rotterdam?

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: I just know that you were there, the Hon. Ms Lensink. At the same time, if we have major energy providers looking at us, if we have major defence contractors looking at us, the kinds of industries that we want to attract, these are the types of jobs that build an economy. You only need to look at international economies to see that they are the kinds of economies that are thriving, especially in a post-COVID world where certain aspects of a sector that we previously relied on—for instance, agriculture and food—are not just going to prop you up for evermore.

The Hon. B.R. Hood interjecting:

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: I do not know what you are talking about, the Hon. Mr Hood, but if you have ever been around mate, 1 o'clock is when it stops, not before. We know how to do things differently in South Australia. We know how to get noticed and it seems like we have worked out how to achieve it. I have to say, with all that structure that we put in place, with all that looking over the fundamentals—education, health, jobs for the future, those kinds of things—it has not been boring doing it. For once, I have to say, from January through to very recently, South Australia was the place to be. It was. I recall, showing my age a little bit, going back to the old F1 days, South Australia really hummed when the F1s were here. The vibe of our state was, 'Wow! This is a great place to be.'

The Hon. N.J. Centofanti: It's the vibe.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: It is the vibe. The Hon. Ms Centofanti says, 'It's the vibe.' It is the vibe and the reason it is the vibe is that we saw over $8 billion worth of vibe, the Hon. Ms Centofanti, coming into our state with a record of 20,000 small business and tourism sector operators benefiting from that. We bought back the Adelaide 500—something you wanted to stop, I know, but we bought it back not just because it annoyed a few of your benefactors over in the eastern suburbs.

The reality is that it was a successful event. I know that galls you. I know that you hate it, but it is true. A record $51 million benefit to the South Australian economy—$51 million dollars that you would have seen just disappear under the former leadership of the Liberals. It was a resounding endorsement of our decision to bring the race back. We promised it, we delivered it and, as I have said before, we smashed it. Mad March did go spectacularly. In the three days of the March long weekend alone, an estimated $128 million was spent in the state's visitor economy.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Who told you that, the Tourism Commission? Did the Tourism Commission come up with that figure?

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: That is in a single weekend, the Hon. Ms Lensink. You just hate seeing dollars come into the state. I know it is galling for the Liberal Party. They just hate it; they hate that we were successful. They want South Australia to aim lower, the Hon. Mr Maher. That is what they want. They want us to aim lower; we should be earning less money. But the fact is we saw unprecedented ticket sales across Mad March events. Fringe ticket sales broke the national record, too, which is fantastic—I think over a million tickets. It bears out that this government was very right to have increased the funding to that and to bring back the Adelaide 500. We had WOMAD. We had Ed Sheeran. It was fantastic and it was really quite a special place to be.

Then, of course, we had the AFL Gather Round as well, something that we are going to have for another three years. We are just going to keep extending that Mad March. If you build it, they will come. We have heard evidence in this parliament that the Adelaide Airport had its busiest four days since the start of the pandemic. Every single match sold out, with more than 268,000 tickets sold across the four days. More than 60,000 people came from interstate to be here.

The Friday saw $6.8 million in hotel bookings alone. I think the Hon. Mr Maher's interjection is correct: the Liberals do not like hearing it—they want to wrap it up. They do not want to hear about how successful South Australia has been under the Malinauskas Labor government. They are sitting there saying, 'Oh, please end it. Justin, stop talking about how successful we've been.' It is quite sad, actually. I have to say that I am going to run out of time, and isn't that a resounding endorsement of the Malinauskas government that you run out of time to talk about how successful we have been? It is unbelievable that the Liberal Party are sitting there saying, 'Could you please stop talking because it's taken too long to tell us about how bad we were compared with how good you are.'

Having highlighted some of the priorities and election commitments our government has delivered for South Australia, I know that the job is not done. I believe we will exceed these commitments and make all South Australia proud. I will make the Liberals even more unhappy at the next supply speech, when they will have to tell me to sit down again.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (12:55): I thank honourable members for their contribution and look forward to the bill passing very shortly.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (12:57): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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