Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: As members are probably well aware, there have been many concerns in the community since EDASA announced the cessation of its services in November last year. As I understand it, EDASA had not received any support or funding from the state government over the previous three years before its closure. An open market tender call was undertaken in 2012‑13 for non-government eating disorders support services and, as result, EDASA’s tender was unsuccessful and the tender was awarded to Centacare.

EDASA offered regular support groups for those with eating disorders and their friends and families. The association also presented to schools, parents and professionals through its prevention and health promotion programs and youth forums. Since the closure of EDASA I understand that there are concerns in the community that the services previously offered by EDASA have not been replaced to the same standard. My questions to the minister are:

1. What education about eating disorders is currently running for young people in particular and, again, particularly in schools?
2. Does the government recognise and acknowledge the benefit of providing eating disorder prevention services to young people for their physical health, mental health and positive body image?
3. Will the government consider including prevention services in future eating disorder tender criteria?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. I will take those questions to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse in another place around the subject matter of the provision of services around eating disorders and positive body image and seek a response on her behalf.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT:The Centre for Disability Health is operated as a specialised service for people with disability, particularly those who are registered with disability services (i.e. Disability SA). Since last year, the community has been placed on notice that the Centre for Disability Health will be closed, with the likely end date, as I understand it, being mooted as the end of this year, although that seems to depend on whom you ask. People who were eligible for disability services but not actually registered with Disability SA were also accepted as clients of the CDH. With the rollout of the NDIS, children with disability aged under 14 are no longer eligible for disability services. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is it true that only clients who are registered with Disability SA will be eligible to consult the Centre for Disability Health henceforth?
2. Will the existing clients who are not registered with Disability SA be required to be discharged from the service?
3. Will the existing clients be advised of the change in policy and, if so, how will they be advised?
4. What additional resources will be put into facilities like CAMHS to absorb the increase in clientele who have no other appropriate services available to them?
5. What is the current waiting list for new CAMHS clients?
6. What planning has been done to cater to the health needs of young people in particular with challenging behaviours who are no longer eligible or who may no longer be eligible to visit the Centre for Disability Health?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions around the Centre for Disability Health at the Modbury Hospital. I’m not completely sure whether it is actually in the purview of the Minister for Health or the Minister for Disabilities (Hon. Leesa Vlahos) in the other place, but I will undertake to ascertain which minister it applies to and to take the honourable member’s questions about who actually gets access to that centre and whether they are registered with SA Health or not, whether they will have access to that centre into the future.

Of course, there are implications in terms of how the NDIS is rolled out, particularly for those in the younger age group. It may well be—and I am not saying it is—that it’s just a natural product of transferring people between the health system and the National Disability Insurance Scheme system, which will be coming about in the very near future. That scheme, you will remember, was a scheme that was championed by the federal Labor government to address the severe underfunding for disability services right across the country. It was a Labor government that introduced it, it was a Labor government that implemented it, and the Labor government fought for it very, very hard.

This state Labor government—and I am not going to try to take too much kudos for myself but I was the minister for disabilities at the time—was instrumental in making sure that that system was applied across the nation with some degree of equity. It was always our concern that particularly young children should not fall through the gaps when this was being rolled out, and that was why we as a state volunteered to do our initial work in the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the area of young people, and we did that in a staged way, because the other trial areas around the country weren’t really focusing on young people in particular. It is a focus for us, it will always be a focus. As I say, I am not quite sure which minister will be responding to this but I undertake to check with both of them and bring back a response for the honourable member.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety): I thank the honourable member for her question, and I am very grateful for her interest in correctional services but more specifically the department’s commitment to rehabilitate those people who are in the state’s custody.

On 2 February, only a few weeks ago, I was delighted to have the privilege to officially open the C.S. Hare Centre and the health centre, which is a high-dependency unit at Yatala named Marnirni Trruku. The C.S. Hare Centre was named after a gentleman by the name of Charles Simeon Hare who was a politician. He was born in 1808. He represented Yatala in the House of Assembly and was first elected in 1857. Mr Hare had to wait over 100 years to have an institution named after him, but I am sure he would be very grateful nevertheless.

The naming of the centre, though, is entirely appropriate as Mr Hare was a great believer in prisoners being employed and moved in council that £5,000 be set aside to enable a prison to be constructed next to a quarry. C.S. Hare in turn later became a superintendent of Yatala prison, a post he held for almost two years. C.S. Hare’s story, and his belief that work served as a pathway back to the community, tails nicely into the name given to the health centre, which is Marnirni Trruku, as I mentioned. In the language of the traditional owners, Marnirni Trruku means ‘becoming better centre’.

The new facility will provide prisoners who are unwell with specialised care to the same standards as those in the community at large. Prisoners with a variety of needs and health issues from across the state will be able to become better whilst retaining their dignity and self-worth, critical elements within the rehabilitation journey.

The high-dependency unit was completed in January this year and comprises a 26-bed complex-needs unit. This includes a six-bed acute area for the assessment, treatment and observation of prisoners who are considered to be of high risk. It also includes a 12-bed therapeutic area for assessment, intervention, support, therapeutic programs and transition planning for prisoners with complex needs. An eight-bed aged-care/infirm facility is also included for assessment, specialty care and rehabilitation of older and infirm prisoners.

The health centre, also completed in January this year, comprises 12 beds for the monitoring of unwell prisoners. It has also generated approximately 20 new full-time positions within correctional operations. These facilities provide a much needed improvement to South Australia’s health care for prisoners and are a big step forward for the welfare of critical-need prisoners within the state.

I, like all Labor governments, am a firm believer in universal health care and that health is an equaliser. I am pleased that those in prison will have the same rights to basic health care as everybody else. I would like to thank all the staff involved in the planning, development and construction of the health centre and high-dependency unit. It was an honour to be able to officially open the centre and to see those who played an integral role in its facilitation and who are so proud of a facility that is so critical in ensuring that prisoners become better and that we better facilitate their rehabilitation as they enter back into the community.

This government and I are incredibly proud of our ‘tough on crime’ record, but it is also true that this government has a responsibility, once people enter into our correctional facilities, to do everything that we can to rehabilitate them in a way that when they re-enter the community they make a positive contribution rather than a negative one. This facility will go a long way in achieving that objective.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I have a supplementary question. Are these new facilities disability accessible? Also, will the provision of these facilities and new standards prevent a future case like the one we saw of prisoner Jacqui, who was reportedly handcuffed for 22 hours of the day for most of the eight months she spent at Yatala in 2011?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety): I thank the honourable member for her important supplementary question. These facilities undoubtedly better equip the Department for Correctional Services to be able to handle high-needs prisoners. You refer to a specific incident that occurred some time ago. This facility, as I am advised, really gives the Department for Correctional Services a facility that is able to accommodate and deal with those prisoners who find themselves in a high acute needs area.

Having spoken to the staff who will be using this facility, they are extremely excited about the capability that this new facility offers to be able to deal with those people who have really high needs and find themselves in vulnerable situations and other circumstances. Undoubtedly, this facility goes a long way to be able to deal with circumstances like the one that you referred to.

With respect to the first part of your question, I am more than happy to take that on notice and look at whether or not it complies with a whole range of disabilities standards, but more specifically I can assure you that this facility undoubtedly goes a long way to being better equipped to handle a whole range of different circumstances, including those people who suffer disabilities who fall within the state’s care.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Community concerns about the danger of asbestos have recently come to our attention after a constituent of mine discovered asbestos dumped in one of South Australia’s premier tourism spots, Cleland Wildlife Park, last week. My questions to the minister are:

1. How many incidents of illegal dumping that include asbestos have been recorded by the department in recent years in South Australia?
2. What is the proper process that should be undertaken once dumped asbestos is reported?
3. Is the dumping reported to the Environment Protection Authority?
4. Is SafeWork SA notified?
5. What ongoing monitoring process does the department have in place for known dumping sites of asbestos?
6. Have there been any successful prosecutions for illegal dumping of rubbish, with or without asbestos, in national parks in South Australia?
7. Will the government consider funding free disposal to encourage responsible disposal of asbestos and related products?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. The Environment Protection Authority regulates asbestos waste and minimises related environmental harm through the licensing of transport, storage and disposal. In addition, the EPA plays an active role in managing asbestos-related matters such as illegal dumping and site contamination.

The EPA offers guidelines and advice to householders on the safe removal, transport and disposal of asbestos through the EPA website and the EPA Asbestos Hotline. The EPA recommends that all asbestos removal should be undertaken by a professional removalist due to the risks involved. All persons removing, storing, transporting and/or disposing of asbestos waste are bound by the general environmental duty under the Environment Protection Act 1993 to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent environmental harm. This includes taking the necessary safety precautions regarding the handling of asbestos, as outlined in the EPA guidelines.

SafeWork SA is the responsible authority for asbestos removal in the workplace and licenses asbestos removalists. SA Health and local councils who administer the Public Health Act 2012 also have a role and are able to provide information about public health risks from asbestos. Householders do not need a licence to remove asbestos, nor is an EPA licence required for the commercial removal of non-friable asbestos.

An EPA licence is required for the commercial removal of friable asbestos which licenses the remover as a producer of listed waste. Persons transporting asbestos waste for fee or reward require an EPA licence as a waste transporter. All landfills and waste transfer stations that receive asbestos waste have conditions on the EPA licences specifically relating to the receipt, storage and disposal of asbestos waste.

The EPA’s illegal dumping unit was formed in 2011 to investigate the illegal dumping of commercial quantities of industrial, demolition and hazardous waste. This includes asbestos. The IDU also works with other government agencies and local government to provide advice and support for smaller scale dumping matters. In November 2014, the government launched an interagency website (www.asbestos.sa.gov.au) which provides a single point of entry for the general public to access asbestos information to assist them to:

safely deal with asbestos;

ensure they are meeting their obligations under legislation administered by a number of different South Australian government agencies; and

help them identify which agency to contact for more information, should the need arise.

From time to time, people do raise the issue about the cost of dumping asbestos in our prescribed dumps but, of course, that is a minor cost and would have no impact, I am advised, in terms of illegal dumping because the major cost associated with asbestos is the removal and the payment to an approved asbestos removal firm. In comparison, the dump charge is minimal.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Following a call to my office from a constituent just today, Dignity for Disability has some concerns about the transportation of personal disability equipment by SA Health, particularly when patients are coming to Adelaide from regional areas for treatment. Our constituent, who has given his permission to be talked about today, is a bilateral amputee and permanent wheelchair user. He was airlifted from Whyalla to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service on Wednesday night, 3 February, and has been in the RAH since that day. I understand he will been discharged tomorrow, Wednesday 10 February.

While he was admitted to the Royal Adelaide last Wednesday, it took until yesterday for his manual wheelchair to arrive at the hospital; that is, it took 4 ½ days. Our constituent is very concerned that when he is discharged tomorrow and transported back to Whyalla, again by the Royal Flying Doctor Service airbus, it could take another three to four days for his wheelchair to arrive back in Whyalla at home with him, leaving him stranded without his mobility aid in the meantime.

Our constituent has been told that it is at the pilot’s discretion as to whether or not they will transport his wheelchair. On our constituent’s previous two stays at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2012, on both occasions it took between four and five days for his wheelchair to arrive with him in Adelaide. While then the Royal Adelaide provided him with a wheelchair, after three days in hospital he had to take the initiative to request it. Our constituent has investigated having his wheelchair transported via Rex Airlines, but I am told that there will be a personal cost of upwards of $100. My questions are:

1. Can the minister reassure our constituent that his wheelchair will be transported with him on the return journey to Whyalla and that this will happen on consequent trips if he needs to come back to Adelaide for treatment?

2. Does the minister agree that it is unacceptable that a patient should be forced to go without their essential aid for a number of days in modern-day Australia?

3. What is exactly the SA Health procedure for the transportation of essential equipment, including equipment required for mobility, particularly with transportation from rural and regional South Australia to Adelaide hospitals?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. Particularly, I can understand the difficulty faced by patients from rural and regional South Australia who have particular equipment designed specifically for them and which cannot be readily replaced with standby equipment in town. I understand that completely and I am sure the minister does as well. I undertake to take that question to the minister in another place and seek a response on her behalf.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy): I thank the honourable member for her question and her many, many years of interest in South Australian jobs and in skills which the Northern Economic Plan goes a long way to talking about.

The Northern Economic Plan is a joint partnership between the state government, the City of Playford, the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, the City of Salisbury, businesses in northern Adelaide, industry, and community and social leaders. The Northern Economic Plan sets the direction for transforming northern Adelaide into a diverse and resilient economy. By working together with other tiers of government, the business community, the education research sector and the community sector, we are investing in growth sectors and looking at ways to make it easier for businesses to grow and create jobs.
On 28 January, the Premier officially launched the Northern Economic Plan at Bickford’s in Salisbury South. The launch was attended by nearly 500 people and was held on the warehouse floor. While we were in a roped-off section, stock was moving in and out of the rest of the facility. In fact, throughout the event automated forklifts quietly moved around and up and down the row of stocks in an impressive display of cutting-edge automation.

I would like to thank the staff at Bickford’s, who would have worked hard to accommodate the launch event occurring in a normally very busy workplace. In particular, I would like to thank Angelo Kotses, Managing Director, for the use of the Bickford’s site and his great speech about how the Bickford’s group is growing in northern Adelaide, across the state and across Australia.

Over 160 years since their founding, Bickford’s remains a private Australian-owned and managed business. From a small chemist in 1839 known as the Adelaide Dispensary on North Terrace to its current world-class facilities at Salisbury South, Bickford’s is truly a South Australian success story.

At the launch event, following a Kaurna welcome to country by Jack Buckskin, the Premier formally launched the plan and signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the government with those three northern council mayors. Raymond Spencer, as the Chair of the Economic Development Board emceed the events and spoke about the need for businesses to take risks and importance of business innovation and practices. The assembled audience of business, community, council and state government representatives also heard from Professor Barbara Pocock, Director of the Centre for Work and Life at the University of South Australia.

The launch of the Northern Economic Plan was a culmination of a lot of hard work from the mayors of the three northern councils, and I would particularly like to thank Mayor Gary Johanson, Mayor Gillian Aldridge, and Mayor Glenn Docherty for the commitment and hard work in working together to bring this plan to a reality. The administrative sides of the councils have also worked very well together with the chief executives from the councils with state government officials. The plan has also benefited from the close involvement of business representatives including Erik Bosch, Simon Kennedy and Kelvin Trimpler, and throughout the plan’s development I have been grateful for the dozens of businesses in the northern Adelaide regions who have taken the time to meet with me in the conversations with many more of the major employers who have been crucial in shaping this plan.

I have had the chance to visit companies like Scholle Industries, headed by Erik Bosch, or Smart Fabrication, headed by Simon Kennedy. Both of these companies are key employers in the region and their involvement on the Community Leaders Group has been a key to the plan having a good understanding of business focus. The Northern Economic Plan was characterised by a high level of consultation with business, but also with the community. Information was provided to more than 120,000 households, and the Premier and myself hosted a first of its kind tele town hall meeting that had almost 7,000 residents involved. The feedback we received from both businesses and the community was that they wanted all levels of government to work together to help create jobs.

A core part of the Northern Economic Plan is identifying ways in which the state government and local northern councils can work better together to give businesses a smoother ride when looking to grow and expand. We do not want to see potential job creating expansions and developments not go ahead because businesses cannot find the right way to do it, so I am grateful that those councils are working very closely together to support this.

Through the Northern Economic Plan, the state government, local governments, businesses and the community sector will work together on immediate projects and look at ways of finding jobs for those whose jobs will be lost as the automotive sector winds down with Holden closing down at the end of the end of 2017. Some of these projects will start immediately and others are long-term projects. Some of the projects have already been committed to, and the focus of the Northern Economic Plan will ensure that there is as much return to the local community as possible. This means maximising local jobs and contracts for residents in the north.

An important part of the launch event was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the government and those three councils. As part of the launch of the Northern Economic Plan, the state government also committed $24.65 million dollars in new funding for the North supporting growth industries in that area. This included a funding boost for northern Adelaide in a range of areas.

We have committed $2 million to support an alliance of northern businesses to trial prototypes for electric/diesel hybrid buses and possible manufacturing in northern Adelaide. The Premier also announced as part of the Northern Economic Plan that $7 million would be allocated to attract anchor tenants to be established in the Northern Adelaide Food Park in Parafield and also to promote the use of renewable energy and, importantly, energy storage solutions for the food park. This funding was on top of the $2 million that was allocated for the food park in the 2015-16 state budget.

There will also be $4 million of new money for a disability employment hub. We know that one of the biggest, if not the biggest, growth areas in northern Adelaide will be the health, ageing and disability sector, and the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be a big part of this increase. As the NDIS is rolled out, the size of the disability sector workforce is expected to more than double. This increase has a forecast of 6,300 new jobs statewide and approximately 1,700 of them in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

The construction sector is a growing sector in Adelaide’s north with a number of highly innovative companies. One innovative area is the modular construction area. This process and some of the innovative methods used have provided local companies with a strong competitive edge. The government will support this sector and has allocated $500,000 to establish an Advanced Modular Construction Industry Alliance.

We have also allocated $100,000 to develop a live music activation strategy in northern Adelaide. This funding will look to replicate some of the success that has been achieved in the CBD and also some of the success that has been achieved with initiatives like the Northern Sound System. An allocation of $50,000 for a youth resilience and empowerment program will work with disengaged students, and this program will be delivered by Power Community Limited, the community development arm of the Port Adelaide Football Club.

The final funding announcement as part of the Northern Economic Plan was a $10 million fund to support small business. Northern Adelaide has something like 16,700 small businesses, many of which have the capacity to employ more people relatively easily. The Small Business Development Fund will help small businesses with small matched grants that will provide growth and jobs. I look forward to providing the parliament in the coming months with more details of these new programs in the future.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: A supplementary arising from the original answer: can the minister elaborate on what the government imagines will happen in this rather obscurely named disability employment hub? Is it training people to become disability support workers? Is it training people to manufacture disability aids? Is it, heaven forbid, helping people with disabilities to find jobs? What does the government envisage will happen in the hub?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy): I thank the honourable member for her question. A major component of it will be providing training for people to work in the disability sector. We know there is a massive increase as the NDIS is rolled out for the need for people to work in that sector, so a major focus will be training. It is not finalised, and I would be happy to take into account the honourable member’s views as the disability hub is finalised. I do not have all the details of it. The actual implementation of it rests with the Minister for Disabilities, but I will make sure that much more information is provided.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Back some time in May, the government announced the introduction of the cost of living concession. It was to be not just for homeowners paying council rates but also for all South Australians who meet low income criteria. Payments are either $100 or $200, I understand, depending on whether a person is a homeowner or a renter.

The government is obviously very proud of this payment, particularly the fact that it now includes a $100 payment eligibility for low income earners. However, it seems to me that the implementation of this project could be somewhat problematic. First, low income renters do not seem to know, from my consultation and research, that the payment exists or is available to them. Secondly, the application process seems to have some accessibility issues for people with disabilities wishing to apply; and, thirdly, there does not seem to be any particular way to get further information or support with the application process.

This afternoon on my behalf, my office called the concessions hotline on the number 1800 307 758 to get information on the application process for constituents, but instead of speaking to a real person—this is where it gets interesting—my staff member was greeted by an answering machine automated message, which stated the following:

Thank you for calling the South Australian concessions hotline. We are currently experiencing an extremely high volume of calls and are unable to take your call. If you are calling about the cost of living concession, you can access this information from the website from Friday 15 May.

In other words, it didn’t put the person on hold, it didn’t tell them who they could speak to to get more information: it told them that they could check a website in a little while’s time. Dignity for Disability is also concerned that the window to apply for a payment will see very few eligible people aware since the window expires on 31 October. Anyone who applies after this time will not be eligible until the following year. My questions to the minister are:

1.How does the government plan to ensure that low income earners in particular, and particularly renters, actually find out that this cost of living concession exists?

2.Is this possibly going to be another DCSI software debacle along the lines of COLIN?

3.Why is the hard-copy downloadable application form in PDF only, meaning that it could be inaccessible to people using screen readers?

4.Is there a plan to make a version of the application form that is in easy English and plain language for people with low literacy skills?

5.Why can’t those applying post 31 October access the payment for this financial year?

6.Why will it take up to 31 March—nine months if you applied on 1 July—for your payment to be received? Why does it take nine months to receive $100?

7.Why is the cost of living concessions helpline so busy that people calling up for information and assistance cannot be queued or even called back by DCSI?

8.Will the department be providing face-to-face support, as well as phone and internet support, for South Australians through an agency such as Service SA to assist people to apply for this concession?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) : I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. I undertake to take her questions on the cost of living allowance to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion in the other place and seek a response on her behalf.

In reply to the Hon. K.L. VINCENT ( 30 July 2015 ).

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) :

1. As part of the implementation of the Cost of Living Concession (COLC), an extensive communication strategy has been developed that specifically targets potential COLC customers. This strategy includes a number of direct mail activities to existing concession customers which will help ensure the expected 205,000 COLC customers are well informed about the new concession. Specifically, 38,000 tenant households have received a letter, application form and reply paid envelope. These letters informed potential customers of the COLC, how to apply for the concession and also included information about other concessions provided by the state government.

The South Australian government website and all relevant concession webpages were updated with COLC information when it was announced and the ‘Are you Eligible for a Concession?’ brochure has been updated to include details about the COLC. These are important resources for those who are interested in the concession.

2. No.

COLIN (Cost of Living Information) is the name of the new data system for the administration of the COLC. The COLIN system will be a hybrid solution utilising commercial off-the-shelf systems and ‘Software-as-a-Service’ options. The department will purchase these components through standard procurement processes and will manage the project as a whole. This is a standard approach across government and will utilise IT systems that have a proven record.

3. The hard-copy downloadable application form for the COLC is in PDF format to ensure the integrity of the form remains as absolute as possible, which is common practice in government and business. The Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) is aware that PDFs can be difficult to read for some users and so the Cost of Living website invites readers to email DCSI to request a copy in an alternative format.

Since 1 July 2015, a web-based online application form has been available that can easily be read by assistive technology including screen readers. Where this is not possible, the Concessions Hotline Customer Service Officers are able to assist applicants with their application (1800 307 758).

4. No, however Concessions Hotline staff are able to assist customers through their application process over the telephone.

5. Eligibility criteria and application timelines are outlined in legislation for the Cost of Living Concession. This states that applications for this payment must be made between 1 July and 31 October in the year for which the concession is sought.

6. The Cost of Living Concession is a new state government concession that replaces the former council rates concession for homeowner-occupiers and is also available to an estimated 45,000 eligible tenants, for whom it is a completely new source of state government assistance. As this is a new concession, the systems and processes required to implement the Cost of Living Concession are being developed concurrently with the assessment of applications and collection of new customer data, such as banking details for electronic funds transfer payments.

Unlike the other concessions administered by the state government, the COLC is paid directly to customers as opposed to featuring as a credit on a bill. This is a significant shift in practice and a number of different administration procedures, systems and processes must be implemented in order to achieve this.

Following assessment of applications, eligible tenants’ payments will be completed by early 2016.

7. Following announcement of the new Cost of Living Concession, the Concessions Hotline experienced an unprecedented demand of calls from potential customers seeking information about the new concession. From 1 July 2015 to 7 August 2015, the Concessions Hotline received 25,309 phone calls.

The Concessions Hotline allows all Customer Service Officers to be engaged on a call and a further ten calls to be queued waiting for answer. When the maximum number for the telephone system is reached, an automated message is activated that reads as follows:

‘Thank you for calling the South Australian Concessions Hotline. We are currently experiencing an extremely high volume of calls and are unable to take your call or offer a call back. Information about concessions can be obtained by visiting the concessions finder website at www.sa.gov.au/concessions. If you would like to speak with a Hotline Customer Service Operator, please call back later. We apologise for this inconvenience and thank you for your patience.’

DCSI has responded to the unprecedented demands on the hotline by increasing the Concession Hotline phone capacity to 28 lines, from 21. Additional staff and work practice changes implemented since 11 August 2015 have resulted in improved capacity to answer calls. The difficulties previously associated with the sustained high volume of calls to the Concessions Hotline have been significantly improved.

8. Although the concessions section does not offer a shop-front service, DCSI has implemented a number of strategies to ensure those South Australians who think they may be eligible for this concession apply. It is common practice for staff of the Concessions Hotline to assist customers with their application over the phone. While people having difficulty completing the application form may get assistance from family, friends or a source of community support (such as community organisations in their location), the staff of the Concessions Hotline are trained to identify if callers may be eligible for other concessions.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: South Australia has traditionally punched above its weight when it comes to participation, elite athletes, school and elite coaches, and administrators in relation to women in the sport of rowing in particular. We have had women on the Rowing SA board for many years, had a woman as head coach of the elite rowing program at the South Australian Sports Institute in the 1990s, have had multiple female coaches coaching crews to world championship medals and titles, and have had several women serve as chief executive officers of Rowing SA.

A South Australian public school girl crew won the first ever contested School Girls 1st VIII title at the rowing national titles in 1992, and girls began competing in the sport in the Head of the River in the 1970s in this state, including the inclusion of 1st VIIIs for girls in the late 1980s. Australia’s first gold medal at the Olympics in women’s rowing was achieved by the women’s pair at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Half of that two-person crew was South Australian Kate Slatter.

Rowing has had more than 50 per cent participation of women and girls, so it seems concerning that there are not more women in board, administrative and coaching roles at present. The composition of the Rowing SA board has come to Dignity for Disability’s attention in recent weeks. We understand that there are zero women on the board appointed several months ago for 2015-16. We also understand the newly appointed chief executive officer of Rowing SA is also male and that very few women are now coaching or directing school or club rowing programs in this state. My questions are:

1.Is the minister aware that there are zero women on the Rowing SA board for 2015‑16, despite the fact that the sport has over 50 per cent female participation?

2.Will the minister undertake to speak to the Minister for Sport about this issue?

3.Is the minister concerned that the involvement of women and girls in sport might be compromised by the lack of women in positions of authority?

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): I thank the honourable member for her most important question and, indeed, the representation of women in leadership positions in particular and on boards and committees generally is something that this government has focused a great deal of attention on.

What we have sought to do is to be a model employer. Obviously there is little we can do about the board constitution of private organisations but what we have sought to do is to set ourselves a target of ensuring that there is 50 per cent representation of women on all government boards and committees. We have also set ourselves a target for there being 50 per cent of chairs who are women on government boards and committees.

As I said, we have sought to provide leadership by being a model employer. I know that the Liberal opposition do not believe in targets but I am of the strong view that they are the only reason that this government has been able to achieve 48 per cent of our positions now being women on government boards and committees—48 per cent, and it is still not 50 per cent, granted. Nevertheless we have made significant achievements and I think we are still the leading jurisdiction. We have the highest level of representation on government boards and committees around the nation, so we are very proud of that. There is just no way we would have achieved that if it were not for the fact that we were brave and bold enough to set ourselves a target and to be publicly accountable for that target. As I said, as of 1 December, women held 48 per cent of the positions on state boards and committees.

We are not doing as well with chair positions. We are sitting at 37.64 per cent. Nevertheless, I think we are still leading the nation there as well, and of course we continue to try to reach our target of 50 per cent. One of the ways that we have been able to do that is through our Premier’s Women’s Directory. That is a database of women and their capabilities that can be easily searched, so if someone is looking for a particular skill set or particular experience they can easily do a search and find a suitable woman.

Sport is another challenging area where we are not so much under-represented—netball, of course, which is the most highly participated in sport in the nation, has a strong representation of women—but in terms of things like the status, pay and prizes, there are huge discrepancies between what can be achieved by male sportspeople and that by women. Part of that is the fact that these are mainly private sporting organisations run by their own boards and committees, and they are largely dominated by men as well, who continue to feed a culture that provides barriers to women being able to achieve equity.

In response to that problem of the way that women are under-represented in the higher levels of sport, the Office for Women has obviously developed quite a strong relationship with the Office for Recreation and Sport, and we continue to work with them on increasing the recognition of women in sport and their participation in sports leadership. The Office for Recreation and Sport has always set diversity and inclusion as one of its key areas, and it continues to include increased participation and recognition of women in sport as a priority. In May 2015, ORS released ‘Words into Sporting Action. A Practical Guide to Achieve Gender Equity in Your Sport and Recreational Organisation and Improve Performance’. That is a guide to help organisations to achieve better representation of women and men, particularly women, in senior leadership roles.

The South Australian government has established a Women in Sport Task Force. That is led by parliamentary secretary to the Premier, Katrine Hildyard MP, and the Office for Women is obviously a member of that task force. The task force includes representatives from ORS, as well as high profile sportswomen, sporting body representatives and people like event managers. The group aims to increase the number of spectators both at venues and on television for women in sport. It has other aims, but that is one of the things it seeks to achieve.

The report released by the Australian Sports Commission showed that women’s sports make up just 7 per cent of television and print sports coverage. Although the vast majority of stories—85 per cent—were positive, 58 per cent of people surveyed felt that there was not enough coverage dedicated to women’s sport. The task force also aims to close the pay gap between male and female athletes and attract more sporting events to Adelaide. I think it was the Hon. Tammy Franks who brought in the issue of the pay gap between sporting athletes, and I have spoken on that in this place before.

There is a range of things that the task force is doing, but in terms of women in sports governance, we are in the third year in a row now of funding 25 board training scholarships for South Australian women to attend introductory level governance training delivered by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). The total so far is 75 scholarships. Preference for the scholarships is given to women of disadvantage who might not readily have access to this sort of training.

In addition, this year, preference was also given to women on the board of a sporting organisation in recognition of some of the problems in that particular area. This is in recognition of the national focus on increasing women’s participation in sports governance. As with previous years, the Office for Women has managed the applications, and the feedback has been fantastic. Women still stop me in a range of public places and say, ‘I was one of the women who was a recipient. I can’t tell you how wonderful the experience was and the change that it has made to my life and how it has really helped empower me.’ So, it is a very worthwhile training experience.

Also in April 2015, the Office for Women supported the Office for Recreation and Sport’s Business Meets Sports network event. That was held at the Adelaide Town Hall, where businesswomen interested in sport met with sporting organisations looking to increase the participation of women on their boards and committees. Approximately 50 members of the Premier’s Women’s Directory, who have been identified as having experience or an interest in sports and sports governance, were also invited to the event.

In May, the From Diversity Comes Innovation and Growth conference was held and attendees heard an inspiring keynote address from journalist Rebecca Wilson. Bernard Salt drew a picture of what South Australia’s sport and recreational landscape might look like in the next decade. They are just a couple of the initiatives we have to help improve the representation of women in sport and the recognition of female athletes.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Supplementary arising from the original answer. Does the minister realise that the Rowing SA board is in fact not private, as it is heavily funded by government through the department for sport and recreation, and therefore government does have the ability to put in place requirements for gender equity on boards, and will the minister make representation to the Minister for Sport in particular with regard to this issue to put in place more requirements for gender equity on the Rowing SA board?

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): I thank the honourable member. I am not aware that Rowing SA is a government board. We might provide funding to it but I am actually not aware that it is a government board. It may well be, and I am happy to look into that. In terms of the government’s commitment, we have set ourselves the target that 50 per cent of our boards will be women, and I am more than happy to look further into Rowing SA to try to ensure that they meet with our commitment.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Yesterday, the Treasurer, the Hon. Tom Koutsantonis, released the Mid-Year Budget Review for the 2015-16 state budget. The Mid-Year Budget Review shows employment growth collapsing from a forecast 1 per cent to less than one-quarter of 1 per cent at a time when South Australia’s level of unemployment is the worst in the nation and, sadly, getting worse. My questions to the minister are:

1.In the light of South Australia having the highest unemployment rate in the nation, the lowest ranked business conditions on several measures, and collapsing employment growth forecast, why has the Labor government failed to deliver on payroll tax reform in its Mid-Year Budget Review?

2.What representations has the Minister for Employment made in relation to reducing the payroll tax burden for South Australian businesses that want to create jobs but are unable to bear the cost of this jobs tax?

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): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions. The Mid-Year Budget Review has been handed down with a number of outcomes. Economic and employment growth forecasts have been revised down since budget time.

In addition, a significant reduction in commodity prices resulting from increased global supply in mineral resources and falling demand from China have resulted in resource companies having to scale back their investments and pursue efficiencies. We have seen that this has resulted in significant job reductions in the resources and construction sectors in particular, with significant job losses also associated with Alinta Energy’s closure of the Leigh Creek mine and the Port Augusta power station.

We have seen these things operate. We know that the Department of the Premier and Cabinet prepares these economic forecasts for the budget using a number of data sources, and the professional judgement of economists as well. The process is independent of advice from the Department of State Development and it is not recommended that the forecast be used for other purposes, such as reporting against targets and the like.

The principal purpose of the forecast is to assist the government to estimate revenues in particular, and so they are inherently fairly conservative. Employment forecasts incorporate population projects by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, labour force participation rate projections from the commonwealth Intergenerational Report (adjusted for South Australia) and as an assumption of the return to full employment. An allowance for the automotive and associated supply chain losses is incorporated.

Obviously, jobs are the single highest priority for this government, as indicated. It is our highest priority and one which we have incorporated a number of measures around. For instance, in the Mid-Year Budget Review itself, we see that a number of economic development measures are being incorporated—$518 million of state-funded measures.

These measures include the Northern Connector road project, in partnership with the commonwealth (the state component being, I understand, $197 million, the commonwealth component being $788 million). We have seen the announcement of $208 million for an additional 1,000 Housing Trust homes over the next three years—1,000 houses in 1,000 days—which will be funded from existing housing stock. We know that, given the problems that our construction industry is facing at the moment, those 1,000 houses in 1,000 days will operate as a significant stimulus for creating work and jobs in that space.

We also see that $24.8 million is to be brought forward, and part of that is effective immediately, in terms of the reduction in non-residential conveyancing duty. It was planned for 1 July, and it is now to take effect immediately. I understand that now means that South Australia is officially the lowest cost for business transactions of this nature in Australia—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The lowest cost for business structure. Of course, not only have we done that just in the Mid-Year Budget Review, but in the last budget we announced a whole raft of tax reforms that we were prepared to look into, and will continue our commitment there. In the Mid-Year Budget Review, we also saw $88 million over four years for a range of measures that we believe will also act as means of accelerating business activity, and therefore jobs.

The government announced $20 million for the new PACE copper initiative, and $19.2 million for Last Mile Road Projects to improve freight access. We know that a lot of our country people have been asking for that Last Mile work to be done for some time, so we will be rolling that out. There is $12 million for new infrastructure at Tonsley, $10 million to further support intergenerational engagement activities, $6.4 million in critical bridge repairs and $6.4 million for the Regional Development Fund. We know that that Regional Development Fund has had a significant role in helping to stimulate business activity in our regions and produce jobs.

We can see, as I said, a raft of things that have been put in place. That is why we have our economic plan that is underpinned by 10 economic priorities, to help us transition from the old economy to a new economy. We are reducing barriers to investment, building on our capabilities and driving growth in key sectors, for instance, premium food and wine, tourism, health, ageing and education and the like. We are also making targeted investments, as I have indicated, in housing and transport infrastructure to help stimulate particularly the construction industry, to help boost productivity and to create jobs.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: Supplementary arising from the original answer: with regard to the 1,000 homes in 1,000 days program, will any of those homes built include features to make them accessible to people with disabilities or older people? If so, what percentage of those homes and what kinds of features will they include?

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): I thank the honourable member for her invaluable question and I will make sure that that is forwarded to the appropriate minister in another place and make sure that the department is considering issues for disability in their plans for our 1,000 new houses in 1,000 days.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: As members are no doubt aware (and I hope the minister is), I asked a question in this place three weeks ago about what action the minister might consider in terms of prohibiting the onselling online of infant baby formula. I did so because there is a baby formula crisis in this country and in this state. I note at the moment that a seller based in North Adelaide is offering on eBay a single tin of Nestle Nan Pro Gold 1 for a starting bid price of $74.95 or a ‘buy it now’ price of $100.95. You can buy this retail at Chemist Warehouse for $20.99. Clearly, there is a profit to be made, and people are making a profit.

Reports from interstate have footage of groups of people buying the total amounts they can possibly buy from retailers because retailers have imposed restrictions on the number of tins that may be purchased in a single transaction. I have also since been contacted by parents who have had multiple births, who were worried about these restrictions on their ability to feed their twins, triplets, and so on.

I note that the Australian consumer group, Choice, has set up a website and are taking reports from concerned parents about the shortages across our country. I also note that New Zealand has stopped any export shipments from their country without appropriate accreditation, and Hong Kong has imposed a two-tin limit on travellers, relieving its region. My question to the minister is: what action has she considered with regard to the South Australian government stepping up and stopping the online onselling of baby infant formula?

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) :45: I thank the honourable member for her most important question. I have also shared the Hon. Tammy Franks’ concern about the shortages being created in baby formula due to particularly the online selling of baby formula. I have no doubt read the same media reports that the Hon. Tammy Franks has read in relation to customers stripping supermarket shelves of premium baby formula and selling it online, I understand particularly to Chinese customers at very inflated prices.

We know that there is a big market there for us because of the Chinese general public’s lack of confidence in the integrity of their own made baby formula. We all remember that horrendous, catastrophic incident where a couple of babies actually lost their life due to contaminated formula in China. This has made it very difficult for some South Australians to obtain their usual formula.

This is obviously a national issue. Demand for our high-quality formula which, as I have indicated, is seen as safe and of really high-quality, particularly by Chinese customers but not just by them, has grown rapidly in recent years following that incident I talked about in 2008. Baby formula is not a prohibited export, and it’s not illegal for people to buy formula and resell it overseas. However, it is an essential item for many families, and the government is obviously concerned that South Australian parents have access to sufficient supplies to feed their babies.

Particularly, I think there is a significant problem around lactose intolerance as well, and there are particular types of baby formula that have become even more scarce than others, so the alternatives for those babies are quite limited. I have seen reports of really panicked mothers in particular, but no doubt dads as well, having to get in their cars and search and search for a particular baby formula.

Major supermarkets and some pharmacies have voluntarily introduced limits on the amount of formula that is sold to each customer, and I certainly encourage individual retail outlets to do that. The commonwealth assistant trade minister has also advised that he is looking into a solution. Export and trade arrangements are clearly a commonwealth government responsibility, but I am pleased to see that they have been responsive. I have certainly encouraged all suppliers to ensure that there are sufficient supplies available for their loyal Australian customers.

I have also suggested that consumers should think about purchasing formula online. I have asked them to consider whether that’s the appropriate thing to do, in terms of an online form of private selling. I have also asked the CBS to explore, particularly with the commonwealth government, other responses that we might be able to implement nationally.

There is the issue of putting bans on the onsale advertising of baby formula. Currently, South Australia doesn’t have the provision or the capacity to do that because baby formula is considered safe. We would need new provisions there, but I have asked the CBS to go away and have a look at that. I think the most sensible way to go is through a national response or a mechanism that can be nationally applied, and I have certainly asked officers to work with commonwealth officers to outline the possible mechanisms that we could put in place to manage this shortage.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: A supplementary: would the government support establishing formal milk banks in South Australia to help plug this gap, as recommended by health experts in The Advertiser last year?

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): I am not sure whether that would address this particular problem, but I am happy to contemplate it, and I have asked officers to go away and outline the sorts of options that might be available for us to be able to do that.