Premier Peter Malinauskas held the first Country Cabinet under the new State Government last week, following through with his pre-election promise to reinstate the program.
The Premier travelled to the Limestone Coast with his team of Ministers, who each visited various sites and businesses across the two-day initiative.
The Country Cabinet meeting at the Blue Lake Golf Club was booked out and Premier Malinauskas said he was humbled by the size of the crowd.
A barbecue was held before a community forum, where the public had an opportunity to ask the Premier and Cabinet Ministers questions covering a variety of topics including the National Disability Insurance Scheme, COVID vaccine injuries, power and energy, disruption of education due to COVID, hoon drivers, PFAS, GP training and more.
Among the crowd was Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell, Member for MacKillop Nick McBride, local Labor candidate Katherine Davies, MacKillop candidate Mark Braes, City Mayor Lynette Martin, Grant Mayor Richard Sage and Tatiara Mayor Graham Excell.
Premier Malinauskas said each time he visited the Limestone Coast he was taken aback by the genuine sense of community and unparalleled opportunity that existed in the region.
“There are industries in this part of the nation that are not replicated in terms of their productivity, their resourcefulness, their capacity to innovate, anywhere else in the country,” he said.
“It is sometimes said the South East needs Adelaide, but I think it is the other way around, Adelaide needs the South East, the region is a vital driver of our state’s prosperity.
“My government is committed to the Limestone Coast, which is why we are investing more than $130m in supporting the region.”
Premier Malinauskas said the Limestone Coast contributed $3.9b to the gross state product.
“Now that is a number that overwhelmingly is a disproportionately higher representation than what we see in other parts of the state,” he said.
“What we see increasingly, particularly over the course of the last five years, is ever-increasing levels of private capital, very substantial amounts of private capital, investing in the local community.
“I think it’s high time we see government and the private sector work together in this part of the state, around industry policy in particular, to start to lift up and realise the potential.”
Premier Malinauskas said the government had a role to play in skills development and investing in the next generation of employees in the community.
“We’re going to make sure that those investments marry up with the needs of business and industry here so we can see the community continue to grow,” he said.
