South Australian Liberal leader David Speirs visited Mount Gambier this week, which marked his fourth visit in nine months.
Mr Speirs hosted a community forum on Monday night at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre, where he was joined by his parliamentary team to mingle with the community and answer questions.
“We had a really good turnout, a really mixed group of people from all walks of life and different parts of the region,” Mr Speirs said.
“Seventy people, that is the best community forum I have done since becoming the leader, so I am really pleased with it.
“We covered a range of issues and the format I think worked for people, it was fairly informal and allowed people to have their say but also dig deeper on issues.”
Amongst the community forum attendees included Member for Barker Tony Pasin, Mayor of Mount Gambier Lynette Martin OAM, Grant District Mayor Kylie Boston and local councillors.
Mr Speirs said this was the third community forum he had hosted in the Limestone Coast, however Monday’s forum had been the most successful as it attracted the most diverse group.
A community member enquired about the current state Liberal Party’s stand on the provision of a cancer radiation treatment centre in the Limestone Coast, due to the previous Liberal state government rejecting the proposal.
“I will not reflect too much on the government that was defeated in March 2022, because it has got a new leader now, it has got a new team, and we are looking at things very, very differently,” Mr Speirs said.
“If there were things we did not do right for this region, I apologise for that, I am sure we could have done better on a range of things, but this is about looking to the future and working out what that standard is, and establishing, analysing and understanding with that radiation treatment centre is part of that standard.”
Mr Speirs also believed regional South Australia should be ambitious for growth.
“We need to be ambitious for regional population, I am ambitious for regional population,” he said.
“I think we can take more people, I think this region should put its hand up and grow and be willing to grow, be excited about growth.”
Mr Speirs also visited various community businesses, organisations, residents and local volunteer charity Spare Ya Change 4 Kids during his three-day visit.
“The regions do so much for our state from an economic point of view with the food and fibre production, with hospitality and tourism, they contribute a huge amount to what South Australia is all about,” Mr Speirs said.
“I want to lead a regional-centric opposition and hopefully future government, so getting into the regions is such an important part of that.
“I want to know what makes people tick, what the challenges are and also the positives and what the opportunities are and what they expect of me as their alternate premier for the state.
“This is a great region, it bats above its weight from an economic view in terms of contributing food and fibre production, particularly forestry, it is a really strategically located region between Adelaide and Melbourne.
“This is a region that I will be spending a lot more time in, this is my fourth visit in nine months, but I will just keep on visiting.”
