Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the fantastic member for Sturt for the question. It was a pleasure to be with the member for Sturt on Saturday with Jenn Roberts, our candidate for Hartley and the newly elected member for Hartley, along with Premier Peter Malinauskas. I do want to take the opportunity to congratulate the Premier of South Australia on his outstanding election victory. The result reflects the focus, energy and determination of the South Australian government, working closely with the national government as well, on matters that make a real difference to the lives of South Australians.

On Friday I was in Whyalla, at the steel facility there, and talking with workers who would have now been unemployed were it not for the joint intervention by the federal and the South Australian governments to make sure that we continued to make steel here and that we continue to create those jobs which are good jobs. When I went with Premier Malinauskas a year ago, there were seven apprentices at that site. Today there are 76. It is employing more, training more and contributing more to prosperity. The other group that we met there was, of course, many of the contractors—the suppliers who make a difference. If you took away that facility from Whyalla, it would indeed really suffer. But, because of that work, it has made an enormous difference for our sovereign capability going forward.

In addition to that, we have very important agreements that we've signed with the South Australian government—the hospitals agreement that's making an enormous difference, the opening of urgent care clinics making a difference there as well as, of course, properly funding every single school in South Australia. South Australia is leading the country when it comes to building more new homes, including at just one of the sites I went to in the northern suburbs there, along with our member—17,000 additional homes, 7,000 of those reserved for first home buyers, making an enormous difference going forward.

And, of course, South Australia is front and centre of our AUKUS arrangements. On the nuclear powered submarines, we're training people. The connections that are there with the trade schools that have been established under the Malinauskas government are providing those career opportunities and secure work for South Australians as we go forward. More homes, more jobs, more Australian manufacturing—I look forward to working with the Malinauskas government over the years to come and continuing the success that our partnership is bringing the people of South Australia.

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