Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about the future of the Tonsley Park site in my home state of South Australia following the decision by Mitsubishi Motors to cease operations there in 2008. The decision by Mitsubishi to close the engine plant at Lonsdale in 2004 and cease operations at its Tonsley Park site in 2008 was certainly disappointing for the people who worked there and many people in my electorate of Kingston. Following the decision, local workers affected by this decision benefited from an $80 million support package jointly funded by the Commonwealth and state governments. I am very pleased to say that the majority of Tonsley workers have now been retrained or have found new jobs.

It is critical now to look at the long-term future of this site. Both the Southern Economic Development Plan and the labour studies commissioned by the University of Adelaide have identified the lack of available light industrial land as one of the most significant barriers to growth in sectors such as manufacturing in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. So it was fantastic to see the South Australian Labor government purchase this land at the Tonsley site in 2009 with the aim to redevelop it into a mixed-use sustainable technologies precinct. I commend the South Australian government for its commitment of $125 million for the construction of a sustainable industries education centre to be built on this site in collaboration with TAFE SA, the three universities and industry. This centre is expected to provide training to more than 8,000 students in trades such as building construction and plumbing, with a strong focus on sustainable and clean technologies and renewable energy.

We know that a price on carbon will transform our economy and drive new jobs in the clean energy and clean technology sector. As new global markets emerge pursuing ways of living and working which have a minimal effect on the environment and reduced carbon emissions, sustainable manufacturing will become the way of the future. So it is vital that we support sustainable manufacturers to successfully establish themselves in southern Adelaide. It will be good for industry and good for local jobs.

The 61 hectares of light industrial land at this site presents us with a unique and valuable opportunity to create more jobs and expand the regional economy in southern Adelaide by encouraging a vibrant hub of sustainable manufacturing alongside the sustainable education centre. The close proximity between the education hub and the manufacturing hub will promote enormous synergy between the manufacturing sector and the highly skilled workforce being trained in the education centre.

I believe that we all need to work together to support the development of a high-tech, clean and green manufacturing hub at the Tonsley Park site in southern Adelaide. The Tonsley Park site presents us with immense opportunities. We know that this is the direction that the world is going. Despite the opposition often not wanting to recognise this, the world is transforming to cleaner, greener energy sources. There is a lot of demand around the world for technologies that reduce our demand on carbon. Despite the opposition never acknowledging this and thinking that things just go along as they are, this is the way that our economy will transform into the future. It is very important that we have a skilled workforce ready to be part of this future and that we have manufacturers creating jobs in our local area of southern Adelaide.

As we move forward, it will be critical to ensure that we all work together to make the hub at Tonsley Park a green, clean energy hub that will manufacture sustainable technologies and skill-up our workforce. Clean and sustainable manufacturing is going to be the way of the future. It is important that we recognise this and that we are part of it. The Tonsley site presents us with the perfect opportunity to support the advanced manufacturing sector to establish a presence in southern Adelaide so that we are at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing in a future where the use of clean technologies will be essential.

With this land, now owned by the state government, there are real opportunities to not only establish a world-class training facility in clean technologies but also support the development of a hub of sustainable advanced manufacturing. A clean, green manufacturing hub at Tonsley Park will create new local jobs, bolster our regional economy and mean that we are able to expand into new markets. This is a huge opportunity and I look forward to working with all levels of government to make this a reality. (Time expired)