Ministerial Opening Address

The Minister acknowledged there has been a 23% decrease in rental accommodation and a more than 30% increase in home values in regional South Australia. To help address these issues in the short to medium term, the South Australian State Government has committed $177 million over 4 years to build 400 new public houses, with a further 350 existing vacant homes to be renovated and brought up to standard and 3,000 homes to undergo general improvements.

A bilateral funding agreement between the Federal Government and South Australian government will also see a focus on skills training, with two new regional technical colleges being built in Mount Gambier and Port Augusta, and a further three technical colleges to be built in Adelaide.

Other areas for focus included providing the support and infrastructure needed to help more people with disability, women, younger and older Australians into the workforce.