Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:04): Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker, and what a fine job you are doing. I rise to support the amended motion and to acknowledge the hundreds of trips that our ministers and our Premier do between them. They not only come out to our electorates but obviously some of our ministers live in our electorates. In fact, you would think that the Minister for Water had a second house down at the Coorong, judging by the number of times he is in my electorate or in the electorate of Finniss or in the electorate of MacKillop.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (12:24): I am proud to acknowledge this motion that was raised by the Premier in regard to a response to the recent Productivity Commission inquiry into the River Murray and also the royal commission into the Murray-Darling Basin. Obviously the history of the Murray-Darling Basin and the changes that have been implemented mainly in the last 120 years or so, with the infill of barrages, locks and weirs, have dramatically changed the river from what it was when it was a free-flowing river system. It has been dramatically changed.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (12:54): I rise to make a contribution in support of the Fire and Emergency Services (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill in light of what we are directly discussing now, that the report of the select committee on the bill be noted.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:30): I rise to make a brief contribution on the annual report of the Economic and Finance Committee and certainly appreciate their good work in various inquiries, whether it is on investment attraction or skilled migration. I acknowledge the hearings and the reference they are studying in relation to the crash repair industry, which is an interesting industry in that in my mind the insurance industry thinks it can manipulate it in regard to preferred repairers, and I am sure they are getting good evidence on that.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:48): I rise to support the fourth report of the Economic and Finance Committee, entitled An Inquiry into South Australian Investment Attraction Policies. It is interesting to witness all the feigned outrage from the other side. I note that they did not have the time or the capacity to provide a dissenting report. From information provided to me, I know that it was discussed, but then the Labor members come in here with all this feigned outrage and yet they have signed off on this very report.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:50): I rise to speak to this motion regarding the third report of the Natural Resources Committee, entitled Inquiry into Management of Overabundant and Pest Species. Before proceeding any further, I want to go through some of the lead recommendations:

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:42): I rise to support this report by the Public Works Committee, which is the 21st report of the Public Works Committee, entitled Penola Northern Bypass. I would just like to acknowledge the work of both the former member for MacKillop and the current member for MacKillop in making sure that we complete this vital link. So, instead of just having the southern bypass, we will complete it with the northern bypass. It is certainly needed in a town that is on a busy freight route and in a very strong agricultural area.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:43): I move:

That the first report of the committee, entitled An Inquiry into Heritage Reform, be noted.

I rise today to speak about the first report of the Environment, Resources and Development Committee, entitled An Inquiry into Heritage Reform. Some would say that this is a difficult subject, and I commend all those on my committee and my committee staff for working through the process of this reference.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:52): I rise to support the 12th report of the Public Works Committee, entitled Women's and Children's Hospital Upgrade Sustainment Program, and commend all the previous speakers for their contributions to this debate. I note that this relates to over $50 million worth of funding to keep the hospital in good order through to 2024, with the proposed relocation and co-location of the Women's and Children's Hospital with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:06): I want to talk about reform and something that the previous government did not want to go near for 16 years: reform to how we fund this state but giving equity to people from across this state. What we saw in the 16 years before our government was just the profligate raising of taxes across the board—whether it was the emergency services levy or whether it was a whole fleet of taxes. There were attempts to tax the banks. The car park tax went beautifully.