Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (12:00): I rise today to speak on the estimates committees and the aftermath of those committees; it is always an interesting process. I would first like to acknowledge Minister Geoff Brock, the member for Stuart. It was good to have a conversation with him earlier today and see that he is on the way to better health after having had a quadruple bypass. There were some significant little dramas along the way, not just involving him directly, but he is here and I applaud that.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (21:48): I rise to speak to the Appropriation Bill 2023. I note that this is, as they are every year, the biggest budget I have seen for this state in 17 years. With the Supply Bill, it is close on $26 billion. But the issue I have, even though it is the biggest budget for the state, is that there is nothing in it for a typical South Australian family, a family of people contributing to the economy, paying tax, paying their way and then having to put up with cost-of-living increases, whether it is interest rates, whether it is groceries or whether, as we see, it is some wicked power price increases that are coming in. I will have a bit more to say about that later on.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:39): I rise to make a contribution to the Statutes Amendment (National Energy Laws) (Emissions Reduction Objectives) Bill. In May this year, commonwealth and state energy ministers agreed to amendments to the national energy laws to incorporate an emissions reduction objective into the national electricity objective, national gas objective and national energy retail objective, respectively.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:25): I rise today to talk in my supply grieve about my constituent Mr John Ali of Murray Bridge. As a 22 year old, Mr Ali worked as a diesel mechanic for International Harvester. In 1971, his employer asked him to travel to Canberra to meet with government officials. He was honoured and very naive. He in fact met with Malcolm Fraser, Minister for Defence, and was asked to serve his country on a top-secret mission. His mission was to deliver 600 military trucks and 150 four-wheeled trailers through Vietnam to Cambodia. His mission was so secret he was told he could only tell his parents and his spouse and no-one else, not even work colleagues. Mr Ali signed defence secrecy documents.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:12): I rise today to talk about the recommissioning of Thomas Foods, or the commissioning of a new plant after five years and five months of quite turbulent and busy times since that terrible fire of 3 January 2018, when some welding sparked a terrible fire, which in the end saw the whole plant just on the edge of Murray Bridge burn to the ground, putting 1,500 people out of work. It is so pleasing to see Darren Thomas and his team commit to building the new plant, worth many, many tens of millions of dollars, about 10 kilometres outside Murray Bridge.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:11): I rise to speak on this parliamentary Public Works Committee consideration being sought for the Truro bypass project. I would like to think this is more of a project about the appropriate freight route around Truro because it is a significant part of our freight network, with up to 700 heavy vehicles a day going through Truro. This is part of a $202 million project set up by the former Liberal government's 2021 budget.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:14): I rise today in support of the Supply Bill 2023 so that the government can keep writing cheques for the Public Service and certainly keep us gainfully employed. There is a total of $6,553 million, or just over $6.5 billion, of what I am estimating when the budget comes down in a month's time will be around $22 billion in total for getting us through the finances for the 2023-24 financial year.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:28): I rise to speak to the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) (Fees) Amendment Bill 2023. As has already been mentioned in this house, this bill seeks to amend a number of sections of the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) Act 2012 in order to complement the Rail Safety National Law (South Australia) (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2022. I would like to acknowledge that we are the lead state in this national law, so obviously we need to get this legislation through the parliament.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:58): By leave, I move my motion in an amended form:

That this house—

(a) acknowledges that ANZAC Day was commemorated on 25 April 2023;

(b) pays its respects to the families of those ANZACs who tragically lost their lives during the Gallipoli campaign; and

(c) remembers all Australian personnel and animals who have been injured or killed in action.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:34): I rise today to talk about the Strathalbyn emergency department. Today, I was proud to table a petition with 1,452 signatures from the good people of Strathalbyn and surrounding districts. The petition noted that the emergency department of the Strathalbyn and District Health Service was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic due to its co-location with an aged-care facility. The request is that the state government immediately reopen the emergency department at the Strathalbyn and District Health Service to its pre-COVID operating hours and provide whatever workforce is necessary to operate this facility.