2026 State Budget

3 June 2026

I rise in support of the Supply Bill 2026 and in doing so speak not only about the practical necessity of supply but about the kinds of communities we are building through the investments this government is making. Ultimately, every budget decision and every infrastructure investment says something about what we value both as governments and as individuals.

For me, one of the things I value most deeply is community. I have spoken before in this place about my childhood and the instability that sometimes characterised it. One of the things that grounded me throughout those years was community, the feeling that there were people and places beyond my immediate circumstances that gave me a sense of connection, belonging and stability.

I think that is why I care so deeply about localism and about protecting and strengthening community life, because communities do not simply happen by accident: they are created through countless interactions people have on streets and in parks, sporting clubs, schools, local businesses and public places. They are created when people know each other's names. They are created when children grow up feeling connected to the place in which they live. They are created when older people remain visible and included in the community rather than isolated from it. Very often, those things are shaped by what may appear to be relatively ordinary infrastructure—a crossing, a sporting club, a local reserve, public toilets, a community facility—but what we are really investing in is connection. That is why I support this bill.

In my electorate of Dunstan, I see every day the importance of investing not only in major infrastructure but in the kinds of local projects that strengthen the social fabric of the community. The member for Newland talked about sewerage—well, I am going to give it a go talking about public toilets. One of those projects is the $400,000 commitment the Malinauskas Labor government made for public toilets at Twelftree Reserve in College Park.

I suspect public toilets rarely feature prominently in political speeches unless something has gone badly wrong, but I genuinely think projects like this matter enormously. Twelftree Reserve is one of those beautiful local spaces where families gather, children play on swings, friends picnic together and people simply spend time outdoors with one another. In fact, when my children were little, we were frequent visitors to Twelftree Reserve. A photo of me pushing my young daughter on the swing popped up in my memories just the other day.

However, one of the issues that dragged us away before time was if one of my kids needed the loo, so I know what parents and carers are talking about when they raise with me the lack of toilets in the reserve as an issue. When communities have public spaces that are functional, welcoming and usable, people stay longer, children continue playing, parents continue chatting, grandparents come along, and community life grows around those interactions.

That is the thing about local community infrastructure: sometimes it is easy to measure only the physical asset itself and miss the much larger social impact it creates. Good public spaces help create stronger communities, and in a world where so many people feel increasingly disconnected or isolated, particularly after the disruptions of recent years, I think strengthening local connection matters more than ever.

I feel similarly about local sporting clubs. I was so pleased during the election campaign to support funding of $140,000 for the East Torrens Kensington Gardens Tennis Club and also the $300,000 commitment to upgrade the women's change rooms at Norwood Oval. Sporting clubs are one of the great connectors in Australian life, none more so than in South Australia. They bring together people of different ages and backgrounds in a way few other institutions do. They create friendships across generations. They teach resilience and teamwork. They give young people self-belief and belonging, and often they become the social heartbeat of a community. That is certainly true of the Norwood Football Club.

Norwood is not simply a football club in our community; it is part of the identity of our community. When I speak about the Norwood Football Club women's team in particular, I speak with enormous admiration. As one of the inaugural teams in the SANFLW competition, they helped pioneer women's football in South Australia and played an enormously important role in reshaping how women's sport is viewed in our community. They help lead cultural change. They help normalise the idea that young girls can grow up aspiring not merely to participate in sport but to compete fiercely and professionally, and they did so before women's football had anywhere near the level of recognition and support it receives today.

Watching the Norwood SANFLW team play is, honestly, extraordinary. Their toughness, athleticism and determination are remarkable. I recently had the privilege of tossing the coin before one of their games, and standing alongside those players was genuinely awe inspiring. They are elite athletes in every sense of the word and they are helping reshape what young girls in our community believe is possible for themselves.

If we value women's sport, our facilities must reflect that. Infrastructure sends signals. It tells people whether they are genuinely valued or whether they are an afterthought. Upgrading the women's change rooms at Norwood Oval is not simply about construction works; it is about respect, it is about dignity, and it is about recognising the importance of women athletes and the central role they now play in community sport. Importantly, it is about ensuring the next generation of girls coming through local sporting systems can see themselves fully reflected and welcome there.

Among the things I have often reflected on since entering this place is how much people care about the future of their neighbourhoods. People care deeply about whether their communities remain safe, connected and liveable as our state grows. That is why I have advocated for local improvements such as pedestrian-actuated crossings on Hackney Road.

I have been very pleased to work with the residents of Vailima Gardens to advocate for these much-needed crossings, particularly after I learned that crash data from 2019 to 2023 showed there were 38 reported incidents on the section of Hackney Road between Richmond Street and Athelney Avenue that resulted in 20 casualties, including three serious injuries, and 24 additional collisions.

As I said in my Address in Reply speech, I am pleased to see indications that initial scoping works have begun. Again, pedestrian-actuated crossings may appear relatively small things, but they contribute to the broader message that our streets and neighbourhoods should be designed around people, not simply traffic movement. Communities become stronger when people feel safe walking, cycling and interacting with one another in public spaces, and they matter because they shape how people experience daily life in the community.

I am particularly excited by the commitment to establish a technical college at Marden Senior College. One of the things I strongly believe is that one of the greatest responsibilities we have as a parliament is to invest in the future of young people, because the decisions we make in this place shape not only the state we inherit but the state we leave behind. When I think about the future of South Australia, I feel genuinely optimistic and we know that many other people in South Australia also feel optimistic about the direction our state is heading in.

We are seeing enormous growth in the defence industries, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, construction and technology. We are seeing opportunities emerge that previous generations could scarcely have imagined. But none of that future simply arrives on its own. It depends on whether we are willing to invest now in the skills, confidence and opportunities young people will need to participate fully in the future economy of this state.

That is why the technical college model is so important. Not every young person wants the same future, nor should they. Some young people thrive in highly academic environments. Others are hands-on learners who come alive when they are working practically, solving problems, building things and developing technical skills. There should never be a hierarchy of dignity between different forms of work. A skilled electrician, a builder, a technician or a welder contributes every bit as meaningfully to our state as any other profession and, frankly, South Australia's future prosperity depends on them.

If we are serious about building more homes, expanding defence capability, growing advanced manufacturing and delivering major infrastructure, then we need highly skilled tradespeople and technical workers to make those ambitions possible. That's what excites me about the technical college at Marden. It is not only the facility itself but what it represents. It represents a government saying to young people, 'We see you and we see your potential.' It says that vocational pathways are not second-best options but vital and respected careers that will help shape the future of our state.

Importantly, it gives young people the chance to remain connected to education by learning in ways that suit their strengths and aspirations. I think there is something fantastically hopeful about that because every young person deserves the opportunity to build a meaningful future and to feel that their contribution matters. As a mum of an 18-year-old son who has finished school and is now beginning his pathway through adulthood to a future that both he and I want to be fruitful and satisfying, I feel that profoundly.

Another thing I have become increasingly conscious of in this role is how much community life depends on volunteers: people who give their time every week because they care and because they can, people who coach junior footy or netball teams, people who deliver meals, people who serve on committees or organise local events or raise money for community causes. Often these people receive little recognition yet communities quite literally could not function without them.

I see this constantly through my own volunteering and community engagement and I think one of the responsibilities our government has is to support the spaces and institutions that allow that volunteering and connection to flourish, because ultimately strong communities are not built solely through economic or policy frameworks, they are built through relationships, trust, belonging and participation. That is why local investment matters so much.

This Supply Bill ensures continuity of government services while the broader budget process is completed but, more broadly, it reflects a government continuing to invest in the things that make communities stronger and more connected. In my electorate, that means safer roads, stronger sporting clubs, better community facilities and opportunities for young people.

But beyond the physical projects themselves what these investments really support is community life. I think that matters enormously. At the end of the day, to most people, politics is not really about buildings or appropriations or headlines; it is about a set of shared values. It is about whether people feel connected to one another, and it is about whether children grow up feeling safe and supported. It is about whether communities retain their identity and warmth as they grow. It is about a sense of belonging.

South Australia is a remarkable state because we have managed to remain ambitious whilst still highly valuing community. We are growing, we are investing and we are modernising, but we are also still deeply local in character. I think preserving and strengthening that sense of community is one of the most important responsibilities we have as representatives in this place. For those reasons, I proudly commend to the house the Supply Bill 2026.