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DIRECT LINE: Port Pirie Mayor Leon Stephens, Premier Steven Marshall, Whyalla Mayor Clare
McLaughlin and Port Augusta Mayor Brett Benbow in November last year.
Monday, January 6, 2020
Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin has thanked the State Government and Premier Steven Marshall for their commitment to working with the Spencer Gulf Cities Association.
Mayor McLaughlin and the association were reflecting on a productive 2019 as the newly-elected mayors of Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie struck up a positive relationship with the newly-elected Marshall Government last year with a bright outlook for the working partnership in the new year.
Mayor McLaughlin said one of the highlights had been the commitment by Mr Marshall to meet regularly with the association.
“The Premier’s commitment to give up his time to meet with us on a regular basis highlights the importance of the region to the state’s growth target,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
The first of the meetings were held in November and emphasised the need for strong collaboration around workforce development, a range of transport and civic infrastructure projects and improving liveability of the three cities.
“We are really keen to leverage the current wave of investment into the region and generate as much positive and lasting benefit for the Whyalla, Port Pirie and Port Augusta communities as we can,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
Association chair, Port Pirie Mayor Leon Stephens said the Upper Spencer Gulf region has taken a huge step forward in recent times and the tri-city alliance between Port Augusta, Whyalla and Port Pirie remains a crucial part of strong coordination across the three cities and across the three levels of government.
“The alliance between Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla has been going for over 20 years and remains as relevant today as it ever has,” Mayor Stephens said.
“As three industrial cities we share many common issues and an understanding of how these can impact on our communities, through the good times and the bad.
“We were really active in the lead up to the Federal election in May, pushing hard for a much stronger focus on growing our population through skilled migration and decentralisation initiatives, investment into strategic transport infrastructure, improving access to higher education in the region, a strong national energy policy and enhancing the liveability of the three cities.”
“We are pleased to see some progress but, of course, these issues are still important and discussions are ongoing.”.
The association has also made significant inroads at the state level, showcasing the economic growth opportunities at a dinner event in Parliament House in September.
Hosted by Minister for Mining and Energy and local Member, Hon Dan van Holst Pellekaan, and attended by the Premier and the ministers for Planning, Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government; Tourism, Trade and Investment; Regional Development and Primary Industries; and Innovation and Skills, Port Augusta Mayor Brett Benbow said the event provided a rare occasion to highlight the full potential of the region to state leaders.
“There’s over $15 billion investment proposed, underway or recently completed across the Upper Spencer Gulf in a range of renewable energy, mining and processing, Defence, value-added agriculture, event and nature-based tourism initiatives,” Mayor Benbow said.
“At the upper end we are talking about several thousand jobs.”
In addition to their strong state and federal advocacy, 2019 also saw Spencer Gulf Cities launching a comprehensive plan to help reduce waste to landfill and investigate opportunities to attract new recycling and re-manufacturing enterprises to the region, submissions to several parliamentary and government inquiries and progress towards a more streamlined and coordinated approach to land-use and development planning.
The Group also led delivery of the statewide Coastal Councils initiative and supported a joint regional report into rating inequity for renewable energy generators and major development.
“It is such an exciting time for the Upper Spencer Gulf,” Mayor Stephens said.
“We have an amazing future ahead of us and we’re really looking forward to continuing to promote our great region into 2020”.