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South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas will create a new Department of Housing and Urban Development to roll together many of the state’s existing entities to coordinate efforts.
Minister Nick Champion will take charge of the new portfolio encompassing all aspects of housing, housing infrastructure, urban development and planning, including the ministerial responsibilities related to the oversight of SA Water.
Calling it a “new housing super portfolio”, Malinauskas said it has become apparent that the coordination of these “critical and connected portfolio areas” is crucial to be able to focus on “delivering good decisions that allow additional homes to be constructed as quickly as possible”.
The new portfolio will include:
Housing SA
Housing, Infrastructure, Planning and Development Unit
SA Water
Renewal SA including the Urban Renewal Authority Board
Office for Regional Housing
Planning and Land Use Services
Office for Design and Architecture South Australia
PlanSA
Office of the Valuer-General
Office of the Surveyor-General
Office of the Registrar-General
“We are already pulling every lever to build more homes, and Minister Champion’s new housing super portfolio will give us the opportunity to make sure we are utterly coordinated in those efforts,” Malinauskas said.
Other changes to the state’s cabinet include handing Deputy Premier Susan Close the responsibility of Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy.
Population and workforce planning functions will also be consolidated into a single unit: the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science.
Independent MP Dan Cregan will join the cabinet as Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, as well as Special Minister of State. In the latter role, he will lead the implementation of the state’s political donation reform, which is set to see South Australia become the only Australian jurisdiction to ban the practice – though it’s so far hit numerous legal hurdles.
Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has been given an expanded role as Minister for Defence and Space Industries, while Minister Nat Cook also adds responsibilities as the Minister for Seniors and Ageing Well.
Minister Joe Szakacs takes on the portfolios of Trade and Investment, Local Government and Veterans Affairs. Minister Tom Koutsantonis adds Regional Roads to his existing portfolio of Infrastructure and Transport, and Assistant Minister Rhiannon Pearce has been named the new Assistant Minister for Junior Sport Participation.
Many of the changes come as the government attempts to capitalise on opportunities such as South Australia’s role in constructing the nuclear-powered submarines that form the AUKUS deal.
The state government and Commonwealth have also reached an agreement to deliver a $2.29 billion investment to the South Australian skills sector, which will now be closely overseen by the Deputy Premier.
But Malinauskas was clear that the housing realignment was borne out of the need to address the state’s short supply of residential dwellings.
“As a state, we are at a critical juncture. We have a nation-leading economy, low unemployment and a huge pipeline of work coming our way which has the capacity to result in a more complex economy, delivering better jobs and higher wages to South Australians.
“This cabinet reshuffle is designed to help us capitalise these massive opportunities – from delivering AUKUS to capitalising on the global decarbonisation effort. But we also have some big challenges – and housing is top of the list,” the Premier said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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