Martin Haese is that ex-mayor, and now the CEO of Business South Australia. We enjoyed his wonderful car on the banks of the River Torrens with the Adelaide city skyline as a backdrop. It was an afternoon to remember for me, a young man who landed in Adelaide some 50 years before with a consignment of stud cattle for enthusiastic Aussie stud owners. Now I’m with my Aussie wife, Heather, and not only enjoying the Jaguar but the company of a man who is passionate about this city where he was Lord Mayor from 2014 to 2018 and Englishness in general, from his first car, a Morris Minor, to the Beatles!
If you are going to be an advocate of any Australian city in these days of COVID pandemic and climate change, then it is easy to make a case for Adelaide. This is not the time nor the place to get political, but I cannot help but provide readers with some facts and figures that are impressive anywhere in the world – and many influenced by the leadership of Martin Haese. In 2009, the South Australian State Labor Government of the time established Renewables SA, an initiative charged with harnessing the ‘free’ resources of wind and sun. The ambitious target was to increase the State’sThis target was achieved in 2013-2014 and in 2014 a new even more ambitious target of 50 per cent by 2025 was set and this was achieved in 2017 – eight years ahead of target!
