THINKER IN RESIDENCE

Mr KENYON (Newland) (14:20): Can the Premier inform the house about the state's newest thinker in residence?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:20): It is very interesting that we have heard different solutions from members on the other side of the house. One of them wants to bring back common law.

The Hon. K.O. Foley: The lawyer!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: The lawyer. Who would a common law system benefit? The lawyers. Because that was the problem. If you go back to that seminal work I talked about before, you will find that the beneficiaries—

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier will turn to the substance of the question.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I am pleased to be able to inform the house that the state's newest thinker in residence, Professor Andrew Fearne, commenced his residency this week. I know the Leader of the Opposition was at a function with him last night. An economist by training, Professor Fearne is Principal Research Fellow in supply chain management and consumer behaviour at Kent Business School, University of Kent, where he is director of two research centres, namely, the Centre for Supply Chain Research and the dunnhumby Academy of Consumer Research, which would be known to everyone in this chamber.

He is the founding editor of the International Journal of Supply Chain Management and the author of over 100 academic journal papers and conference papers. During his 20-year career, Professor Fearne has transformed underperforming supply chains into value chains by focusing on consumer preferences and behaviour.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I cannot believe that someone on the opposite side said, 'What?' If they have not actually heard of supply chains or value chains, I am not sure how they could possibly add value in this parliament. Professor Fearne's research interests include demand management and the impact of promotions on food purchasing behaviour, the development of supply chain mapping methodologies for the analysis of co-innovation and sustainable waste management, and the co-regulation of food safety and quality assurance.

Professor Fearne's client and research partners have included non-government organisations, major supermarket chains such as Marks & Spencer, JS Sainsbury and Tesco, and a host of livestock, dairy, poultry, grains, fruit and vegetable companies and industry associations in the food production and processing sectors. He has analysed supermarket loyalty card data from over one million households in the United Kingdom. He has worked in France, Ireland, Slovenia, Germany, North America, the Middle East and South-East Asia.

Professor Fearne has also regularly visited and worked in Australia and he is a visiting research professor in value chain innovation in Western Australia and Tasmania. In 2001, he was recognised academically by receiving the Visiting Scientist Award from the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research and the Henry Schapper Fellowship from the University of Western Australia.

In South Australia, Professor Fearne's residency will concentrate on the state's biggest employer in regional South Australia—the food and wine industries. Contemporary issues such as drought and rising living costs—combined with a carbon conscious, health conscious and increasingly socially conscious community in South Australia—make this residency very timely. Professor Fearne will work with the state's agrifood and wine companies to help them work in partnership to tackle these issues, making them even more innovative, efficient and competitive in world markets. He will advise these companies on how to improve their products through packaging, promotion and effective pricing, and he will help them think more strategically about the changing needs of consumers and the characteristics of particular markets.

The challenge in our state for local food and wine companies is to hit the mark with customers in international supermarkets. I am delighted that Professor Fearne will be working with the food and wine industry, our universities, non-government organisations and the state government to face the challenge. He will also work closely with the Barossa and Light region to develop a model to enhance and strengthen specific value-chain opportunities. This is a world expert; yet another one of our thinkers in residence. The others have all made substantial contributions to our community, whether it be in social policy, environmental policy, economic policy or science, and I am delighted to welcome Professor Andrew Fearne to South Australia.