House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time South Australian Centre for Manufacturing SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR MANUFACTURING Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Norwood SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR MANUFACTURING Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (14:24): I have a supplementary, Madam Speaker. The Premier referred to all that his government has done for the manufacturing sector in his reply. Can the Premier outline to the house whether he now thinks that his government's decision to close the South Australian Centre for Manufacturing was a mistake? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I will consider that another question. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Premier Minister for State Development The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:24): Thank you, Madam Speaker; and, no, I don't think it was a mistake. I think that it was a wise decision. When we created the new agency of the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy we did that advisedly because we wanted to bring together for the first time our resources and energy sector together with our manufacturing sector. We believed that it was— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We also, at the same time, rather than seeing innovation as being peripheral to the work of the agency, we wanted to make it central to the work of the agency, because the truth is— Mr Marshall interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —that old manufacturing— Mr Marshall interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Norwood, order! The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —does not have a future for us in this state. We need to adopt different business practices, different business models, new technology. We need to explore different markets. We need to look at adding value to our food and fibre. We need to look at going up the technological food change in relation to our existing manufacturing industry. That is at the heart of our advanced manufacturing strategy. It is the reason we have comprised our agency in the way in which we have. It is the reason we have brought in Invest in SA, a new agency which will have a new external focus for our manufacturers. The truth is that we have to raise the ambition of our manufacturing sector, raise the skills of our manufacturing workforce, and that will be the basis on which we guarantee our future prosperity.