House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Manufacturing Sector MANUFACTURING SECTOR Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Norwood Leader of the Opposition MANUFACTURING SECTOR Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): Supplementary, Mr Speaker. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: If indeed it is a supplementary. Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Mr MARSHALL: I will let you be the judge of that, sir. Given the Premier's answer that manufacturing and innovation was a key priority from day one of his premiership, can the Premier tell the house why he has reduced the budget for the government's manufacturing and innovation program funding by 20 per cent since he became the Premier? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Yes, you don't need to justify the substance of the question; I am just trying to work out whether it is a supplementary, and I rule that it is. The Premier. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Premier Minister for State Development Minister for the Public Sector Minister for the Arts The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:24): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I really do thank the Leader of the Opposition for giving me an opportunity to explain to him how every section of the government is now being turned towards this objective. Those opposite have the curious view that somehow, because there is one agency that might have a name that might include something to do with manufacturing or a program concerning manufacturing, that represents the whole of the effort that the government makes in that particular field. To actually demonstrate the absurdity of that proposition— Mr Gardner House of Assembly Mr Gardner: You pointed to the sub-program which you cut its funding. Mrs Redmond interjecting: The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —one only needs to look at the investments that we're making in the defence sector. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Premier, would you be seated for a minute. I haven't had an opportunity to issue warnings, and I'll now take the opportunity to call the member for Heysen to order and to warn the member for Morialta for the first time. Premier. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: One example that demonstrates the lack of understanding of those opposite about the way in which government works in this space is the investment that the state government made in Rosebank Engineering in collaboration with BAE Systems down at Edinburgh Parks in a new titanium processing plant down there. Now, that was to permit them to participate in that important international global supply chain, the joint strike fighter, an incredibly important opportunity where we're part of a massive international effort to build the latest air warfare fifth generation plane that will assist in our defence. Not only is it building capability in that sector but it gives us the capacity to move into other areas of advanced manufacturing that involve the capabilities that we develop in manufacturing and working with titanium. I think it's one of the only titanium plants in the southern hemisphere, and so that will not be described necessarily under the proposition that those advance as a particular manufacturing initiative, but of course it is. It builds not only capability in the defence sector, but also capability across a broader range of defence sector jobs. If we look at the signals that we have been sending to manufacturers here in South Australia, just this morning I heard a fantastic story from SAGE Automation. SAGE Automation, which had principally been in the food industry, hadn't looked at mining and defence until this government laid out a clear strategic vision for mining and defence, and they decided to take the risk to invest in that particular sector. Now, 15 per cent of their business comes from defence. They're not only just winning contracts down there at Techport, they're winning them from TALIS in Victoria and they have now got a new and growing segment of their business. That's the truth of what's happening in South Australia. It involves the government being assertive, it involves us upsetting the status quo, it involves us doing new things. I know that those sitting opposite are supporting established interests— Members interjecting: The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —but we are interested in doing new things to get this state moving. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: It would be helpful if the leader did not blaspheme in amongst his interjections. The member for Port Adelaide. Mr MARSHALL House of Assembly Mr MARSHALL: Mr Speaker, could you just clarify when I blasphemed? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I'm not going to repeat it. I'll speak to you privately if you come to the Chair. The member for Port Adelaide.