SCIENCE RESEARCH

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Science and Information Economy. Can the minister inform the house about recent support that has been provided to local business and industry so that they are better able to work together with researchers to develop innovative products and services?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:58): I thank the member for this really important question. I have had the opportunity to see firsthand that we have many outstanding, productive and innovative industries in South Australia. We also have many creative researchers in our universities and other research organisations who consistently demonstrate a capacity to work with local industry on complex problems and find productive and commercial solutions.

That is incredibly important because obviously we live in a very competitive global marketplace and we need to generate high value and high quality products and services. I am very pleased to report that the state government is helping to bring business, industry and researchers together to strengthen productivity and innovation with the support of our $1 million investment for innovation vouchers.

The idea for these vouchers was suggested by international leader in business model innovation in manufacturing, Professor Göran Roos, as an effective way of encouraging small to medium enterprises and our research sector to work together. It is about incentivising this kind of behaviour. It is a real partnership effort because, while individual vouchers for businesses contribute up to $50,000 towards a particular project, the business also makes a contribution.

This collaborative effort is a catalyst for business and industry to develop such innovations, which are likely to be profitable in the marketplace going forward. This approach fits with our economic statement which identifies innovation as being a clear priority for our state, and it is the key to improving productivity rather than trying to compete on cost alone. The vouchers also support industry projects which are a priority for our state's long-term economic future, such as advanced manufacturing.

I can advise the house of recent voucher grants that are supporting businesses in South Australia. For example, the Adelaide-based bioscience company TGR BioSciences was granted a voucher for $30,000. This company will work with the Australian National Fabrication Facility at the University of South Australia to develop a new diagnostic tool that can deliver the analyses of multiple lab tests, such as blood tests, so that test results are available in less than 10 minutes—which is fantastic.

In addition, the solar panel manufacturer Tindo Solar has received vouchers worth a total of $66,000 to work with the Mawson Institute at the University of South Australia. This involves developing two products: the first is to develop a new method to increase the efficiency of solar panels and the second is to develop a new lightweight, high-capacity battery for its solar panels. I take this opportunity to thank the many businesses that are looking to the future of our state and our outstanding researchers. I look forward to seeing this partnership grow, not only for the benefit of those researchers and companies but also for the benefit and prosperity of our state.