Export Initiatives

355 The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (8 December 2020). Real growth business investment declined by 4.8 per cent in 2019-20. What are the key factors that DIT believes are the reason for this decline?

The Hon. S.J.R. PATTERSON (Morphett—Member of the Executive Council, Minister for Trade and Investment): I have been advised the following:

South Australia's private business investment over the period consisted of investment in:

non-dwelling construction ($5.6 billion, down 11.4 per cent or $722 million);

cultivated biological resources ($354 million, down 4.8 per cent or $18 million);

machinery and equipment ($3.8 billion, up 0.5 per cent or $18 million); and

intellectual property products ($2.4 billion, up 4.2 per cent or $92 million).

The decline in private business investment in the state—particularly driven by lower non-dwelling construction, is reflective of the broader national and global downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic which has halted or delayed large-scale investment decisions across the state and Australia more broadly.