Video Game Development

Ms LUETHEN (King) (14:33): My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister please update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is leading the nation with the development of creative industries?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question from the member for King clearly contained debate and I ask that you rule accordingly.

The SPEAKER: It's an opportunity to remind members of standing order 132. The member for Lee has raised the point of order at the appropriate time. I have the point of order. I will give the member for King an opportunity to rephrase. In so doing, I uphold the point of order. Member for King.

Ms LUETHEN: My question is to the Minister for Innovation and Skills. Can the minister please update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is performing relative to other Australian states with development of creative industries?

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley—Minister for Innovation and Skills) (14:35): What a creative question from the member for King! I thank the member for King for her support for the games development industry in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI: South Australia is home to Australia's most successful independent game development studios and the Marshall government remains at the forefront of providing nation-leading support to these businesses to grow. Today, we welcome the announcement that the Prime Minister and the commonwealth government are also backing game development specifically through the new $1.2 billion Digital Economy Strategy that will include a refundable tax offset for video game development. This tax offset of 30 per cent will support businesses seeking a slice of the $250 billion global game development market. This is good news for South Australia's thriving game development sector.

In September last year, the Marshall government led the nation in a video game development rebate, the first of its kind to be offered in Australia. This rebate enables game developers to claim 10 per cent of eligible expenditure incurred to develop video games in South Australia. This follows earlier investment by the Marshall government into a pilot of the Games Innovation Fund. South Australia's own Mighty Kingdom is Australia's largest independent game developer. It listed on the Australian Securities Exchange just last month. Other highly successful South Australian game companies include ODD Games and Foxie Ventures.

The global games market is set to grow further, as more people turn towards games driven by the COVID-19 restrictions and as remote communication and interaction increases. Games are not just about entertainment. Games engines, the primary technology used in video game production, are now used for a wide range of other industries. Examples include submarine modelling in defence, and virtual reality powered robotics in mining and space.

The shared spillover of skills and technology between VFX, games and research and development will continue to strengthen over time. Game development is a sector with significant growth potential in terms of exports out of South Australia, with independent industry research reporting that 87 per cent of income generated in this sector is from overseas markets and investment. So it's a massive export industry in South Australia.

The games sector in South Australia has experienced significant growth over the last few years, accelerated by our nation-leading rebate scheme. In June 2020, there were 65 game firms in South Australia, with an estimated gross value added of $39 million. The state's game development sector has doubled in the last three years under the Marshall government in value and in jobs. The video game development skills are highly transferable to other target sectors in Australia, some of which currently have skills shortages.

By fostering a healthy games industry, we are creating a future-looking workforce increasing capabilities across all sectors and increasing South Australia's share of this growing global market and, of course, we are creating new pathways into high-paying jobs for South Australians.