MITSUBISHI MOTORS

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (14:38): My question is to the Leader of the Government and Minister for Small Business. Is the minister aware of steps being taken to cushion the impact of the decision by Mitsubishi to close its Tonsley Park plant in Adelaide's southern suburbs?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:39): Mitsubishi announced, in February this year, its decision to close its production plant at Tonsley Park, and the overriding priority of this government has been to support the Mitsubishi workers, who have demonstrated such extraordinary loyalty to the company, and to help them secure good jobs for the future. That is why the government and our counterparts in Canberra immediately committed $80 million to support economic and infrastructure development focused on southern Adelaide.

I am pleased to inform members that, with my colleague the Minister for the Southern Suburbs (Hon. John Hill), I recently announced more than $1 million in grants for small businesses based in southern metropolitan Adelaide. The software products, water purification equipment and a facility to repair industrial bakeware are some of the concepts to be funded in the first round of the Small Business Development Grant program.

The $5 million Small Business Development Grant program is part of the $80 million joint federal and state government support package developed in response to the closure of the Mitsubishi Tonsley Park plant. The first round of grants is expected to create at least 39 jobs in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

The successful recipients in the first round of grants are: $100,000 to Grants Bakery Equipment to establish a facility to repair, clean and recoat bakeware for large industrial bakeries around Australia (at present, this service is only available interstate); $260,000 to Clintel Pty Ltd to develop residential health care software products; $135,000 to WaterLab Pty Ltd to market water purification equipment for domestic, community and industrial applications; $360,000 to Power Solutions DTD Pty Ltd to further develop patient billing software for use in the health care industry in Australia and New Zealand; and $200,000 to Radicalogic Technologies Pty Ltd to develop a health safety monitor and mapper that will assist in the control of acquired infections in hospitals.

These competitive, merit-based grants are aimed at promoting the growth of high potential small and medium-sized business in the Adelaide southern suburbs. This government is using the wider support package to ensure that the productive capacity of the south and its ability to create jobs for people living in the southern suburbs are strengthened and not lost due to the closure of the Tonsley Park plant. These grants are to assist workers to remain active in Adelaide's southern suburbs by encouraging and nurturing small and medium sized businesses in the region.

The Small Business Development Grant program goes a long way toward ensuring the vitality and diversity of the economy in Adelaide's south. As the population grows and industry diversifies, it can only become an even more attractive region for business to establish and develop. Administered by the Centre for Innovation and the Southern Business Enterprise Centre, on behalf of the Department of Trade and Economic Development, grants are available to firms with a turnover of between $250,000 and $5 million a year. The second round of applications for grants is due to close on 14 November, with a further two rounds scheduled before the end of June next year.

I suggest that members urge anyone who might be eligible for a grant through this program to consider submitting an application. Southern Adelaide businesses interested in the Small Business Development Grant program should contact the Centre for Innovation's southern office by telephone or through its website.