Innovation Voucher Program

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Science and Information Economy a question about the Innovation Voucher Program.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: It is very important that the state government supports small to medium sized enterprises, as transforming South Australia's economy will be built on the ability of our manufacturers to adopt new ways of doing things so that they can create globally competitive businesses. Will the minister provide the chamber with more details about how the government is doing this?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:46): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Innovation is, of course, one of the strongest enablers of economic growth in an increasingly globalised world. South Australian businesses must compete on the basis of value, not lowest cost, and to do that, they must innovate.

Innovation involves decisions made by business and government to invest in exploring new ideas. By committing to innovation, our businesses can develop new products and establish new markets. It also obviously increases productivity and profitability through the creation of higher value goods and services and ultimately builds a more sustainable economy and drives job creation.

Science and innovation is the key to prosperity. If we want a strong economy our investment in science is vital. That is why the state government is investing more than $250,000 in a range of projects aimed at helping small to medium sized enterprises develop new manufacturing processes and products. There is $1.1 million being dedicated to the Innovation Voucher Program, which sits as part of the state government's Manufacturing Works strategy.

This voucher program provides vouchers of between $10,000 and $50,000 to help manufacturing SMEs collaborate with organisations such as universities and private research companies to overcome technical problems to deliver innovation. The successful applicants in the latest rounds include:

Hardcore Diamond Products, which has been awarded $20,000 for a project with the University of South Australia to conduct experiments with molten alloy infiltration for the production of specialised drill bits;

Seapa Pty Ltd—$27,000 for a project to help design and prototype an enhanced basket system for oyster farming;

PRB—$42,000 for a project with ITEK Ventures of the University of South Australia to design and prototype a vehicle immobilising device to be used during high-speed police chases;

Home Support Services—just under $17,000 to work with the University of South Australia to develop a software solution to monitor medication use, identify hospitalisation risks and potentially reduce healthcare costs;

Critical Asset Protection—$50,000 for a project with Industrial Monitoring & Control;

Measurement Engineering—$50,000 for a project with Brent Honeybone to develop a software solution to enhance innovative irrigation;

Coiltek—$30,000 for a project to commercialise a product that will improve metal detector performance;

Sunscreen Umbrella—$15,000 to undertake a detailed analysis of an esky product to improve its quality and durability.

These vouchers align with one of this government's key economic priorities: growth through innovation. They will enable small to medium sized enterprises to create partnerships with research technology organisations in order to develop new processes which they may not be able to do on their own. So, I congratulate each of the enterprises on their voucher funding and look forward to seeing the results of these partnerships.