China Trade

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (14:52): My question is to the Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation. Can the minister inform the chamber as to how local companies are capitalising on growth opportunities in China?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her question and note her ongoing interest in areas like business opportunities in China and companies here expanding their operations, and note that Micromet and the agreement they signed yesterday was partly brought about by the Hon. Gail Gago's time as a minister and her work in these areas. I want to pay particular tribute to her work with this particular project and with SinoSA specifically and her work in this area much more generally.

We know that many South Australian companies are expanding their markets through export opportunities and partnerships abroad, taking their products and services to the world. A local manufacturer, Micromet, has been in business for around 20 years in Adelaide, initially developing irrigation control technology. Over recent years, the company has been developing innovative water treatment technology which they have recently begun commercialising, selling this product into global markets.

Micromet's new disruptive technology allows organic content to be removed from contaminated water using electrolysis. Through the application of pulsated electrical current passed through contaminated water within enclosed chambers, their product enables organic content to be separated and subsequently removed from the water. This technology is ideally suited to the treatment of sewage, greywater and industrial effluents and is also effective at removing some pathogens. I understand that an added benefit of the technology is that it is modular and easily scalable, allowing it to meet the needs of a wide range of applications.

Micromet participated in the state government's trade mission to Shandong in May 2015 and, through this, the company was able to identify significant market opportunities in China to help address a significant problem with contaminated groundwater and trade waste in that country. I understand that, subsequent to attending the trade mission, Micromet has taken a trial unit of their technology back to China to conduct successful trials of the technology. Following the successful trials, they have identified suitable investors and negotiated a joint venture with their Chinese partner.

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of providing a tour of the parliament to representatives from the Chinese company, Dadongwu: its chairman, Mr Meng; director, Mr Ma; and business agent interpreter, Ms Fan—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Mr Ma—is he a relative?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: It's a great name. I'm not aware of any relationship, but in the technical sense, we all come from one common ancestor, so I guess we are related in geological timescales—and also representatives from Micromet, Jim Townsend, the managing director and Andrew Townsend, the engineering sales director.

Following this, my very good friend and very good egg the Minister for Investment and Trade, the Hon Martin Hamilton-Smith and I—

An honourable member: Good egg!

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Good egg—oversaw the signing of a joint venture agreement—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Go on.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The honourable minister has the floor.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Following the signing yesterday, my good friend and very good egg, the Minister for Investment and Trade, the Hon. Martin Hamilton-Smith and I oversaw the signing of a joint venture agreement—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: He reminds me of one of those 200-year-old eggs out of China that's all black on the inside.

The PRESIDENT: The honourable Leader of the Opposition, could you keep your comments to yourself while the minister is on his feet.

The Hon. P. Malinauskas: He knows his eggs, though.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I thank the Hon. David Ridgway for his contribution on eggs—he does know his eggs. He knows his eggs very well, apparently. Minister Hamilton-Smith and I oversaw the signing of a joint venture agreement between Micromet and representatives from its joint venture partner, the Chinese company, Dadongwu.

Dadongwu is a partially state-owned industrial group from just south of Shanghai. The company has a wide range of business activities, including the construction of hotels and ports, manufacturing automotive alternators and water treatment technologies. The new joint venture agreement will open new markets in China for Micromet and is expected to generate 75 new manufacturing job opportunities in Adelaide and foreign direct investment of $2 million from the Chinese partner.

The state government is committed to delivering the best possible opportunities to support the growth of strong and sustainable manufacturing in this state. While Micromet has clearly benefited from the state government's trade mission to Shandong, the company has also benefited from the strong support from other policies that the state government provides to the manufacturing sector and the state more broadly.

Since November 2015, Micromet has used the services provided by SinoSA, which was visionarily set up by the then minister Gago as part of the state government's innovation and high technology industries support agency to assist the company to enter the Chinese markets and in its interactions with the Chinese company.

I am further pleased to inform the chamber that I have recently approved state government support of Micromet through the awarding of a $26,000 grant through the state government's Business Transformation Voucher Program, a program specifically designed to assist businesses to identify and address gaps in their capabilities to support their sustained and long-term growth. The funding support will be used by the company to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to support the joint venture with Dadongwu.

The state government is committed to supporting innovative South Australian companies in expanding their business and we will continue to implement the policies required to ensure that South Australian industry has the best opportunity to expand into new and emerging global markets, creating increased economic activity for our state and meaningful employment for South Australian workers. I congratulate Micromet and its Chinese partner, Dadongwu, on their partnership and look forward to updating the chamber on the future success that this joint venture will have for this state.