Cycling Sector

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (14:44): Supplementary question: does the minister know whether skilled workers leaving manufacturing companies like Holden might transition into becoming bike mechanics and whether those skills would translate into the building of other mechanisms like wheelchairs or mobility aids or even maintenance work? What is the government doing to promote that opportunity?

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) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for her very good question. I understand that one of our bicycle manufacturers, who is making bicycle frames from titanium additive manufacturing, is a former Holden worker who started their own company.

The extraordinarily advanced manufacturing skills we had through our automotive sector are readily translatable into other sectors. As I said, I understand one of the new companies in South Australia is run by a former Holden engineer, so I am certain that there will be areas, whether it is cycling or a whole range of other areas, that will see Holden workers not just as mechanics, but owning and starting and running companies that build and design things in bicycle manufacturing and other areas.

I'm also aware that there are a number of the 74 tier 1 and tier 2 supply chain companies that are diversifying into areas like medical devices. The honourable member is very astute, and she is correct that there are significant opportunities in other areas such as mobility assistance or medical devices and bicycles.