Ageing Well International

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:15): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the council about the recent launch of Ageing Well International at the City of Charles Sturt in late October?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:15): I thank the honourable member for his question. I think it is an important aspect of our community. I guess we all want to age well, as we progress through life, and now I am a year older today than I was yesterday.

On 25 October, I was delighted to attend the opening of Ageing Well International at the City of Charles Sturt. Ageing Well International is a new incorporated industry-led not-for-profit association that will promote international opportunities for South Australian businesses in the ageing sector. It is an evolution of the Australia China Aged Care Consortium established in the City of Charles Sturt in 2016.

AWI aims to deliver a systematic approach to assist South Australian businesses to capitalise on ageing opportunities internationally, and will use a 'Team SA' approach, linking the three key spheres of sector influences, an industry-led peer-to-peer network, and commercial businesses. While not intended to be exclusively China focused, AWI will initially focus on connecting players in South Australia's aged-care sector with the Chinese aged-care sector to drive inbound investment and export opportunities, supporting economic development and jobs.

The aged-care sector has great potential to contribute to the export of services through organisations like AWI. Services like training, intellectual property, software, design solutions and financial products that are required in China are all great strengths in South Australia. The gap between the emerging fast-growing Chinese market and the advanced South Australian experience presents us with a great opportunity to grow our service exports and partner with international investors.

China's population is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2020, of which some 248 million will be over the age of 60. Heavy investment has been made in the development of aged-care facilities by the public and private sectors. As China plans how best to support its ageing population, there will be opportunities for South Australian companies.

The launch was a great event, attended by many key figures in the ageing and health sectors, including Richard Barrett, the chief executive of MedDev SA; Greg Adey, the AWI president; and more. I acknowledge the City of Charles Sturt's drive—in particular Mayor Angela Evans, recently re-elected for a second term, and the CEO, Paul Sutton—for this initiative through its leadership in establishing the Australia China Aged Care Consortium.

The event was attended by about 100 people across many sectors. Interestingly, I first came across Mr Richard Barrett in the Rural Youth Organisation 35 or 40 years ago. That organisation no longer exists, but certainly does provide support for businesses and the community many years after it folded.

The ageing well sector is one of the biggest emerging sectors in the world, and South Australia is in a great position to help meet this demand. Only recently, the Premier launched the Global Centre for Modern Ageing and the associated LifeLab at Tonsley, and I was pleased to have an opportunity to visit that just a few weeks ago.

The state government is a big supporter of industry-led initiatives. We firmly believe in creating the right conditions for the private sector to flourish as a pathway to prosperity. I wish Ageing Well International success and look forward to seeing how the initiative grows in South Australia and around the world.