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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
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MANUFACTURING SECTOR

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:19): My question is also to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house how manufacturing in South Australia will be assisted by recent announcements?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:19): I thank the honourable member for his question and acknowledge that the member for Mitchell has an intimate understanding of the manufacturing sector, having been a longstanding employee of the Mitsubishi factory. He also understands the dislocation that can occur when there is massive restructuring in the manufacturing sector.

Manufacturing remains a cornerstone of the South Australian economy: 73,000 South Australians are employed in that sector. It represents 10 per cent of the gross state product of the state, and we know that manufacturing provides decent jobs for not only those people directly employed in it but the many other jobs—

Ms Chapman: What about the unemployed?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —that rest upon those particular sectors.

The SPEAKER: I warn the deputy leader for the first time. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Industries like hospitality, retail, transport services, all of those sectors rely on the manufacturing sector. Between two and five jobs are created in the rest of the economy because of that important sector.

Last October, members would recall, we released manufacturing works, and we did so because we wanted to meet the challenges that face us. With a high Australian dollar, the truth is that the challenges for South Australian and, indeed, national manufacturers, are enormous.

In relation to the federal government, we are very pleased to collaborate with them. They are adopting a policy direction which is completely consistent with the policy direction which is sought by the South Australian government. It is very pleasing to see that they have committed a billion dollars in a package of support for jobs and, in particular, manufacturing jobs.

I am particularly pleased that it is focused on advanced manufacturing, that is, transforming our existing manufacturing sector so that we can compete with other countries, with our ingenuity, with our capacity to make things which find their place in world markets. It emphasises that the path to advanced manufacturing is through innovation and collaboration—doing new things, doing new things in partnership with other people.

One of the key elements to this is the creation of our high-tech precincts: defence, in mining services, in clean tech, food and fibre and automotive, with a cluster of businesses coming together, together with the knowledge industries that spawn around those particular manufacturing sectors, in close collaboration with universities and other institutions.

One of the other key elements of the federal strategy is, of course, the creation of industry innovation precincts which the commonwealth are also proposing. That will fit neatly into the propositions that we have been advancing here.

We have also identified the power of procurement to drive innovation in manufacturing and so we have established a new industry participation policy and industry participation advocate. The truth is that when large corporations, and state governments, when they make purchasing decisions they can drive the creation of new products and services. That is a power that we should harness, and I am pleased to note that the commonwealth have directly identified that as part of their strategy.

We can see that both state and federal Labor believe in a manufacturing future for South Australia. They also believe that innovation and collaboration will be at the heart of that. The reality is that protecting the status quo, protecting existing interests, and rejecting progress because it is unsettling, are simply not options for us here in South Australia.

I know that those opposite would like to choose the comfortable course and protect existing interests, but what we are interested in here is doing new things because we know the status quo is simply not going to take us where we need to go.

Mr GARDNER: Point of order, Mr Speaker: I draw your attention to the sessional orders; the four minutes are up.

The SPEAKER: In fact, the Premier has eight seconds on the clock.

Mr GARDNER: Your clock is still slow, sir.

The SPEAKER: I'm sorry, I didn't bring my Crvena Zvezda stopwatch so I am relying on the Clerk's electronic timer. Premier.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: At the heart of the economic policy choices which are in front of South Australians is the comfortable, lazy course, or a course—

The SPEAKER: Yes, Premier, I am sure you have wound up.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I think my eight seconds was eaten into, to some extent.

The SPEAKER: Have you got something to say that will last three seconds?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Yes, I do—or the course which challenges South Australia to be ambitious about its future.

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