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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
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ECONOMIC STATEMENT

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (15:24): My question is to the Premier and Treasurer. How does the government plan to fund the clusters of co-located firms and competitors mentioned on page 72 of the economic statement? In particular, are we to see Persian 'bazaars and open-air souqs'—quoted on that page of the statement—as a 'classic example' of the model we should be aspiring to?

The SPEAKER: Best not to end a sentence with a preposition, member for Waite.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (15:24): I thank the honourable member for his question and I am flattered that he has actually taken the time to read the economic statement.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Unley to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I am a little surprised that the member for Waite is so quick to actually disparage some of the good work that was done by the former Liberal government in this regard. Bio Innovation SA is an example of a cluster which we document in that same section of the document, to which we have added Techport, an extraordinarily important cluster. Edinburgh Parks, of course, is another very important cluster; and at Tonsley Park we are in the process of building a vibrant—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The Leader of the Opposition laughs at Tonsley Park. Actually, the reason he finds that curious and something of a matter of hilarity is because he doesn't actually understand the role of government.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, sir: the Premier is not responsible for the Leader of the Opposition.

The SPEAKER: In the pause that point of order has given me, I warn the Leader of the Opposition for the second and final time. I warn the Minister for Transport for the first time. I think the Premier can hardly be confined in his answer to clusters mentioned on page 72 of the document. I think that would be an artificial constraint so I will allow him to range more broadly.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The clusters that we talk about have been ones that have been emerging over a number of years but have been accelerated under the life of this government, because we understand that at the heart of modern manufacturing is going to be the collaboration that exists between tertiary institutions, skill centres and businesses. They can be brought together for the mutual benefit of each of those organisations in the one place, and that is what these precincts are all about.

You have seen more recently the announcements that we have made concerning North Terrace. SAHMRI—proximate to a first-class, nation-leading and, I would beg to say, world-leading tertiary hospital which will form a precinct—will be another source of collaboration which will drive innovation in our health and medical sciences area.

We have also seen the creation of a hub within the South Australian CBD, in the centre of the city, a creative hub for young entrepreneurs to come together so that they can share and collaborate with one another.

The modern notions of economic growth are about collaboration. They are not just about the devil take the hindmost, let it rip, close your eyes, take your hands off the wheel and expect that somehow economic growth flows. That has been a completely discredited idea about economic growth. The truth is that we can use the excellence in our tertiary sector to match that with our bright young entrepreneurs. We do need to encourage greater commitment to innovation.

That sits at the heart of the economic statement and these various clusters, whether they be in the wine and food sector, whether they are in the creative industries, or whether they are in our medical technology industries, and increasingly now we are exploring clusters in the South-East around adding value to fibre, through the good work that was done by the former treasurer.

We are looking at clusters within the Riverland region to try and bring our food manufacturing sectors together. This is a great opportunity for growth for us and, rather than those opposite making fun of them, they should get in behind them and support this important means of growing our economy.

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