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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-20 Daily Xml
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REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:52): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development a question about regional development.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Regional businesses are an important component of making South Australia's success. Can the minister advise the chamber of a recent grant to assist one of these businesses?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:52): I have previously spoken of the economic prospects of the Upper Spencer Gulf area and how this combination of population centres and geographic features have been recognised. The South Australian government commissioned KPMG to help local businesses position themselves to take advantage of opportunities in the area. The government has entered an historic three-party MOU with the Australian government and local government to support a place-based approach to this area.

The purpose of the place-based approach to the Upper Spencer Gulf is to facilitate the development of coordinated, strategic, placed-based investment strategies for the USG and associated regions. We recognise that we have a mutual interest in developing placed-based investment strategies, particularly in the Upper Spencer Gulf, and that these will focus on a holistic view of the region's economic, social and community wellbeing and current and planned significant state, federal, local government and private sector investments in the USG.

We have also committed $4 million over four years towards an Enterprise Zone Fund and the outback. I am pleased to announce today that I have recently approved a grant of just under $200,000 to Cowell Electric Supply from the Enterprise Zone Fund to help that business service the growing mining, oil and gas industries. The funding win supports Cowell Electric to purchase new equipment to construct high voltage lines in the Upper Spencer Gulf—covering the areas between Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie—Eyre Peninsula and the outback of SA.

The company's core business is the design and construction of powerlines, primarily for the mining, oil and gas industries. It is a local company which has built up expertise and experience in the mining industry from its beginning in January 2001 with 13 workers based in Cowell (on the Eyre Peninsula), to being a company which employs 35 people, with 18 based at Olympic Dam and Woomera, a core at the head office in Cowell, as well as those dedicated to projects in regional and remote areas as needed.

The company has experience working in places such as Innamincka in South Australia, Gove in the Northern Territory and Broken Hill in New South Wales. It is a successful regional company, led by Sue Chase, a former Telstra businesswoman of the year (2009), and it was awarded the title of Telstra's South Australian regional business of the year in 2011.

The grant will help the company obtain tension-stringing equipment so that it can undertake work on high-voltage lines of up to 275 kilovolt, not just the 66 kilovolt lines it had previously worked on. The project, which is just over $350,000, will see the purchase of a hydraulic tensioner and puller and a roller sheave, in addition to related fittings and training of staff.

Having this new equipment is expected to help the company position itself to win bids for projects on a competitive and ongoing basis and to build local capacity to support economic development and jobs growth. For example, it has recently tendered to install a 275 kilovolt powerline for the Snowtown wind farm, and I understand that will commence shortly. The project is consistent with our priority of Mining Benefits for All. The funds come from the Enterprise Zone Fund, which is aimed at capturing the benefits of growing industries to further strengthen outback communities.

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