South Australia’s sectors to provide long-term secular growth trends

14 Nov 2020
South Australia’s vision of focusing on nine key sectors of growth and doubling down on the world-class capability and ability to scale with incremental foreign direct investment is impressive.

Having a government that is on the same page as industry, executing against the common goals with energy, drive and conviction, provides a clear pathway to economic growth.

South Australia’s strengths (outside premium wine) may be surprising to some. Many of the growing industries are at the intersection of technology, data science and innovation.

Think - space industry, med-tech and data analytics – all of these are important building blocks, drivers and elements that underpin the fast evolving fourth industrial revolution.

It is these sectors which are driving the jobs of tomorrow. It is these that will help future proof and tie the South Australian economy to long-term secular growth trends, making for a robust and sustainable growth pathway.

This is smart public policy, sponsoring strong academic and entrepreneurial collaboration with domestic and global businesses to drive positive outcomes for the community and multiple stakeholders.

You don’t have to look far to see great examples of this occurring within South Australia.

Just recently, Southern Launch, which provides a location for launching small satellites into Polar Orbit, made an investment in critical industry infrastructure to advance the space sector’s growth and diversification in South Australia. This is proof of the active working partnership between industry and government to bring critical new economy infrastructure to the region. The company’s plans will add long-term foundational infrastructure that will enable more business within the space supply chain to operate in South Australia, creating more operating depth in space capability that will enhance the local ecosystem and create more opportunities for areas such as space fabrication and manufacturing services.

It is developments like this, that support the ecosystem within South Australia, which is home to the National Space Agency and Mission Control, with the South Australian Government driving a sustainable industry and making the in-situ space industry more valuable.

Here in the United States, we are at an inflection point of geo-political risk as US companies reassess their supply chains. In the new world, South Australia becomes an important alternative for value-added sectors to bring diversification for manufacturing, research and development situations.

I’m delighted to build relationships between the Americas and South Australia, in partnership with my colleague, Regina Johnson who is based in Houston and provides support to South Australian exporters looking to enter the Americas region.

We’re both keen to provide opportunities that will accelerate growth, bring scale and deepen the South Australian commercial ecosystem and its business ties with the Americas. Anyone who would like support to either enter the Americas or wants to learn more about the opportunities in South Australia, can contact me through the Department for Trade and Investment.