The South Australian government has allocated $60 million over four years to its Investment Attraction Agency (IASA) in its 2017-18 Budget, which aims to attract new businesses to South Australia, promote job creation, and further develop key industry sectors.
The funding, which comes from a new $200 million Future Jobs Fund, will be divided into two tranches, $30 million in grants across 2017-18 and 2018-19, and $30 million in low-interest loans over 2019-20 and 2020-21.
The agency is focused on attracting large companies from both interstate and overseas to either relocate to or expand their operations in South Australia, with a focus on industries including defence, renewable energy and mining, tourism, food, and wine, health and biomedical research, and IT and advanced manufacturing.
Minister for Investment and Trade, Martin Hamilton-Smith, said, “Today’s additional investment in IASA allows the agency to offer targeted incentives to get businesses over the line and convince them to make the move to South Australia, bringing in new capital and creating lasting jobs of the future.
“Many South Australian jobs of the future lie in defence, small business, export and trade, which is why we are investing heavily in these sectors.”
$14.5 million over four years will also be dedicated to bids for events and conventions to be held in South Australia, while $5 million over two years will look to support the automotive supply chain as car manufacturing moves out of the state.
A further $2.9 million has also been dedicated to the government’s Gig City program over four years.
First announced in last year’s budget, with $4.65 million over four years allocated to the program, Gig City is a near 200km long Gig City network connecting the Adelaide’s educational and research sites; an extension was announced earlier this year, to connect the network to Adelaide’s coworking spaces and innovation hubs.
The government has also allocated $11.4 million for innovation in the ‘Ageing Well’ sector, which will look to establish a coordinating body connecting people with education, training, research, networks, business development, and international pathways to the market.
The funding will also help establish ‘living labs’, spaces where people will be able to co-design and test prototypes, products, and services.
Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Kyam Maher said, “This initiative is designed to look at how we can give older people better choices and new innovations through engagement with the state’s high-tech and advanced manufacturing sector to help them live a long and meaningful life.”
Image: SA Premier Jay Weatherill. Source: sbs.com.au
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