STEVEN MARSHALL, STATE LIBERAL LEADER MARTIN HAMILTON-SMITH, SHADOW MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The State Liberals want South Australia to grow and prosper. We need more people active in our economy to create jobs and grow our State. Steven Marshall State Liberal Leader
Boosting our population. Boosting our productivity. The State Liberals are committed to generating sustainable population growth in South Australia. In order to grow our economy and become competitive, we need more people, more jobs and more opportunities. Under Premier Weatherill our population growth has stagnated at only 0.9 per cent last year. This is half the national average, making South Australia s growth rate the lowest in mainland Australia. After 12 years of Labor, people are leaving South Australia in droves. Rather than simply watching our citizens leave South Australia, we need to encourage more people to remain, study and work in our beautiful State. South Australia s clean environment, top universities, easy lifestyle and rich culture all make it an attractive place to live, but we need a strong economy and more job opportunities so that people can afford to raise their families here. We have a Growth Action Agenda with seven key points to stimulate our economy, stop the exodus of people from South Australia and grow our State. A Marshall Liberal Government will: Reduce waiting times for people wishing to settle in our State; Within the first 100 days work with the Federal Government to deliver an increase in migration opportunities for SA; Seek, attract and support new skilled workers to South Australia; Work with the mining and energy sector to switch fly-in-fly-out jobs to locally based migrant positions where local skills are unavailable; Hold a Population Growth Summit to examine new ideas to stimulate growth; Take new steps to encourage high net-worth investment migrant visas in South Australia; and Work with the business sector to identify skills shortages for employer sponsored visas.
Labor Failures Since Labor has been in government, we have lost more than 34,000 net migrants interstate. This is 34,000 people who are not employed, studying, buying houses, eating at restaurants, or educating their children in our State. Last year South Australia also suffered a 78 per cent increase in the number of people leaving for other states. This is despite claims by the Labor Government that our population would reach 2 million by 2027. For this target to be achieved, our growth rate would need to double its current rate. The exodus of young people has had a dramatic impact upon South Australia; we are now approaching a demographic cliff. As our population ages, we are losing an important component of our productive workforce. Adelaide University Professor Graeme Hugo said in his report the State of Ageing that during the next quarter century the number of South Australians aged 65 years and over will double, as will their ratio to the working population. Our ageing population will have serious knock-on effects for the viability of our state and the productive capacity of our economy. Attracting people to work and live in South Australia takes more than painting blue lines on Bank Street. It takes a targeted, strategic approach to population growth to which this Government has been unwilling to commit. The State Liberals understand that sustainable population growth is key to our plans to put South Australia back on track. 500 South Australians Moving Interstate (Net) -500-1,500-1,191-2,500-3,500-2,910-3,226-2,711-3,371-2,709-2,614-2,357-4,500 Total Net Interstate Losses: 34,000-4,221-4,402-4,205-5,500 Source: ABS Catalogue 3101.0
The Liberal Plan A Marshall Liberal Government will reinvigorate our population growth to ensure that our State s economy has the people power it needs to put South Australia back on track. Demographer Bernard Salt has stated that due to a generation of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age and leaving the workforce, we will need to replace the lost productive component of our economy through migration and other measures. Mr Salt has also stated that for each 10 000 people that move into a city, 7 000 new dwellings are needed and $70 million in retail spending is generated. We will: Reduce migration red tape The State Liberals will reduce red tape waiting times for businesses and migrants. Currently, visa processing times for businesses wishing to bring in skilled workers via the State Government body Immigration SA, are unacceptably longer when compared to other states. We need to make it easier and quicker for business owners to get the workers they need, which is why we will pursue appropriate business associations to act as Regional Certification Bodies to expedite migration approvals. Work with the business sector to identify skills shortages for employer sponsored visas We will work with business and industry to ensure that we get more of the workers we need to fill gaps within our jobs market when they can t be found locally. Stakeholders are currently reporting an inability to fill key jobs within their industries due to Immigration SA red-tape and restrictions. We will work with business and industry to identify vocations which the State Government will then allow to be filled through employer sponsored visas. Work to grow our national share of migrants A Marshall Liberal Government will work in partnership with the Federal Government on ways to increase South Australia s share of immigration to the national average. Currently, South Australia and Western Australia are both categorized as regional centres for the purposes of encouraging migration; however, the strong economic growth of Western Australia has attracted the bulk of new migrants, nullifying the benefits of the categorisation. If elected in 2014, a Marshall Liberal Government will explore ways for low growth jurisdictions, like South Australia, to be given greater flexibility and support in attracting new workers.
The Liberal Plan Attract entrepreneurs and successful business leaders A Marshall Liberal Government will create a new flexible investment fund to attract business leaders and entrepreneurs in order to facilitate them in locating appropriate investment pathways into South Australia. Investors from overseas will be encouraged to use the fund as a way of gaining a foothold into South Australian markets, and will also encourage migration by high-asset individuals into our State. We will make it simpler and more attractive for international investors to look at South Australia as a viable place to live, do business and invest. Hold a Population Growth Summit If elected in 2014, State Liberal Leader Steven Marshall will take a leadership role in the national population debate by holding a Population Growth Summit within his first year of Government. This will provide an important opportunity for the private sector, industry, stakeholders, Government and academics to discuss our shifting population demographics and what this may mean for the possible trajectory of our economy and the ongoing sustainability of the South Australian budget, infrastructure and the environment. Every portfolio in our State, from education to health and industry to social services, will be affected by our changing demographics. We need to comprehensively chart South Australia s population challenges going forward so that we can prioritise corrective action. The last National Population Summit was held in Adelaide in 2003, and since then the conversation surrounding our population growth has stagnated. We need to urgently address our declining population growth and reinvigorate the public conversation on this important issue. The summit will serve as the basis for a South Australian Population Growth white paper, which will outline the direction of our State s population demographics going forward and provide the framework for policy creation in a specific state-wide context. This white paper will be in the same vein as the Federal Government s Intergenerational Report, and will be a publicly available document.
The Liberal Plan Support and encourage sustainable migration to SA: The State Liberals will provide extra assistance to organisations that support new migrants in South Australia, by increasing the Multicultural Grants Scheme to $1 million and broadening the eligibility criteria to include organisations that provide settlement services. Currently, migrants arrive in South Australia but often leave and settle interstate due to a lack of social support. Our policy works to reverse this through English language and other skills training, social cohesion and family friendly services. A Marshall Liberal Government will also maintain an expatriate database of professional South Australians who have left the state to pursue job opportunities elsewhere. We will keep these people informed of job opportunities available in South Australia, and make it easier for them to find the information they need in order to return to their home state. Attract new skilled migrants to SA: A Marshall Liberal Government will strategically target the promotion of South Australia as an attractive migration destination in international locations where we already have strong cultural and family connections. We will strategically target areas outside of major city centres where people are more likely to be looking for employment, and in smaller European and Asian cities that are comparable to Adelaide. We will also ask that large companies tendering for work in South Australia prepare business plans that identify local living options for employees that would ordinarily fly-in fly-out. Companies that have contingencies for employees moving and living in South Australia will be taken into consideration by a Marshall Liberal Government. The State Liberals will also work with employers to develop business plans that optimise local employment. The State Liberals understand that growing our State s economy must be a priority for South Australia. That is why, if elected in March 2014, we will implement a seven point Growth Action Agenda to boost our population, stimulate productivity and grow our economy.
CONTACT US Feedback If you would like to have your say on our Growth Action Agenda to grow our population and boost productivity, please get in touch: Steven Marshall MP State Liberal Leader Shadow Minister for State Development Phone: 08 8237 9295 Fax: 08 8237 9126 Email: liberal.opposition@parliament.sa.gov.au Post: Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5000 Martin Hamilton-Smith MP Shadow Minister for Economic and Regional Development Phone: 08 8271 6448 Fax: 08 8373 3158 Email: waite@parliament.sa.gov.au Post: PO Box 275, Torrens Park, SA, 5062 Fresh Ideas. Better Future. Authorised by G. Greene for the Liberal Party of South Australia, Level 1, 104 Greenhill Road, Unley