The Advertiser editorial, December 12, 2018: It’s lift-off, as state charts new territory

This has been a historic week for a state that’s very proud of its past but also craving a vision of the future.

Premier Steven Marshall with astronaut Andy Thomas at Adelaide University's 3D printing lab. Picture: SIMON CROSS

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This has been a historic week for a state that’s very proud of its past but also craving a vision of the future.

In just over 24 hours, British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta has announced a breathtaking vision for the steel city of Whyalla and we have news that not only will Adelaide be home to the country’s new space agency, we’ve got a much-prized City Deal to boot.

City Deals rely on a partnership between federal, state and local governments to create productive and liveable cities and to bring often diverse projects together under a singular banner. But they can fall down without significant new funding or centrepiece projects. The Australian Space Agency announcement alleviates this concern.

With a massive $90 billion ship and submarine building program also locked in, and due to soon start work, there is a groundswell of optimism and a critical mass of 21st century industry taking clear shape.

In the past year, SA has started to shrug off its cultural cringe and move past embarrassments like the statewide blackout to again start believing tomorrow can be brighter than yesterday.

Business and consumer confidence have bounced back, and this Christmas will be one of genuine hope.

Jos Valdman’s cartoon in The Advertiser today.

But great opportunities must be converted to exceptional realities. We must extract every drop of value from what hard work and good luck is now presenting.

SA has always led the pack in a few areas. We are home to, without exaggeration, some of the most exceptional wine regions in the world. We excel at hosting major events and have great expertise in fields like water management and emergency service response.

But we have lacked a diversity of economic opportunity that the Olympic Dam expansion tantalisingly offered before it was stalled.

Education will be key.

We may face the welcome problem of a skills crunch as hi-tech sectors take off and create a demand for workers not witnessed in recent memory.

Our schools and tertiary education sector must be properly resourced and flexibly designed to give locals every chance to seize these coming opportunities.

But we also need to remain open-minded about bringing new people into the state and increasing our population to add cultural vibrancy and a greater economic capacity.

SA has had its hopes raised and disappointed before. But this feels different, and we must make it so.

More of today’s space agency coverage

THE HISTORY: 50 years ago, we were Space Centre. Now we will be again

BUSINESS: This will see Adelaide take off as ‘City of Entrepreneurs’