Ageing buses to be replaced by South Australia government in $300 million program

UPDATED: Four hundred new buses will rejuvenate Adelaide Metro’s fleet over the next 10 years, and it could mean big business for former Holden suppliers.

Ageing buses within the Adelaide public transport fleet are to be replaced under a State Government program.

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A $300 million contract to revitalise Adelaide’s ageing buses could be just the ticket for former component supplier Precision Components.

The 10-year deal went out to tender on Thursday and comes as community organisation Anglicare warns an already tough jobs market will get even tougher.

Precision — which until a few weeks ago was a tier one supplier to Holden — welcomed the lucrative bus replacement announcement as coming at “just the right time”.

Precision owner Mat Fitch said the tender aligned with his company’s “strategic landscape” and welcomed a stipulation that meant “as many buses as possible” would be built in SA.

The Government said innovation would be the order of the day for the bus contract — with the contract facilitating new technologies such as electric and hydrogen buses and micro-hybrids.

Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said the contract gave Precision the “best opportunity to win further work” but the size of the tender meant multiple bus companies could receive work.

“It also gives other companies the opportunity to come up, establish a footprint here in SA and win some work,” he said.

Precision Buses workers Marvin Gaye and Mick Russell working at their Edinburgh factory, where ex-Holden factory workers may soon start. Picture: Calum Robertson

The contract announcement comes as Anglicare warns stiff competition for South Australian jobs will only get worse when workers displaced by Friday’s Holden factory closure start looking for work.

Anglicare’s jobs availability survey shows 7.5 South Australians apply for every available job, the second-highest state behind Tasmania.

AnglicareSA chief executive Peter Sandeman urged job seekers not to give up hope despite the “very disappointing” survey result.

“Even in difficult times, the right attitude, flexibility and the willingness to improve yourself will take you a long way,” Mr Sandeman said.

The survey was released alongside Australian Bureau of Statistics September figures that showed a marginal increase in SA’s seasonally unemployment rate, from 5.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent.

Mr Sandeman said the Holden closure would place extra pressure on jobseekers, but said the carmakers’ exit had been managed well to maximise the chances of its employees finding work elsewhere.

“Almost 80 per cent of Holden workers so far have moved into other employment or further training.

“That’s a terrific result and shows that with planning, flexibility and the right attitude, there are opportunities,” he said.

“But in the short-term its closure compounds the problem. The experienced workers from Holden and its suppliers will compete for entry-level jobs and make the competition even more difficult for those with minimal work history to find employment.”

Opposition employment spokesman Corey Wingard said a fall of 500 full-time jobs, according to trend data, was a concern.

But Flinders University Professor John Spoehr said the trend unemployment rate was “at a much better starting point than most expected going into the auto closure”.

“The challenge going forward is to accelerate full-time jobs growth and sustain it,” he said.