The state’s leading strategic minds say SA’s future is bright if we fearlessly pursue our economic opportunities. Watch the full replay of the Future SA forum here.
South Australia’s movers and shakers, as well as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have gathered in Adelaide to spruik the wealth of opportunity the state has.
Political and business leaders will address The Advertiser’s Future SA forum at SkyCity from noon, talking about the levers the state can pull to build a more prosperous future.
Mr Albanese and Premier Peter Malinauskas will lead the addresses at the forum.
It also includes panel discussions with RAA chief executive Nick Reade and Mitsubishi Motors Australia chief executive Shaun Westcott; and Walker Corporation chief executive David Gallant and ECH chief executive Claire Scapinello.
Additional panels feature Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox and StudyAdelaide chief executive Jane Johnston; and Santos executive vice president Brett Darley and BHP chief operating officer Edgar Basto.
RECAP ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FORUM VIA OUR BLOG BELOW
All the speaker panels have concluded and the Future SA forum has closed for 2024.
We'll have extensive coverage throughout the afternoon on advertiser.com.au and in the Saturday edition of The Advertiser.
Thanks for joining us and for helping to build a Bigger, Better South Australia.
Santos executive vice president Brett Darley said he believed gas would be around for "many decades", saying the company's $335m carbon capture and storage facility at Moomba was the "next step" in SA's energy journey.
He said the facility would be the equivalent of 235,000 cars being taken off the road.
"Some industries are going to take longer to decarbonise and we can help with that," Mr Darley said.
"Carbon capture is one way to do that."
Mr Darley said gas was an “important transitional fuel” as the state moved toward renewable energy, but believed SA was in a key position – with extensive renewable resources and infrastructure – to become a powerhouse energy exporter.
BHP chief operating officer Edgar Basto said it was becoming "harder and harder" to find mineral deposits to fuel an increase in electric vehicles – with SA offering a "massive opportunity" for growth as one of the world's biggest copper producers.
"Olympic Dam is a world-class mining hub and a world-class copper district … the size of the opportunity is there,” he said.
Mr Basto urged government action when it came to developing skills in the next generation to support the future of SA’s energy industry, also urging for “policy stability” when it came to major projects.
“We compete on a global landscape … our regulatory policies are important, because some of those can jeopardise productivity – and we need to make sure our projects are viable,” he said.
“We live in a tumultuous price cycle in SA so we have to ensure our operations are robust enough to go through those cycles.”
Both Mr Darley and Mr Basto called for “regulatory certainty” – saying they could not operate in an environment where “loopholes allowed for folks to come in and overturn approvals”.
“We want to maintain the standard but we need to be competitive in an industry where you need to be agile,” Mr Basto said.
“There are always opportunities to improve (when it comes to regulation).”
Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox said Adelaideans were "travelling like mad" post-Covid – but the key was to "turn on the inbound" to boost tourist numbers and increase economic growth.
Mr Cox said the airport would be looking to leverage its proximity to the CBD to draw more tourists and business travellers to the state, saying Adelaide's connectivity was one of its best selling points.
"That includes major events and sporting events … we need to create that whole brand for SA and make us relevant on the global stage," he said.
"Yes we're trying to get (Emirates) back but we're also walking and chewing gum, we're also trying to make sure we get those 39 (direct flights to international destinations) by 2050."
Mr Cox said he believed SA's tourism economy would be key to bringing growth to the state, ensuring boats are "not just built here, but lifted here".
"That's not to stop investment in all other sectors, but it's really important that we sustain that tourism," he said.
It's not just travellers that can boost SA's economic growth, StudyAdelaide chief executive Jane Johnson said.
Ms Johnson said international students were a massive boon for the state's economy, not just for how they bolster the workforce when they graduate, but also for their philanthropic efforts – with 37 per cent volunteering during their studies.
She said the impending merger of the University of Adelaide and UniSA would only further boost the appetite for international students to choose SA as their study destination.
"The merger of the universities will be transformational, putting a spotlight not just on the quality of education but for (the city's) amazing offering," she said.
Both Mr Cox and Ms Johnson said a "sense of fearlessness" was needed when it came to developing our state – something reflected in the university merger.
Ms Johnson urged businesses to consider international students as part of their workforce, saying large numbers of students were happy to work across the state – a possible solution to skills shortages in the regions.
She said international students often had barriers when it came to local networks and businesses' misunderstanding of whether students were work-ready when they graduate.
"Those students will have willingness to stay in SA if businesses allow them to do so," Ms Johnson said.
ECH chief executive Claire Scapinello says more apartments, single-bedroom homes and long-term rentals were needed for the state’s ageing population to avoid a “silver tsunami” exacerbating a housing crisis.
South Australia has an older population than the national average and a higher proportion of people in almost all age groups over 45.
"We're going to have 3.4 million Australians over 70 and that Baby Boomer generation is going to have very different needs and expectations around where they want to and how they want to live, and also how they're going to pay," she said.
"We need to rethink how we're looking at ageing, and in particular social isolation.
"We talk a lot about downsizing but I think it's a lot about right-sizing, finding places that match where people are at in their ageing journey."
Ms Scapinello said build-to-rent and long-term leases would positively benefit ageing populations, while also allowing investors to benefit from secure incomes and better-cared-for properties.
"It's about finding other options, and leases for three to four years are a great idea," she said.
Speaking about urban density, Walker Corporation chief executive David Gallant said a "squeamishness" over big unit blocks existed not just in Adelaide, but in Sydney as well – but believed the northern suburbs' new Riverlea development was a sign medium density living would be embraced by the community.
"There is still a high demand for the traditional quarter-acre block, but we are already starting to see the townhouse product and I think we'll see medium density around the town centre," Mr Gallant said.
"People want to live in a community at all different stages of life, we've had buyers who have bought in as young families and then their parents have bought in.
"It's about density done well so that people can embrace it. I don't go to many projects where five, 10 years later, people don't say: 'This is amazing, I love living here'."
Mr Gallant said the late Lang Walker not only "liked the wine" in Adelaide, but its people – and in particular, its business community.
"Adelaide people wanted everyone to do well … Adelaide people if they hear about what other businesses are doing well, they think about: 'What am I doing to tap into that'," Mr Gallant said.
"(Lang) travelled the world and was always shocked that he'd meet the CEO of an international corporation and they had grown up in Adelaide.
"It's great to see good people coming back to Adelaide."
Ms Scapinello said it was time to "start thinking about cultural projects" to continue Adelaide's growth and bring its bright minds back to the city.
"By looking at planning, better transport and what other industries were able to bring back to SA, that will be an attraction … we need to be bold and stand out," she said.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia chief executive Shaun Westcott said SA had an opportunity to "get in early on the fourth industrial revolution", urging the state not just to increase investment in new technologies like AI, but to be innovators in the field.
"Geographically, Australia is at a disadvantage. We sit far away, we have long supply chains, long shipping – and shipping adds cost," Mr Westcott said.
"The type of work I'm talking about is about embracing intellectual capital. This does not require us to ship goods around the world. This allows us to utilize our geographic disadvantage."
Mr Westcott said Australia currently found itself in a "perfect storm" with ageing populations and a transition away from mechanics to electric vehicles – meaning a shift in skills-based education toward electronics and technology would put SA in a position to be a global leader.
"We'll be looking at autonomous driving in cars, which will require more software and an enormous shift in skills," he said.
"So creating marketable skills at both the vocational level and university level is critical."
RAA chief executive Nick Reade, who has been a vocal advocate for population growth in SA and extensions of the city's rail lines, said congestion in SA would prove a major concern as the state's population hurtles toward two million before the end of the decade.
"We're going to be growing by about 150,000 people over the next sort of six, seven years. What that means, and what we're calling out as a fiscal concern, is the congestion that will be on the roads, particularly in the north and the south," he said.
"(We need to) consider the public transport support networks that we can build and think about how to do that best.
"We're building massive housing developments but without the corresponding infrastructure to support that growth."
Mr Reade also warned against a surge in electric vehicle drivers escaping fuel excise payments, urging for federal government action as increasing numbers of road users turned away from petrol-powered vehicles over fears road maintenance could fall behind.
"I think it's really easy to start the conversation now. It's not going to be popular – obviously any new sort of tax reform is not necessarily a popular thing – we are calling for a bipartisan approach," he said.
"Road user charges could take different forms. There are different examples around the world … and the distance based charge we think is the way to go. Something simple, easily accessible online locally, and equitable."
Ten young recipients of $10,000 scholarships as a result of The Advertiser's Teen Parliament have taken to the stage to receive their awards – to raucous applause from the Premier and Prime Minister.
Among them is Chloe Wyatt-Jasper, 15, who bravely told of the horror story that engulfed her family which fuelled her determination to advocate for mental health resources to support younger generations.
Kaurna Plains School year 10 student Peyton Turner was also a recipient, for her powerful argument in both Kaurna and English for the teaching of Aboriginal language and culture in SA schools.
See the full list of scholarship winners here.
The Premier has flatly rejected suggestions the SA government could follow in the footsteps of the Victorian Labor government in shutting off the state's gas supply, saying that was simply a "bad idea".
"100 per cent renewables doesn't mean we won't have gas, quite the opposite," he said.
"We'll be using gas on a semi-frequent basis to fill up the renewables and we'll be exporting to the rest of the country by 2050."
In a sit-down panel with the Premier and Prime Minister, helmed by David Penberthy, Mr Albanese said he believed an AUKUS deal could survive should Donald Trump be re-elected president for a second term.
"It's a deal between countries, not a deal between individuals," Mr Albanese said.
Mr Malinauskas said he believed the AUKUS deal had "strengthened an already great relationship" between Australia, the US and the UK, and should only enhance confidence in the submarine-building program.
Like the PM, he brushed off concerns that Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines would be set back after the US Defence Department halved production of Virginia-class submarines for 2025.
Under the terms of the AUKUS pact, the US will sell Australia three to five of its Virginia-class nuclear-powered subs – with the first to arrive by 2032 – before the first of Australia’s British-designed AUKUS-class submarines is scheduled to roll off the Adelaide production line in 2042.
"What the US is essentially acknowledging is that they can't produce submarines at a pace fast enough to be able to make their own, let alone anybody else's," Mr Malinauskas said.
"That is true for every country around the world.
"This argument that we can simply go buy submarines from some other countries and meet our strategic needs is just not true. So if we want to have our capacity to protect ourselves in the form of submarines, we have to build them here."
Mr Albanese also praised former prime minister Kevin Rudd's "relentless" work as ambassador to the US, a role he has held since 2023.
"He's done an amazing job, as have others, in supporting that engagement with the United States, through formal mechanisms and also informal mechanisms," he said.
The Prime Minister and Premier have faced off in a "who knows their state better" competition – with Mr Albanese proving he knows his #SAGreat stuff.
The PM revealed he has not only done the Adelaide Oval Roof Climb but quickly identified a South Australian icon – a frog cake. He revealed that he had, in fact, tried the sickly sweet treat.
He easily identified Adelaide Crows mascot Claude the Crow but tripped on the name of Power's iconic "Tommy Thunder" (an easy mistake, die-hard Port fan Mr Malinauskas admitted).
However, Mali's efforts on Sydneysider's icons were less impressive, failing to identify Harry's Cafe on Wheels (something we reckon South Australians would forgive him for) – but successfully naming the Rabbitohs' mascot Reggie.
Fun fact for South Australians as revealed by Mr Albanese – Reggie is actually worn by a man named Charlie at the spritely age of 84!
Mr Albanese said he believed South Australia's involvement in the AUKUS project would prove a catalyst for "innovation and research breakthroughs" that would not just create jobs, but keep the "best and brightest" in the state.
He said he believed the 2020s could prove the state's "most decisive decade".
"(AUKUS will) bring young people who want that high, high wage, high value, satisfying career track to this great state of South Australia," he said.
"You will be better positioned in the future. To have not just people stay here, but people coming from the east coast in particular – because this is, I think, Australia's most decisive decade.
"You have a great and bright future, a future made here in South Australia by South Australians."
Schools in the state’s north will remain closed until Wednesday as townships in the area are still in the dark four days after last week’s wild storm.
A home was allegedly smashed up before a police patrol was rammed by a stolen car and an officer was punched in the face in a wild crime spree involving three armed men on Sunday.
