SA Economy

[[Shuz]]

Whilst the population growth numbers are a bit disappointing, the massive advantage we have is planning new suburbs in a more proactive approach than a reactive one. Melbourne just recently announced the development of 17 new suburbs on the city fringes. My bet is they will be poorly serviced and lack adequate transport infrastructure. in the urban fringes We are far better positioned to preserve transport corridors, protect agricultural regions and national parks and design good quality and accessible new neighbourhoods. In the inner city we can sustainably preserve character areas and strategically infill new housing where appropriate. The government is getting it absolutely right on infill. Not too much too fast, yet coordinated.

[Ben]

http://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2017/ ... otel-boom/

Special report: record visitor numbers fuel Adelaide’s hotel boom
by James Wilkinson on June 30, 2017

Tourism growth and a booming convention precinct are fuelling a hotel boom in the South Australian capital, Adelaide.

There are 1946 hotel rooms in the supply pipeline across nine developments with 245 rooms under construction, 1006 rooms with planning approval and 695 rooms proposed or subject to planning consideration.

Of the nine hotels, seven are in the CBD, including a project to construct the state’s tallest building. Hotel developments have also been proposed at Adelaide Airport and nearby Glenelg Beach.

It comes at a time when the South Australian visitor economy has reached a record AUD$6.3 billion, including AUD$1.1 billion spent by international tourists in the year ending March 2017.

This has coincided with a string of developments between North Terrace and the River Torrens such as the AUD$3.6 billion Adelaide BioMed City precinct as well as major upgrades to the Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide Festival Centre and Adelaide Oval.

International hotel chains attracted to Adelaide, a city of 1.3 million people, for the first time include Sheraton, Sofitel, Langham and Atura.

Australian Hotels Association of South Australia CEO, Ian Horne, said Adelaide had experienced challenges attracting visitors in the past such as an over-reliance on peak months, lack of high-class hotels and its remote location.

He said recent tourism growth and State Government investment in major city projects had created momentum.

“Adelaide is in transition towards a much needed focus on attracting the high-end brands,” Horne said.

“With more international conferences at the Convention centre, travelling businessmen, health experts – we have more interest from China as well as our regular European market – you can see why North Terrace is terrific for this.

“It is very much needed as we are not just competing with Australian cities but many parts of Asia as well and Hawaii.”

Hotels planned for Adelaide include:
-Holiday Inn Express Adelaide (Projected Completion: 2017)
-Park Hotel, Pirie Street (Projected Completion: 2018)
-Sofitel Hotel, Currie Street (Projected Completion: 2019)
-Sheraton Hotel, O’Connell Street (Projected Completion: 2019)
-Langham Place Hotel, Glenelg (Projected Completion: 2019)
-Aloft Adelaide, Sturt Street (Projected Completion: 2019)
-Casino Hotel, North Terrace (Projected Completion: 2020)
-Atura Hotel, Adelaide Airport (Projected Completion: 2020)
-Adelaidean, Frome St (TBA)
-Lester Hotel, West Terrace (TBA)

The Adelaide BioMed City health precinct includes the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), The University of Adelaide Medical and Nursing School and University of South Australia’s Centre for Cancer Biology. It is set to become one of the largest health and life sciences clusters in the southern hemisphere.

The Adelaide Convention Centre next door opened in 1987 as the first purpose built convention centre in Australia and has attracted more than six million delegates. It is undergoing a $400 million expansion, due for completion in August.

According to a Dransfield report, the growth in hotel room demand in Adelaide is outpacing supply growth.

Savills’ Director of Hotels for South Australia, Rob Williamson, said the Adelaide’s liveability was a huge factor in attracting more tourists to the state.

“The four big pillars of hotel development globally are open spaces, close proximity to ocean, high quality food and drinks and safety – we do that in Adelaide very well,” he said.

“North Terrace is an important boulevard and is near the festival side of the city (in the east) where there is an abundance of food and beverage sites, it has got entertainment and parklands.

“There are a few hotels in the market place but you can see why there are more higher calibre stock coming as Adelaide tries to be competitive and consistent with the quality of stock in other capital cities,” Williamson said.

In 2015, Adelaide was voted the fifth most liveable city in the world by The Economist Intelligence Unit, which considered the safety, healthcare, educational services, infrastructure and environment of 140 cities.

It is surrounded by 960 square hectares of parks, parklands and city squares and is less than 10km from the beach.

More than 200 cellar doors are within an hour’s drive of the city centre of Adelaide and South Australia is consistently responsible for about 50 per cent of Australia’s annual production.

[stumpjumper]

I agree with both Warwick and Nathan, but I also think realism I should required. No one wants to talk down the state, but Pollyanna-ish optimism is no use either.

The first thing we need is realism. SA's gross state product is about $100 billion, the same size as Manchester/Salford in the UK, and about 1/5th of NSW's gross state product.

We are a long way from our markets.

SA's biggest employers are health and social services. Both are largely government run. That suggests that change away from a Labor government will be a problem.

We have weak leadership and low expectations. We don't make enough of what we have. Instead of trying to compete on level terms with Melbourne and Sydney in a competition no one but us cares about and which we can't win, we should be selling what we have, to ourselves as well as others.

We should make a strength of our relative isolation and our necessarily slow pace. Tasmania is learning how to do it. We should follow their lead.

Three are many moves, large and small which we could make, from fast, free internet connection for the CBD to reduced red tape for businesses. Chasing cargo cult items like batteries is a waste of time. In any case, it addresses the symptom not the cause.

[Waewick]

I realise that most on hear vote Labour and do so because this site is infrastructure based.

However I do wonder how beneficial a change in Government would be even if it's only 1 term?

It would give Labor, which is clearly the dominant party in this state 4 years to do some rethinking.

I understand people live rev say the Libs have no vision, but I look at the position are in at the moment and wonder what kind of vision this was?

[rev]

I realise that most on hear vote Labour and do so because this site is infrastructure based.

However I do wonder how beneficial a change in Government would be even if it's only 1 term?

It would give Labor, which is clearly the dominant party in this state 4 years to do some rethinking.

I understand people live rev say the Libs have no vision, but I look at the position are in at the moment and wonder what kind of vision this was?

Most people vote for whoever is the better option. Labor is the better option in this state, and has been for a long time.

What's the best that the SA Liberals have come up with in recent times?
Building a new stadium on the railyards where the new RAH was built? Building a multi billion dollar freight airport in the middle of nowhere that we don't need?
What we do know is that they will cut PT spending. There wont be any new PT infrastructure, for example tram line/network extensions. There wont be rail line electrification. It's doubtful they will continue the NSM as well.
Would they have fought for the submarines, the destroyers, the frigates? Or would they have rolled over because Christopher Pyne told them it's in the best interests of the Liberal party...?

They are supposed to be "better" at economy then Labor.
So where's the Liberal party plan to get the SA economy back on track, and growing? Where's the plan to create new jobs?

They want the people of SA to vote for them? Then start giving us an alternative to the Labor government, and people will vote for them.
They aren't showing the people of SA how they are a better alternative to what we currently have.

And my prediction is that they will still fail to do so at the next state election.
If Labor lose, it'll be because the people want a change, or because minor parties have had an impact. Not because the Liberals are a better alternative, or have shown a better alternative.

[Waewick]

I realise that most on hear vote Labour and do so because this site is infrastructure based.

However I do wonder how beneficial a change in Government would be even if it's only 1 term?

It would give Labor, which is clearly the dominant party in this state 4 years to do some rethinking.

I understand people live rev say the Libs have no vision, but I look at the position are in at the moment and wonder what kind of vision this was?

Most people vote for whoever is the better option. Labor is the better option in this state, and has been for a long time.

What's the best that the SA Liberals have come up with in recent times?
Building a new stadium on the railyards where the new RAH was built? Building a multi billion dollar freight airport in the middle of nowhere that we don't need?
What we do know is that they will cut PT spending. There wont be any new PT infrastructure, for example tram line/network extensions. There wont be rail line electrification. It's doubtful they will continue the NSM as well.
Would they have fought for the submarines, the destroyers, the frigates? Or would they have rolled over because Christopher Pyne told them it's in the best interests of the Liberal party...?

They are supposed to be "better" at economy then Labor.
So where's the Liberal party plan to get the SA economy back on track, and growing? Where's the plan to create new jobs?

They want the people of SA to vote for them? Then start giving us an alternative to the Labor government, and people will vote for them.
They aren't showing the people of SA how they are a better alternative to what we currently have.

And my prediction is that they will still fail to do so at the next state election.
If Labor lose, it'll be because the people want a change, or because minor parties have had an impact. Not because the Liberals are a better alternative, or have shown a better alternative.

You write this stuff as a joke don't you?

[claybro]

We should make a strength of our relative isolation and our necessarily slow pace. Tasmania is learning how to do it. We should follow their lead.

We are a long way from our markets.

SA is not relatively isolated, in fact Adelaide and Melbourne are the 2 closest mainland cities. It is this that has partly white anted SA's employment base. Melbournes boom has been partly to Adelaide demise.
Telco companies fly techs from Melbourne to work in Adelaide. Shopfitters fly builders into Adelaide from Melbourne and Sydney to fitout shops. These are just 2 instances off the top of my head, and there are many others.
Also, Adelaide is no further from its markets than any other city in the world. Melbourne is the furthest mainland Australian city from the rest of the world, but it has the busiest port.
The biggest issue for Adelaide is targeting sustainable economic population growth. Business migrants, with money to spend and willing to commit to SA.

[bits]

The biggest issue for Adelaide is targeting sustainable economic population growth. Business migrants, with money to spend and willing to commit to SA.

Australian cities have plenty of room for population growth but population growth is not a sustainable economic model.
Many cities around the world have healthy economies without population growth.
There is no need for population growth, it is a cheap easy temporary short term answer.

[rev]

I realise that most on hear vote Labour and do so because this site is infrastructure based.

However I do wonder how beneficial a change in Government would be even if it's only 1 term?

It would give Labor, which is clearly the dominant party in this state 4 years to do some rethinking.

I understand people live rev say the Libs have no vision, but I look at the position are in at the moment and wonder what kind of vision this was?

Most people vote for whoever is the better option. Labor is the better option in this state, and has been for a long time.

What's the best that the SA Liberals have come up with in recent times?
Building a new stadium on the railyards where the new RAH was built? Building a multi billion dollar freight airport in the middle of nowhere that we don't need?
What we do know is that they will cut PT spending. There wont be any new PT infrastructure, for example tram line/network extensions. There wont be rail line electrification. It's doubtful they will continue the NSM as well.
Would they have fought for the submarines, the destroyers, the frigates? Or would they have rolled over because Christopher Pyne told them it's in the best interests of the Liberal party...?

They are supposed to be "better" at economy then Labor.
So where's the Liberal party plan to get the SA economy back on track, and growing? Where's the plan to create new jobs?

They want the people of SA to vote for them? Then start giving us an alternative to the Labor government, and people will vote for them.
They aren't showing the people of SA how they are a better alternative to what we currently have.

And my prediction is that they will still fail to do so at the next state election.
If Labor lose, it'll be because the people want a change, or because minor parties have had an impact. Not because the Liberals are a better alternative, or have shown a better alternative.

You write this stuff as a joke don't you?

So tell us, what's the better option besides the current state government?
Have the Liberals presented a better alternative government while they've been in opposition?
What is the Liberals vision for our state and city?

At your own pleasure and convenience..

I by no means think the state government is perfect. I've said some controversial things about where I think this state is headed, and that I believe not enough is being down, and that progress and growth is far far too slow.
You can try and paint me in a negative light by suggesting I'm a Labor supporter. But I'm someone whose strongly considering and likely to vote for Australian Conservatives at the next state election at this stage.
I've also made several 'donkey votes' in the last few state and federal elections, because neither side has been inspiring, nor have they had any real leaders.
Our national leaders should be statesmen like, not jellyfish yes men for corporations.

We can blame the Labor party for the slow growth, etc, for the states finances etc. Whether they are entirely to blame or not, or whether things like the GFC have had an impact, or how much of an impact.
But the Liberal state opposition has failed in their role as an opposition, and failed time and again to provide a viable alternative government for the people of South Australia to vote for. So they are just as much to blame for the situation in this state.

[Llessur2002]

Rev, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on some issues but I have to say that your previous comments about Labor vs Liberals are pretty much spot on. I have absolutely no idea what the Libs' vision for our state and capital city are, other than they want it to have a freight airport and a new national park.

I'm a little confused though, because this:

I believe .... that progress and growth is far far too slow.

Seems completely at odds with this:

I'm someone whose strongly considering and likely to vote for Australian Conservatives at the next state election

I have no idea who the ACs are likely to field at the next election but I can bet my bottom dollar that they won't be offering either progress or growth in any way, shape or form.

Why the ACs just out of interest?

[Nathan]

I have absolutely no idea what the Libs' vision for our state and capital city are, other than they want it to have a freight airport and a new national park.

You forgot their policy of putting mobile phone chargers on train platforms. (Very) small target politics.

[Will]

The latest COMMSEC State of the States report (October 2017) shows an improvement in economic conditions in SA. Indeed, our ranking compared to other states is now #4.

This is the best ranking the state has achieved in more than 5 years.

It is interesting how this encouraging news regarding the state's economy has not been reported by the local media.....

https://www.commsec.com.au/content/dam/ ... er2017.pdf

[Norman]

It was in the Business section of AdelaideNow

[Will]

It was in the Business section of AdelaideNow

That's my point exactly. They have buried the good news in a section of the paper that is hidden. If the tables had been turned, and our ranking comparative to other states had slipped, I'm sure it would have been the leading story of the day.

[Ben]

The Trend unemployment rate for October dropped to 5.6% now second lowest of the states.

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected] ... num=&view=