Ideas on how to attract more people to SA?

[yousername]

I'm sure it's been said by myself and others, but there's three things we need to attract people to SA.

Jobs, jobs and jobs.

Everything else follows that.

Jobs dont come from thin air, its a continuous cycle that must start from somewhere. Lots and lots of jobs have to be made somewhere, to start the ball rolling
Mining/Infrastructure/Attractions-Jobs-People-Money-Attractions-Tourists-Money-Jobs

[Aidan]

I'm sure it's been said by myself and others, but there's three things we need to attract people to SA.

Jobs, jobs and jobs.

Everything else follows that.

Not everything!

When we ask about how to attract more people to SA, there are at least four different questions:
The first question is how to get more people to visit SA.
The second question is how to get more people to work in SA. And yes, that depends on jobs.
The third is how to get more people to study in SA.

The fourth question is often overlooked, but it's the most important:
There are many people who can afford to live wherever they want. How do we attract them to SA?

Part of the answer is good communications and airport connectivity.
Another big part is the arts.
Sporting events also help.

But that's only the start! We need good transport infrastructure. We need more beautiful surroundings, including places of natural beauty. And of course we need to continue to be a free country with a low crime rate.

[pushbutton]

SA already has record low unemployment, and lower unemployment than any other state (and much, MUCH lower than most other developed countries (which are still reeling from the global economic crises).

So yes jobs are important and ongoing work is needed to keep them coming, but it's hardly priority number 1 at the moment!

[AtD]

New unemployment numbers come out on Thursday and will show if the low number in January was ligit or just statistical noise. I have read that a lot of January data has more noise in it than other months due to the holidays, so I do have a niggling doubt in the back of my mind. 4.4% just seems too good to be true.

[Will]

SA already has record low unemployment, and lower unemployment than any other state (and much, MUCH lower than most other developed countries (which are still reeling from the global economic crises).

So yes jobs are important and ongoing work is needed to keep them coming, but it's hardly priority number 1 at the moment!

Its a good coincidence that you have bought up the state of other developed countries into this debate, because it is really relevant to this discussion on how to attract people to SA.

If SA was a country, with our 1.2% per annum population growth rate, we would easily be in the top 5 highest growing developed countries in the world. Indeed, most European countries are growing at less than 0.5% per annum.

I think it is a reflection of our extreme self-criticism that we feel that the grass is always greener everywhere else.

I encourage people to look at the population gowth rates of other developed nations to see that we are doing a great job here in SA.

[pushbutton]

SA already has record low unemployment, and lower unemployment than any other state (and much, MUCH lower than most other developed countries (which are still reeling from the global economic crises).

So yes jobs are important and ongoing work is needed to keep them coming, but it's hardly priority number 1 at the moment!

Its a good coincidence that you have bought up the state of other developed countries into this debate, because it is really relevant to this discussion on how to attract people to SA.

If SA was a country, with our 1.2% per annum population growth rate, we would easily be in the top 5 highest growing developed countries in the world. Indeed, most European countries are growing at less than 0.5% per annum.
.

That's a really interesting analogy. Makes me feel just a little tingle of pride!

[bulldog13]

Oh, is this a tourism campaign? I thought that we were talking about promoting SA as a place to live (in this thread).

yeah, this thread sort of oscillates between tourism and migration. I suppose they feed off each other...

As a person looking at moving to Adel, I started off (& still am ) visiting as a tourist before moving. I would think most people would "check the place out" before they made the commitment to move.

[Will]

From the Advertiser:

SA defies downturn in tourism

Stuart Innes
From: The Advertiser
March 18, 2010 12:01AM

SOUTH Australia has defied a national downturn in domestic tourism by posting rises in Australians' spending here and nights interstate visitors stayed last year.

Tourism Research Australia figures out yesterday show Australians travelling in SA last year spent $3 billion on their trips here.

SA Tourism Commission marketing boss Steve Kernaghan said that was a 4 per cent rise on 2008.

"In comparison, domestic visitor expenditure Australia-wide dropped 5 per cent," he said.

Visitors from interstate spent 9,486,000 nights in SA last year, compared with 9,111,000 in 2008, a 4.2 per cent rise. The national average was down 5.2 per cent.

"Tasmania and SA were the only states to record a rise in interstate visitor nights," Mr Kernaghan said.

"From our state's perspective it is a very encouraging sign."

The figures also show the number of nights spent in SA by South Australians was slightly down, as it was in all states.

Mr Kernaghan said the overall rise in money spent in the domestic tourism sector in SA proved the commission's marketing was working.

"Despite tough economic times, SA tourism is in a good position to further increase its market share as the economy rebounds," he said.

SA Tourism Industry Council chief Ward Tilbrook said the turn-up in SA reflected tourism operators' outlook. "It is encouraging to see SA has outperformed the national average.

Our own SATIC members' survey results indicate tourism business confidence is strong for the next 12 months," he said

[Wayno]

from the UK Guardian:

South Australia calls on Britons aged 18-30 to take unusual jobs

Mineral wealth means area is booming and all sorts of posts are on offer – from 'roo poo picker' to 'beach babes judge'.

Kangaroos jumping Eastern Grey kangaroos. Collecting the manure left by these animals is one of the jobs on offer to young Britons. Photograph: Norbert Wu/Getty Images

Tired of looking for a job in credit-crunch Britain? Fed up of cloudy skies? Fancy working on a tan while working? Well, South Australia might have the job for you.

With a growing economy that will need 187,000 new workers by 2015, the state government is offering Britons aged 18 to 30 a chance to move down under for a year with "unusual, exciting and potentially life-changing jobs".

Some jobs are less attractive than others – like picking and bagging roo poo (Kangaroo manure) in the outback. But driving the world's first solar-powered bus fleet in the coastal city of Adelaide might appeal more. Nature-lovers could help catch koalas on Kangaroo Island, where the beasts easily outnumber the 2,500 human inhabitants. Other jobs, such as "beach babes judge" or beer taster, could prove popular.

Matt Johnson, deputy agent general of South Australia, said the region's mineral wealth meant the area was booming, unlike the rest of the western world. "The thing about mining is that it is preceded by construction and that means jobs. There are two sides to this – we have jobs in engineering and also the lighter end jobs for those who want a better lifestyle in a dynamic part of the world."

The Australian state will target the south-east of England first, as research shows it has the highest percentage of young people who say "boredom is the thing they dislike most about their job".

The welcome mat rolled out for young Britons contrasts with Australia's controversial treatment of asylum seekers who, if they arrive by sea, are escorted by Naval gunboats to countries such as Timor-Leste or Nauru to be processed in camps.

"You will need to talk to federal government about that," Johnson said.

[Waewick]

its also about keeping them for more than 12 months and keeping them in a job after that too.

its a good idea though and congrats to the state for thinking of it.

[Waewick]

I was thinking about out population woes over the weekend, espcially after reading a bit out of the rag that they had the same problem in 1935.

I'm not sure if anyone here knows, but is there any examples of states/cities that have reversed the problem SA has and even made inroads (eg going from the 5/6th biggest city to closer to 2 or 3rd)

I gather the major player in getting people to move to a city is jobs which requires industry. The problem we have in SA and Australia is we are uncompetitive on a global scale in pretty much everything given our wage and tax regimes (I'm not saying they are bad, but they are an influence)

I also read in the newspaper that the state government is cutting its budget on the state body which try to lure investments to Adelaide which seems conter productive but I don't know if any other states have these bodies to compare them to.

the premise of the post, was to try and open up alternate ways to grow the population sustainably but not need to force feed industry into the area through incentives which makes the businesses leave once the incentives stop.

The way I was thinking is the state could take the China example, find a product or industry and own it, that is make it so large that it dominates the industry and has the bargaining power, this is a risky operation especially if that industry becomes obsolete BUT with the right R&D and forward thinking it can be avoided (just look at cigarette companies which now have many brands under their name)

now we aren't a communist country so we can't do it on the scale that they can, I do believe the state can establish companies, which after establishing a track record could be sold to the people of SA. generally these are established on the sale of bonds which are backed by the state government, eventually turning into equity.

I know, pie in the sky stuff but for the life of me, I can't think of how else to ensure the future prosperity of the state without letting them mine every square metre of the place.

[Aidan]

I was thinking about out population woes over the weekend, espcially after reading a bit out of the rag that they had the same problem in 1935.

I'm not sure if anyone here knows, but is there any examples of states/cities that have reversed the problem SA has and even made inroads (eg going from the 5/6th biggest city to closer to 2 or 3rd)

Brisbane went from 5th to 3rd at the expense of Adelaide!

I gather the major player in getting people to move to a city is jobs which requires industry. The problem we have in SA and Australia is we are uncompetitive on a global scale in pretty much everything given our wage and tax regimes (I'm not saying they are bad, but they are an influence)

That's not actually true. Our wages being high means we're uncompetitive for labour intensive low value work, but we have a lot going for us. We've a highly educated workforce and some very good universities. Our climate is sunny, and still conducive to farming despite frequent droughts. Energy is cheap and likely to stay cheap as we switch to renewables. Our geology includes very useful minerals and rocks. And it's a nice place to live.

But with our tax regime you may have a point. Stamp duty is bad for business and should be abolished. And contrary to what the politicians say, land tax is not a problem - if it's cut, the price of land will go up, and the total cost of leasing land (including tax) will be exactly the same. In the long term we should aim for land tax to replace all non hypothecated state taxes excluding mining taxes. And though obviously we can't do it unilaterally, that should include the GST.

I also read in the newspaper that the state government is cutting its budget on the state body which try to lure investments to Adelaide which seems conter productive but I don't know if any other states have these bodies to compare them to.

Whether that's a good idea depends on whether the money is spent on things that actually make SA a better place to do business.

the premise of the post, was to try and open up alternate ways to grow the population sustainably but not need to force feed industry into the area through incentives which makes the businesses leave once the incentives stop.

Good infrastructure is what we really need. Low taxes help too.

Historically the government were very successful in reducing the cost of living so that there wasn't so much pressure on wages. That's also something that should be done, or at least attempted, even though it's a lot harder now there's no longer a supply of cheap land.

The way I was thinking is the state could take the China example, find a product or industry and own it, that is make it so large that it dominates the industry and has the bargaining power, this is a risky operation especially if that industry becomes obsolete BUT with the right R&D and forward thinking it can be avoided (just look at cigarette companies which now have many brands under their name)

That's actually a very bad strategy! Overreliance on too few firms results in the government concentrating on keeping them here rather than making the state more attractive for businesses in general. And the government's not that good at picking winners, and worse still at running businesses.

now we aren't a communist country so we can't do it on the scale that they can, I do believe the state can establish companies, which after establishing a track record could be sold to the people of SA. generally these are established on the sale of bonds which are backed by the state government, eventually turning into equity.

ISTR they intended to do something like that with Scrimber, but it never got that far.

For those who don't remember Scrimber, it was a kind of processed timber made from scrub wood. It didn't look as good as normal timber, but had the advantage of being available in longer lengths. And theoretically it was stronger. Unfortunately in practice that strength wasn't so consistent, so builders weren't interested and the company never made a profit. Aftert the State Bank collapse the government decided to stop throwing money at it.

I know, pie in the sky stuff but for the life of me, I can't think of how else to ensure the future prosperity of the state without letting them mine every square metre of the place.

Then I suggest you read http://rtsa.com.au/assets/2009/03/inves ... 8mar09.pdf. Though it's in a Melbourne context, the situation in SA is similar in many ways. The slides are after the text (p34 and onwards).

[Waewick]

cheers for the response Aidan

in regards to setting up the industries, your right taking on 1 industry is a massive risk, there are plenty of examples, I was just trying to establish a start point, you could argue that this state is starting to have an over reliance on 1 industry which is concerning.

your discussion around infrastructure is interesting, my problem is that you need something to build infrastructure for.

there are only so many hghways and rail networks you can built I guess, what would you be proposing?

would building an extensive network of transport corridors open up the state to further investment? given much our state is arid the only possibility is mining, they generally build it themselves give the lifespan (how many mining towns are now ghost towns or shut down)

[MessiahAndrw]

Start a construction frenzy with neo-classical public buildings and moments (like those found along North Terrace) and relabel Adelaide as the 'classy city'.

I remember there there was a once a suggestion for Adelaide to embrace the fact that we have a lot of universities, and should focus on becoming an academic city, or an Oxford of the South if you will. We have many universities and research institutes based in Adelaide including;
Flinders University of South Australia
University of Adelaide
University of South Australia
Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College Australia
Cranfield University's Defence College of Management and Technology
University College London's School of Energy and Resources (Australia)
Royal Institution of Australia
Defence Science and Technology Organisation

[Dog]

I was thinking about the new SAMRI and how fantastic it is, it even houses a $20m cyclotron.

The cyclotron got me thinking maybe SA should be making a list of similar devices needed to draw researchers, laboratories, scientist, students and businesses to Adelaide and SA,
I found a web site listing over 400 scientific measuring instruments, probably don't have the $ for a Large Hadron Collider but modest investment may give us the biggest or best of any particular instrument in Australia or our region.
Like what is the largest super computer in SA, Australia and the region, largest materials X-ray, best DNA testing equipment, are we sending things to the UK for Carbon dating or blood to the US for specific genetic testing, etc etc ?

The SAMRI's $20m cyclotron appears a rather modest investment to me so imagine the bits and pieces we could pick up for some serious money well spent.

I notice in the US it's more common for students to attend uni's in other states or regions to specialise in their subject choice.
By specialising and investing in the right science/hi-tech testing, research/medicine, instruments and equipment Adelaide could become a centre for study, research and testing, spinning of many small hi- tech businesses.

WA and South Africa are the joint homes for the new SKA square kilometre array telescope which will probably draw people with bright brains from all around the world, I believe it's nerve centre will be based in the UK but would an Adelaide based super computer create some opportunities?

Perhaps the old police depot on port road next to our new hospital, or over the city rail tracks would be a logical location.








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