• Construction drives South Australian economy
• South Australian companies named in 2023 AFR BOSS Best Places to Work List
• Northline to move into $16 million purpose-built HQ through agreement with APD
• Tough conditions persist for Australian wine exports
• Southern Launch signs MoU with UK-based Space Forge
• Micro-X wins iF Design Award for its Argus X-ray Camera
• New workforce strategy for SA’s screen industry

Source: CommSec

Construction drives South Australian economy

The latest “CommSec State of the States” report, released today, shows South Australia’s economy is now ranked second in the nation, behind Tasmania and equal with Queensland.

The result is a further improvement in SA’s ranking, up from third last quarter and fifth this time last year. 

CommSec Chief Economist Craig James said Tasmania leads the other states and territories on three of the eight indicators with a strong job market, high dwelling starts and solid equipment investment. It is second or third on three indictors: housing finance, economic growth and construction work.

“Australia’s states and territory are all close on the performance indicators. Looking ahead, sectors like construction, education and consumer spending are likely to be supported by high rates of in-bound migration,” James said.

SA topped the report for construction work done, with current levels of work now 18.2 per cent above the decade average.

“We anticipate ongoing growth in the Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia economies in the next six months and that these states will remain at the top of the leaderboard,” James said.

South Australian companies named in 2023 AFR BOSS Best Places to Work List

In the recently published 2023 AFR BOSS Best Places to Work List, three South Australian companies reached the top of their categories.

Each year, the list ranks Australia and New Zealand’s best workplaces across ten industries.

More than 700 companies were nominated for the award in 2023 and were judged through employee surveys and responses from human resources.

Adelaide-based advanced lighting technology company VALO was ranked the fourth best company to work in Manufacturing and Consumer Goods.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers were also mentioned in the Manufacturing and Consumer Goods category ranking seventh.

Family-owned South Australian home care service MyCare Solution was ranked as the tenth best workplace in the health industry.

A full list of winners will be published on the AFR BOSS Best Places to Work website.

Northline to move into $16 million purpose-built HQ through agreement with APD

Adelaide-based global logistics company Northline will move to a new $16 million purpose-built headquarters after entering an agreement with Australasian Property Developments (APD).

Under a build-to-suite lease agreement, APD will develop the project for Northline but retain ownership of the building.

Located at 68 King William Street, Kent Town, the development has been designed by Studio Nine Architects and offers two storeys of offices, two storeys of car parking, a rooftop entertaining deck and a ground-floor tenancy for a cafe or retail outlet.

Northline will occupy 1450 square metres within the building, with additional space available for ICF Insurance Brokers and the ground-floor tenancy.

Northline Chief Executive Officer Craige Whitton said the move marks the start of a new era for the company as it enters its 40th year.

“Northline’s values will always remain the same, but the company continues to evolve to meet an increased demand for our services,” said Whitton.

“Our rapid growth domestically and internationally led to Northline outgrowing its current headquarters on The Parade, Norwood and needing to create an environment that reflected the future direction of the company.”

Construction is expected to commence in June 2023 and be completed in June 2024.

Wine export growth in Southeast Asia has been unable to offset the declining value of traditional export markets Photo: Pexels.

Tough conditions persist for Australian wine exports

Released last week, the latest Wine Australia’s Export Report said strong growth within the emerging markets of Southeast Asia was unable to offset the declining value of traditional export markets.

Australian wine exports declined by 7 per cent to $1.90 billion in the year to 31 March 2023, 18 per cent below the average value of $2.30 billion.

Wine Australia Manager Peter Bailey blamed the depreciation on a decrease in exports to the United Kingdom.

“The UK is still experiencing the decline that we’ve previously reported, which is the result of elevated shipments over the past two years due to pre-Brexit demand and COVID-19-induced changes in consumer preferences,” Bailey said.

Australian wines demonstrated strong growth in Southeast Asia, up 9 per cent to $301 million, but a decline in sales to North America by 5 per cent at $557 million and down by 17 per cent in Europe to $568 million.

– Liam McMahon

Koonibba Test Range. Photo: Southern Launch.

Southern Launch signs MoU with UK-based Space Forge 

Southern Launch and Space Forge have agreed to explore ­possibilities of using Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range for the launch and return of a new small class of vehicle – the ForgeStar™ – that can be deployed from conventional launchers to provide rapid, reliable and reusable in-space infrastructure.

Space Forge will launch their ForgeStar-1A satellite later this year in an attempt to prove their re-entry capabilities.

Joshua Western, CEO and Co-Founder of Space Forge said the international collaboration would benefit the global space industry.

“The size and location of the Koonibba Test Range as a Southern Hemisphere re-entry point for our ForgeStar satellite make it an ideal option for our business model and this partnership has great potential to bring economic growth and cutting-edge technologies to both the UK and Australia,” Western said.

Southern Launched announced earlier this month that it will partner with the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation to develop a world-class spaceport on the Eyre Peninsula after the Federal Government awarded almost $4.5 million in funding to the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation.

– Jim Plouffe

Micro-X’s award-winning Argus X-ray Camera. Photo: Micro-X.

Micro-X wins iF Design Award for its Argus X-ray Camera

Micro-X’s Argus won over the 133-member jury, made up of independent experts from all over the world, for its high impact in transforming stand-off imaging capability for bomb search and detection.

The world-first, wide-area scattered projection technology provides the flexibility of both high-definition backscatter x-ray and traditional transmission x-ray to diagnose conventional and improvised threats.

The technology allows Argus to capture a backscatter image while stationary, with no need for operators to place an imaging panel behind the object, which saves time in dangerous situations.

– Jim Plouffe

SAFC’s Adelaide Studios Sound Stage Two. Photo: Peter Barnes.

New workforce strategy for SA’s screen industry

The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) has launched an industry-led workforce development strategy to support the growth of the state’s screen industry.

The South Australian Screen Industry Workforce Development Strategy is a comprehensive plan for the state’s screen sector to attract, retain and train skilled talent across the spectrum of screen production within South Australia.

SAFC CEO Kate Croser said the strategy will produce jobs for South Australians looking to enter the screen sector.

“The SAFC is proud to coordinate this new joint strategy with our partners to increase South Australia’s screen workforce capacity and future-proof our industry,” Croser said.

The strategy was developed over a 12-month consultation process with stakeholders from education institutions and training providers, industry guilds, industry partners and industry representatives.

– Maxwell Bland