South Australia partners with American shipbuilder to enter submarine supply chain
Premier Peter Malinauskas has announced a program with America’s largest shipbuilder, HII, to assist South Australian companies in entering the nuclear-powered submarine global supply chain.
Under the agreement, the state government will connect to HII’s Supplier Capability Uplift Program, which will allow select South Australian suppliers to participate in the nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarine supply chain.
HII will provide suppliers with recommendations for capability development required to work on the Virginia Class Submarine Program.
Malinauskas said he wanted to “ensure South Australian suppliers have a head start in competing to enter the global supply chain”.
“HII is America’s largest shipbuilder and they are at the global forefront of this technology…through this program, we are making a highly strategic investment that will help to open avenues and opportunities for South Australian suppliers,” he said.
– Isabella Kelly
$65 million government funding for Northern Water
Iron Road and the federal government have announced a $65 million government investment into the Northern Water desalination plant to be established at Iron Road’s Cape Hardy base on the Eyre Peninsula.
The investment is part of a partnership with the state government and industry to jointly provide $230 million of funding for “essential pre-construction activities”.
The Northern Water project is said to have the potential to create 4200 jobs in resources, renewables and the net zero transformation annually while increasing South Australia’s gross domestic product by $150 billion over its lifetime to 2053.
The plant would include a seawater desalination plant with a 260 megalitre per day capacity and an approximately 600km pipeline to the far north of South Australia.
-Isabella kelly
Meals on Wheels SA CEO Sharon Broer with Flinders Port Holdings Group marketing manager Hannah Davis, which has donated to the group. Photo: Supplied
Meals on Wheels celebrates 70 years in SA
Meals on Wheels SA (MOWSA) is celebrating 70 years in operation by donating up to 5000 free meals across the state.
“In lieu of presents we’re asking businesses to consider donating to our free meal campaign,” MOWSA CEO Sharyn Broer said.
Participating businesses can also take part in the free meal delivery on August 9, marking exactly 70 years since Doris Taylor founded the organisation.
Demand for the delivery service has increased by 36 per cent since December 2023, with nearly 6000 volunteers and 120 employees across 84 branches in the state. MOWSA provides 1.1 million meal services each year.
“Our 70th marks much more than a birthday, it represents the amazing dedication of our volunteers, staff and supporters who have given back to generations of South Australians in need,” Broer said.
– Isabella Kelly
Detmold invests in European takeaway cup merger
Adelaide-based Detmold has invested in CUPSZ – an entity created via the merger of European cup and cardboard takeaway packaging product companies CUPSZ and De John Ecocups.
The merged company – based in the Netherlands – will expand its product range thanks to the support of Demold Ventures.
Detmold Ventures CEO Zoe Detmold said the investment showed confidence in Detmold’s new international partners and a commitment to innovation and global growth.
“Through our investment and support, we are confident that CUPSZ can make an even greater impact on the market, and we can support them with our innovation, manufacturing expertise and global supply chain,” Zoe said.
“We’re looking forward to collaborating with our new partners and sharing our knowledge and experience, while learning at the same time.”
– David Simmons
Kellermeister named best Barossa shiraz at the ‘Oscars of wine’
Family-owned winery Kellermeister has been awarded for its ‘The Meister Shiraz’ at the International Wine Challenge in London for the second year running.
Kellermeister chief winemaker Mark Pearce said he was proud of his team.
“Our unrelenting pursuit is to deliver power, complexity, and elegance in Barossa shiraz, which is something only the Barossa can emphatically achieve when well made, so it’s extremely gratifying to be judged the best example of Barossa shiraz at the highest level on the world stage,” he said.
“The Barossa’s extraordinary suitability to grow shiraz with the unique qualities that our best vineyards can express is inimitable anywhere else in the world, so we play to those inherent strengths.
“We don’t try to make wine in the style of any other region, but seek to do justice to the extraordinary strengths the Barossa offers. We play to the immutable qualities of Barossa’s shiraz, being capable to deliver extraordinary power, depth, and complexity along with a marked elegance.”
– David Simmons
UniSA partners with Chinese counterparts to commercialise renewable aviation fuel
UniSA aviation professor Shane Zhang has received $230,000 from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations to explore the use of bio feedstock as green fuel in place of conventional kerosene jet fuels.
Sustainable aviation fuels, derived from sources like waste oil and fats, woody residues, algae and municipal waste, account for less than one per cent of the industry worldwide.
Zhang and his Chinese colleagues will organise eight events across Australia and China in the coming two years to bring industry, farmers, and stakeholders together to assess the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuels.
“Sustainable aviation fuels can potentially cut carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent and are essential if we are to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in Australia [by] 2050,” Zhang said.
“Unlike ground transportation, there are limited alternative fuel options for the aviation sector,” he said.
“Airlines are reluctant to invest in them [sustainable fuels] until they become cheaper and more readily available.”
– Isabella Kelly
Securing South Australia’s Water Future, a CEDA portfolio update with Deputy Premier Susan Close at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday, 30 May from 12-2pm.
RESERVED, a pop-up wine-tasting event hosted by the South Australian Wine Industry Association at the South Australian Museum on Friday, June 7.
SA State of the State: focus on critical service delivery, a CEDA event exploring critical services, the economy, government regulation, health and ageing with Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion at the National Wine Centre on July 24.
Photo: Pexels
SA wine producers heading to Hong Kong for VinExpo
Trade Minister Joe Szakacs will lead a delegation of representatives from 36 wineries to Asia’s largest wine show later this month, as the industry seeks to reestablish what was once a more than $900 million market before trade barriers.
Nineteen wine producers will also travel to Shenzhen to develop relationships with Chinese buyers, the first chance SA wine representatives have had to meet with the buyers since tariffs were lifted in March.
Attendance at both VinExpo and Shenzhen will be subsidised by a nearly $2 million China re-engagement support package from the state government.
“We’ve seen wine export increases of 73 per cent with Hong Kong over the past year, so now really is the perfect time for SA wineries considering exports to explore China, Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific countries,” Szakacs said.
VinExpo is held in Hong Kong from May 28 to May 30, with 10,000 trade visitors expected to attend.
– Isabella Kelly
AML3D signs lease for US headquarters
AML3D has signed a 64-month lease to a 1000m2 facility in Ohio for its US headquarters and manufacturing facility, a move that the company expects will drive an increase in defence contracts.
The hub is expected to begin operation in Q1 of the 2025 financial year and service US customers and supporting industries, led by AML3D USA president and CEO Pete Goumas.
“We can be more responsive to our existing US customers, better positioned to win new customers and contracts and be directly plugged into the transformation of US sovereign manufacturing capability to additive manufacturing,” he said.
AML3D CEO Sean Ebert said the company’s Adelaide facilities had been “critical” in supporting the expansion to the US market, saying the new headquarters would “help to free up capacity at our Adelaide facility to continue to pursue the Australian, Asian Pacific and European defence markets”.
-Isabella Kelly
Elice said she would be “forever grateful” to Lighthouse Disability for their care for her daughter Amanda. Photo: supplied
Lighthouse Disability celebrating 35 years
Established in 1989, not-for-profit independent organisation Lighthouse Disability supports approximately 260 South Australians with intellectual disabilities through independent living and plan management services.
Lighthouse Disability CEO Andrew Ellis said the group had “led the way to increased independence, choice and dignity for people with intellectual disabilities”.
“We carry on a proud tradition of ensuring the people we care for are active participants – not just onlookers – in their households and communities, while also providing families with peace of mind,” he said.
The organisation was officially incorporated on May 26 1989, founded by a group of families looking for more support for their adult children.
– Isabella Kelly
RAA criticises federal budget but welcomes Hills project funding
The RAA has welcomed funding for the completion of the North-South Corridor and the re-instatement of funding for the Verdun and Mount Barker interchanges, but says other major road projects were ignored.
The RAA said that despite calls, the 2024/25 budget did not include duplication of the Augusta, Dukes or Sturt highways, while the Truro Bypass project and a motor tax reform were also excluded.
“South Australia needs continued investment in other road infrastructure projects to help get our network up to speed, improve productivity and reduce road trauma,” RAA CEO Nick Reade said.
The federal budget allocated $100 million toward South East Freeway upgrades, $360.8 million to continue the Roads to Recovery program, $100 million towards making roads safer for vulnerable road users and $76 million towards the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program initiatives.
– Xenia Hackett