Lose the victim mentality
Readers respond to yesterday’s article by Committee for Adelaide chair Colin Goodall about the need for this state to look forward, not backwards – and offer their own suggestions for a competitive Adelaide.
TOM CLARK: I absolutely agree Colin Goodall: we need to stop comparing ourselves with other states and start competing globally. SA is the entrepreneurial hub of Australia; in some industries we punch well above our weight, and in others we have the opportunity to.
We need to lose the victim mentality of being a smaller state based on population and work on innovation in SMEs and linkage with Asian-Pacific markets.
Being smaller in size means we should be able to navigate opportunities and markets far more rapidly than other parts of Australia. Let’s use our niche (our size) and grab every early market adopter status we can.
PETER RAMSEY: The backbone of any growth in this state must be in industries which value-add … manufacturing, hospitality, entertainment, tourism, etc.
In many cases, these are the areas our government neglects while getting priorities wrong, and it is costing dollars in interest rates we cannot afford.
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To mention only a few of our major issues, what has happened to the live music funding for hotels and clubs, or funding for helicopter shark patrols (as reported yesterday). Has the money been spent elsewhere?
LORRE ZUCKERMAN: I applaud Colin Goodall’s vision and effort. I have lived in Adelaide for 38 years, though am originally from the US. I have travelled a lot and lived in France as well. This is a lovely liveable city, but unfortunately it hasn’t been very good at promoting itself. Since I believe that attracting tourists can also contribute a great deal to the economy, I suggest we need something iconic – the new SAHMRI building and the “flying saucer” Adelaide Oval are certainly of interest. Hopefully, the new river precinct will also turn into something very attractive.
Adelaide has wonderfully preserved Victorian architecture – it should advertise itself as a place where the past is preserved as well. I take all my guests around and show them the wonderful houses.
As they say in Oz: “good on ya”. I hope Colin and the committee are highly successful.
RICK FABRETTO: I fully endorse the vision of Colin Goodall and the Committee for Adelaide. It is fantastic that the committee is apolitical, as reliance on a political party of any description would render the vision dead within the usual four-year SA political cycle. There is one aspect that needs to be looked at, though. Colin states: “To increase business activity, we must attract enterprise sectors that are research-and-development-intensive, and centred on emerging technology.” Who exactly on the committee is able to talk the hi-tech R&D language? I noted no scientists or engineers on the board that would be able to translate new emerging technologies.
GREG JOHANSEN: I agree with the thrust of your article – let’s compete instead of compare – but first up, let’s support the local intellect, instead of reinforcing our passion for a cargo culture. Not all our problems are solved by someone else or our government . How about a “resident who is a thinker”.
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There are already more brains here than elsewhere – just give them a chance and a real forum. If I wanted to start another AFL football club in SA, I would probably get a free oval and club built for me, as well as state government sponsorship and unlimited media coverage, and a scrum age of politicians who wanted to visit it. If I want to start a business in SA, I would get a congo line of useless bureaucrats with enough red tape to decorate the magic cave, processes and taxes that frustrate any sane person beyond belief, and local government rules that obstruct anything new or creative, unless it has coffee involved.
In Victoria, if I started a new company, I’d be given $100,000 to develop a business plan and $500,000 cash to start a company if it employed Victorians, and from this type of support their industry and state is growing.
Our car industries are important, but they are not returning taxes, profits or intellectual property to us as a state; this has to change if they are to stay open. Our success as a state is limited only by our imagination.
A resident who is a thinker. If you want another brain capable of independent thought on your committee, let me know.
BEC HANNA: I loved this article about Adelaide; stop comparing and start competing! It was everything I’ve tried to say, but articulated perfectly. As a girl who moved to Sydney on my own at 19, I was an example of the attitude that you’re trying to dissuade. I hated Adelaide because I couldn’t find any culture, any passion, or anything worth standing out in the cold for.
While I adored Sydney, it was a difficult place to be happy in … you’re always late to the party, everyone is coming and going, and (real) friends are impossible to keep. Despite this, I worked my way up in the insurance industry and earned more money than I could have imagined. But my balcony overlooking the pool and my boat ride to work every morning wasn’t half as enjoyable as seeing a friend I’ve known forever and feeling that irreplaceable sense of comfort.
I moved back with a mission: to make something of myself, and be creative in Adelaide. I stumbled upon groups of people who were secretly thriving among that culture and passion I’d craved. There was a heartbeat here and I had to get my hands on it.
I recently pushed my way into advertising with a boutique agency on Rundle Street. They drink coffee at Hey Jupiter and get invited to the polo. I was told it would be impossible to get a job in this industry. My new life here is about to begin and I’m excited about the prospects, but I feel like this niche pack of tres-cool people are far outnumbered by the ’90s-dwelling homebodies who hate change and don’t understand architecture.
It’s time to wake up and smell the (organic, Fair Trade) coffee! Build something, Adelaide. And fast, before you lose more people like me.
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