Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about something real and positive. I want to recognise the successful setting up and implementation of a 2007 election commitment in Braddon which now has one of only a few select Enterprise Connect centres in the nation. Enterprise Connect is an Australian government initiative, in the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, which offers comprehensive advice and support to eligible Australian small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them transform and reach their full potential.

The program’s core service offering is a free comprehensive business review, followed by the opportunity to access up to $20,000—that is dollar for dollar funding—to assist in implementing the recommendations of the review.

In Tasmania Enterprise Connect’s office is located in Burnie in my electorate, with three business advisers servicing the state. Enterprise Connect currently has 98 Tasmanian small- to medium-sized enterprises engaged in the program, predominantly from the manufacturing sectors, inclusive of engineering, textile, clothing and footwear, food processing and general manufacturing.

Tasmanian Enterprise Connect clients rank highly nationally with regard to the number of companies going on to access the funding support to implement business improvement. To date $1,372,543 has been spent on a variety of projects and $661,000 of that funding has been contributed by Enterprise Connect. Projects range from the implementation of lean manufacturing, marketing and strategic planning, enterprise resource planning, financial strategy, succession planning and management, and leadership development et cetera.

Enterprise Connect also has recently launched a continuous improvement program as part of its service offering. The program is called the Supplier Continuous Improvement Program and is based on a program well trialled in the aerospace sector in the United Kingdom.

Enterprise Connect Tasmania has successfully got one of the first Australian projects up and running, with eight Tasmanian SMEs who are linked into important local supply chains. This group of companies recently participated in a visit to Thales Australia’s defence protected mobility vehicle operations in Bendigo with an opportunity to present their capabilities to the company. This is the first time Thales has had this kind of exposure to the Tasmanian manufacturing sector.

Additionally, Enterprise Connect delivers a number of targeted support programs to address specific business and regional development needs. North-west and Northern Tasmania is one of 10 regions nationally to be part of Enterprise Connect’s innovative sections region.

I would like to acknowledge the work of Keith Calvert, Sarah Jones, Deanne Kapene, Adam Morton, Jack Van Tatenhove and all those who make Enterprise Connect Tasmania work so successfully. (Time expired)

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