The university announces a Labor pledge of $10m for the university’s “Factory of the Future,” which “has been welcomed as a game-changer for job creation”

PVC Research Impact John Spoehr calls it “an important moment for the future of manufacturing in South Australia; a turning point in the rebirth of the critically important manufacturing sector in our state.”

And lest anybody miss the point, he adds, “The Factory of the Future facility is pivotal to South Australia’s fortunes as a smart state.”

It’s not an endorsement, but Rachel Swift, Liberal candidate for the local federal seat of Boothby, might not like it.

But there is no faulting Labor for campaigning restraint. A fortnight before the last election Labor promised $20m for what Flinders U then called the “future factory,” “a test-bed facility … to explore the application of new technologies capable of manufacturing next generation products,” (CMM May 8 2019).

Flinders U was less enthusiastic yesterday in welcoming $1m in Commonwealth funding for a medical workforce regional training hub. Certainly Flinders’ announcement referred to “the government’s strategic investment”  but focused on what a good job the university is doing.