South Australia: from crisis to prosperity?

Associate Professor John Spoehr (centre) with acting Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Mike Brooks (left), and South Australian Premier the Hon. Mike Rann.
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Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Will South Australia emerge from the global economic crisis relatively unscathed and enter a period of unprecedented prosperity?

That's the question being tackled in a new book edited by the University of Adelaide's Associate Professor John Spoehr.

The book, called State of South Australia: From crisis to prosperity?, was launched in Adelaide today by the Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Mike Rann.

State of South Australia addresses a range of questions, offering the most comprehensive analysis of key challenges facing this state.

"While the medium-term outlook is bright for South Australia, we face a difficult year ahead as the fallout from the global financial crisis leads to job losses, like those at Bridgestone in South Australia," says Associate Professor Spoehr, Executive Director of the Australian Institute for Social Research and the Centre for Labour Research at the University of Adelaide.

"Bridgestone must do everything it can to provide retrenched workers with the support they need to secure a decent future for themselves and their families. This is the measure of a good corporate citizen," he says.

Issues covered by more than 25 contributors to the book include: the state's changing population, Aboriginal policy, gender, health, education, industrial relations, law and order, social inclusion, the arts, environment, urban planning and infrastructure.

The book contains revelations in each of these areas which point to the state's prospects of economic recovery in the context of the global economy.

Associate Professor Spoehr is one of South Australia's leading social and economic researchers and commentators. His previous books include Beyond the Contract State: ideas for social and economic renewal in SA, Power Politics: the electricity crisis and you, and State of South Australia: Trends & Issues.

State of South Australia: From crisis to prosperity? is published by Wakefield Press.

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