Premier Jay Weatherill has reshaped the Economic Development Board with new appointments including former Liberal Premier Rob Kerin and a former chief-of-staff to Paul Keating, Don Russell.

Weatherill announced six new appointments today along with the formation of a new Cabinet committee to “prioritise the work of the board”.

The board will be supported by the new Department for State Development, but would report to the Premier via the new cabinet committee.

“The EDB will continue to be a source of independent advice to Government and monitor the state’s economic performance but it will also drive policy development and attract inbound investment,” Weatherill said.

Raymond Spencer remains the chair, with Rob Chapman his deputy.

The new appointments are:

• David Garrard, a member of JP Morgan’s advisory council.
• Rob Kerin, former Premier and currently independent chair of Primary Producers SA.
• Professor David Lloyd, Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Australia.
• Professor Tanya Monro, a Professor of Physics at Adelaide University and Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing.
• Dr Donald Russell, a former senior federal bureaucrat, former Australian Ambassador to the USA and chief-of-staff to Treasurer, then Prime Minister, Paul Keating.
• Lily Jacobs, a lawyer and general manager of Renew Adelaide.

The new appointees replace Michael Keating, Kevin Osborn, Grant Belchamber, Ian Gould, Michael Hickinbotham and Corinne Namblard “who have either retired or whose contracts had expired”.

Other current members of the EDB include Professor Barbara Pocock, Dr Leanna Read, Professor Nils Goran Roos and Darren Thomas.

Spencer said the board needed to “act boldly and with an increased urgency so that we can address the big challenges that are facing the state’s economy”.

“The refocussing of the work of the EDB will create a direct linkage into the Premier which will ensure our work can be accelerated and prioritised,” he said.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said he was keen to meet with the new EDB and he would tell them that the first issue on their agenda should be tax reform.

He said the primary economic issue facing South Australia was its lack of competitiveness due to its high level of taxes on business.