AUSBIOTECH

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:26): Can the Minister for Science and Information Economy advise the house of Adelaide's successful bid to host the international bioscience conference in 2011?

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:26): I am pleased to announce to the house that Adelaide has won the right to host the premier biotech event of the Asia-Pacific region, the prestigious AusBiotech conference. AusBiotech has over 2,400 members and covers the human health, agricultural, medical devices and environmental and industrial sectors in biotechnology, areas of excellence in our state's research and development capabilities.

More than 1,500 delegates from Asia, Europe and the United States will attend this annual conference. We will welcome to Adelaide internationally renowned scientists, investors and business leaders from national and international companies. The conference, the ninth of its type, will be held from 16 to 19 October 2011 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Given the cachet of the event, winning the bid for this highly regarded conference is an outstanding achievement for South Australia, for the South Australian bioscience community, in particular. The conference will give South Australia's bioscience community the opportunity to showcase its research and development expertise as well its products and services on the international stage.

That Adelaide was chosen as the successful bidder is testimony to the value that the government places on biotechnology and the pivotal role that South Australia has played in its development, showing yet again that this state punches well above its weight in science and research areas.

Some four weeks ago, the state government released the Science and Technology Innovation 10 progress report, and I announced to the house that, over a five-year period, the South Australian government, through its activities, had attracted in excess of $1 billion to South Australia for science-related research undertakings.

This conference builds on this significant achievement and recognises the continued growth that the state government is effectively engineering right across the science sector, but particularly in the growing bioscience sector.

I would like to congratulate those who took part in securing the conference. The bid was coordinated by the Adelaide Convention Tourism Authority and supported by Bio Innovation SA, the Centre for Innovation, and the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology. Along with the attendant commercial gains for our tourism and hospitality industries, we welcome this stimulating and prestigious event, which will help further our state's position as a global leader in the bioscience field.