AGRIBUSINESS SECTOR

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (14:20): My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. How is South Australia's agribusiness sector performing in comparison with the rest of Australia?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development) (14:20): I thank the member for Mawson and acknowledge his keen interest in primary industries and the fact that half of his electorate contributes to our wonderful agribusinesses in South Australia.

Mr Venning: Is he the only farmer over there?

The Hon. P. CAICA: No, he is not. He has an electorate, Ivan. You probably own half the businesses that I am going to talk about, Ivan. There is no doubt that the agribusiness sector and, indeed, the agricultural industry more widely has faced some tough challenges in recent years, particularly in relation to the prolonged drought, climatic variability and difficult global market conditions, including the high Australian dollar. Yet, Mr Speaker—

Ms Chapman: And Labor governments.

The Hon. P. CAICA: It is very interesting that the very good member interjects about the Labor government, but, of course, I did notice last week—I think it was last week and I am sure the leader will correct me if I am wrong—that you held a community cabinet meeting in Mount Gambier and that in the three or four months (or whatever) before the election, you are going to go out there and listen to people to find out what they are feeling in the country areas. Of course, you only have to ask me, because in my short time as agriculture minister, I have been the length and breadth of the state. So, you do not have to go out there, I can tell you what is going on.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I am sure you venture a long way out of Unley, I understand that. Yet, despite these difficulties, the South Australian agribusiness sector—

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: —they don't like good news—has shown itself to be remarkably resilient. Indeed, in its most recent report, the Westpac and Charles Sturt University Agribusiness Economic Performance Index for the September quarter showed that South Australia was 'the best performing state in Australia'. The index, which is the average of results for business performance, employment and investment indicators, is based on a nationwide survey of 1,200 businesses and includes agricultural producers, as well as suppliers to agriculture (the so-called 'upstream' agribusinesses) and related transport, manufacturing, wholesale and retail (or the 'downstream') agribusinesses. The report goes on to say:

The positive performance state-wide was a result of positive business performance and capital expenditure during the quarter, and, most notably, the strong business performance results in the producer sector.

Upstream agribusinesses, producers and downstream agribusinesses all reported positive economic performance. All sectors reported positive results in business performance and capital expenditure.

It is also worth noting that both upstream and downstream agribusinesses reported positive employment conditions, and all the South Australian regions reported positive economic performance, with the South-East reporting its best results since the inception of the index, as well as being the best performing in South Australia.

The report also found that 81 per cent of agribusinesses in South Australia felt confident about the performance of their business over the next 12 months, this being a significant improvement on the June quarter result of 66 per cent. Most encouragingly, these findings build on the generally positive performances of South Australian agribusinesses in the June quarter, along with the expectation by the report's authors that economic performance will move further into the positive territory in the December quarter, with substantial improvement expected across all sectors.

The outstanding performance of the South Australian agribusiness sector is a tribute to the resilience and adaptability of the people who work in this important sector. It also reflects, despite what the opposition might think, the commitment of this government in supporting this sector to increase its capacity to perform successfully in increasingly competitive domestic and global markets.