EMIRATES AIRLINES

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:09): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Can the Deputy Premier advise how the decision by Emirates to add Adelaide to its expanded global route network will benefit South Australia?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:09): I had the privilege this morning of attending at Adelaide Airport to represent the state government on the occasion of the official celebration of the beginning of what I am sure will be a wonderful relationship between Emirates Airlines and South Australia. The event today was attended by His Excellency the Governor, Jane Jeffreys who, of course, is the chair of the Tourism Commission and who has done a fantastic job in that role, and Senior Vice-President, Salem—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left, order!

The Hon. J.R. RAU: It was also attended by Emirates Senior Vice-President—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Are you done? Okay. It was also attended by Emirates Senior Vice-President, Salem Obaidalla. He represents the Far East and Australasia aspect of their operations. They flew for the first time ever a Boeing 777 aircraft from Melbourne to Adelaide specifically for the purpose of this promotional flight. It is the first time they have done that at all. They did advise me that, if they had had more time, they would have been able to bring a new plane—this one is, after all, nearly six weeks old!

The plane, just for members who might contemplate using the service that is going to be provided by Emirates, had eight first class, 42 business class and over 250 economy class positions on the plane. It can carry over 24 tonnes of cargo, in addition to looking after the requirements of the passengers. As members might recall, from 1 November this year, there will be four flights a week to Adelaide rising to a daily service from 1 February 2013.

I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Adelaide Airport. The people there have worked tremendously hard to bring this outcome. I would also like to congratulate the Minister for Tourism and the Tourism Commission. During my time as tourism minister, I tried to bring this off and didn't succeed. I am happy to concede that my successor has done what I did not find possible. I would also like to congratulate my ministerial colleague the Hon. Tom Koutsantonis, whose department has done a fantastic job in conjunction with these people.

What are we going to get out of this? We are going to get one of the world's biggest, fastest growing and best airlines flying directly in and out of Adelaide every day. Secondly, we are going to have enhanced opportunities for trade—in particular, some of the just-in-time perishable trade goods which I know DMITRE is looking at adding to in terms of export opportunities—and, of course, tourism is going to be enhanced by this option.

Some of the members opposite, who might have spent a long time sitting in Singapore airport on their way to somewhere, will be pleased to know that the flight from Adelaide to most of Europe will now take 20 hours, including a 70-minute stopover in Dubai. You may also be interested to know that, for the first time, people will be able to fly direct to the east coast of the United States, to New York, with one stop.

This is a pretty dramatic change from what we have been used to here in South Australia but, even more importantly, the reverse is also true. People from the east coast of the United States will be able to land here in Adelaide with just one stop, people from Europe will be able to get here to Adelaide in just 20 hours, direct, and we are also going to have markets opened up to the Middle East which, up until now, has been an area that has been unserviced by adequate flights.

If that was not enough, there was also an announcement today which, I guess, has already been heralded to some extent in the press. The arrangements that are coming up now between Qantas and Emirates mean that, particularly for Australian travellers, all of the strength that Qantas Airways brings with its network here and overseas, and its facilities here and overseas, will be linked in with those of Emirates.

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order: the minister has used his four minutes plus a bit.

The SPEAKER: Yes, he has, but I was allowing him to finish his statement.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Yes, it is good news, Madam Speaker. It will mean that people who have a relationship with Qantas through their frequent flyer programs and Emirates will be able to have opportunities to mutually take advantage of this opportunity. This is fantastic news for Adelaide. It is a great opportunity. I welcome it, and I know the Premier and the government strongly welcome the arrival of Emirates, and we look forward to a long and happy association with it.