FLINDERS RANGES TOURISM

Mr BROCK (Frome) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Can the Minister for Tourism please give us an update on the activities of tourism in the southern Flinders Ranges and the outback?

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport) (14:46): I thank the member for Frome for his interest in a very important part of the economy in his patch. I was glad to be in Port Pirie last Saturday night to MC the Flinders Ranges and Outback Tourism Awards. The member for Stuart was also there, as was the federal member for Grey. It was a fantastic night where the whole tourism industry of that region came together to salute those who have excelled during the past 12 months.

I would just like to mention the winners on the night: the Arid Festival, Port Pirie Visitor Information Centre and Maggie's Rendezvous Cafe, which is in Orroroo; anyone going through Orroroo, make sure you call in. Jane and Warren Luckraft won two awards for their fantastic Bendleby Ranges at Orroroo, and it was fantastic to spend time with them. Another winner from Orroroo was Black Jack Get-A-Way. That award was sponsored by the member for Stuart. The member for Frome was also a sponsor on the night.

Excellence in Food and Beverage Tourism went to the Wirrabara Producers Market. The Sunday was going to be their 100^th market at Wirrabara, so it was fantastic to meet the people involved in there. Port Pirie Regional Council was also another winner, and the winner of the Outstanding Contribution by an Individual was Chris Bretag. So, congratulations to all those winners—very well deserved winners they were, too.

Last week, on a separate trip, I was in the Flinders Ranges and Peterborough and, again, the member for Stuart was there when we had about 30 tourism operators from around the Flinders Ranges at a function at Rawnsley Park in their Woolshed Restaurant. It was tremendous to go out and explain to the tourism operators what we are doing as a government in their sector and also to hear what they would like done.

We all need to work together. There are 3,500 tourism operators throughout the state and we are there to help them in marketing and providing data. So, it was a terrific night. It was really good to catch up with them. Rawnsley Park, for anyone who hasn't been up there, is a sensational part of the world. I'd really like to thank Julie and Tony Smith at Rawnsley Park and, in particular, Tony, who took me for a walk up Rawnsley Bluff the next day. It was a 12-kilometre trip up and back, and it is truly a spectacular part of the world.

We had a night in Peterborough. Peterborough is a rural community that was once at the crossroads of the railway systems in South Australia. It's a community filled with great volunteers and people who are really doing well to put Peterborough back on the map. I want to congratulate everyone there, including Horst with his sound and light show at Steamtown, where you can go in and watch a film that goes through the history of how Peterborough was a cross on the map, because that's where the railways would meet up, to the demise of the rail system in Peterborough in the early 1970s. For anyone who is heading out into country South Australia, Peterborough is a fantastic place to go.

I also want to thank the member for Frome for teeing up a meeting with Neville Thomson from the Port Pirie Harness Club while I was in Pirie; it was a very fruitful meeting. It was opportune to be there because Port had a big win that day, and I know that the member for Frome is the No. 1 ticketholder at Port. So, well done, and thank you for teeing up that meeting.