Question Time

AGRICULTURE SECTOR

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): My question is to the Premier. Why are jobs in the South Australian agriculture sector at their lowest level in the 29-year history of ABS records, given that premium food and wine is one of the four pillars of the government's economic strategy?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:05): We have seen some fairly dramatic changes in the way in which rural economies have worked over a considerable period of time, where there has been the stripping out, if you like, of employment opportunities in rural and primary industries as people move to more intensive mechanisation.

It has been the history of the development of our primary industries in this nation over an extended period of time. Of course, there are particular conditions that would be bearing on the circumstances that exist within the primary industries at the moment, particularly seasonal conditions that bear on employment, and also the particularly high Australian dollar, which has been a feature of the conditions which exist at the moment.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Heysen and the member for Bragg to order.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That does not mean that the particular priority that we have ascribed to premium food and wine grown in a clean environment is not an appropriate decision to take; indeed, it is the very reason we chose to make that one of our key priorities for South Australia. We know that we live in a region in the world which sits close to the great growing middle classes of world history in China and India.

Their demand for premium food products (in particular, food products that have high integrity) is something that we have identified as an opportunity. It is equally true to say that we are a high-cost jurisdiction. The reason we are a high-cost jurisdiction is because we have higher standards. We pay good wages, we have good environmental protections, we insist on standards—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen is warned a first time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —and that does add cost to our production. But it is the very same reason why people can choose our products with great confidence. It is the reason why the largest-selling beer in China, Tsingtao beer—and I had the great pleasure to visit their factory in Qingdao recently—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Bragg for the first time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —actually use South Australian barley: because it is of the highest quality and has—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I warn the member for Heysen for the second and final time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —South Australian barley. It is no mistake that they choose that, because it is of the highest quality and is of the highest integrity; they can rely upon its quality and its safety. That is where we need to take our primary production and our food production: up the value chain; not seeking to compete on the basis of cost, but on the basis of value. So, there are challenges. We did not choose those priorities because they were easy; we chose them because they are important and because there were real challenges facing South Australia.