State Export Figures

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Investment and Trade. Can the minister inform the house about the current export figures for South Australia?

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Minister for Investment and Trade, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:38): I thank the member for Little Para for his question, because I know that jobs and small business in his electorate hinge very much on what happens with our export performance, and for that reason I am thrilled to inform the house that figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today reveal that SA's exports have reached a record high.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: For the 12 months to April, South Australia's exports were valued at $12.3 billion. That is $12.3 billion worth of jobs, activity and enterprise here in this state. The figures also showed that South Australia had a 15 per cent increase on the year compared with the year to April 2013. This growth is the highest of any state in the country. This result is the dividend for the hard work—

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: —by South Australian exporters, farmers and small businesses across the state, from the West Coast to the South-East. As I advised the house yesterday, the government has had a strong focus on China as a destination for South Australia's exports. China is responsible for more than a quarter of all this state's exports, much of it in the premium food sector.

In the past year, exports to China have grown by nearly 50 per cent. Our ongoing focus on China will continue to pay dividends for our exporters and for small business. The South Australian government has also demonstrated a strong bipartisan approach to trade for some time, and for that reason it is hoped that all in the house fully welcome this result and do all they can to support it. A united approach to assisting South Australian businesses to connect with new markets and opportunities is vital if that success is to continue. To build on the current results, the South Australian government—

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Schubert is warned for the second and final time.

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH: —is committed to developing a stronger approach to key South-East Asian countries. Our approach is to get South Australian businesses and overseas businesses around the table doing deals together, not just swapping business cards.

There are also further opportunities with some of our established trading partners. While exports to India have not been as strong in the last year as we would have liked compared to previous years, the recently elected government has made clear that it is much more trade oriented. South Australia is well positioned to benefit from a positive approach to trade with India. There are significant opportunities to connect with key government ministers in India through the rest of 2014.

These figures are a great result for South Australia, they are a great result for our food producers, a wonderful result for our small businesses and for enterprises across the state. I look forward to working with those businesses as a whole of government to help see further growth in exports throughout targeted trade strategies.