Narungga Electorate

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:19): I rise today to speak about the valuable role volunteers play in all communities, and I was pleased to hear the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing touch in question time upon the importance of volunteers, especially in the regional communities. Within the electorate of Narungga we are lucky to have quite a few volunteer organisations. The importance of these was plainly highlighted to me on 6 May at the official opening of the new Ardrossan tourism information outlet, which is now located next to the Ardrossan National Trust Museum. I had the privilege and honour of delivering an address to mark the occasion and officially declare the new information outlet open.

The new tourism information outlet was the result of initiative, drive and hard work from the volunteers of both the Ardrossan Progress Association, under the excellent leadership of president Richard Carruthers and executive officer Margie Gaisford, and the National Trust and its president, Rob Nicholls. They saw a need in their community and made it happen. It is no small feat to undertake to embark on a new building project and to band together two separate community organisations for a common cause. This project is another great example of what can be achieved by working together.

I commend the Yorke Peninsula Council—it was pleasing to see hard-working Deputy Mayor Scott Hoyle in attendance on that day—and their tourism development staff for their support of this project. I highlight the value of the ongoing partnership this council and the Copper Coast and Barunga West councils have with the Yorke Peninsula Tourism marketing committee and the SA Tourism Commission. All three tiers of government are working together to realise the huge potential our electorate of Narungga has for significant tourism growth and development.

So much has been achieved in recent years with Walk the Yorke, the Coastal Way touring route, rebranding, a local produce guide, new tourism operators and many infrastructure improvements to caravan parks. Statistics tell us that visitation to Yorke Peninsula is rising, with day trips, nights stayed and money spent all up. It feels as if we have hardly started, and with new government there is a feeling of new opportunity. New businesses are having a go, and we need to encourage more of them and continue to encourage them to invest more money.

There are ideas on the table around cruise ships, more ferry services, the Moonta Mines heritage area with its National Heritage listing, the department of environment's rewilding project for Innes and the new Marshall government's specific plans to boost ecotourism opportunities within Innes itself. The SA Tourism Commission's business development and marketing teams continue to work on specific projects for the YP, including digital marketing and social media campaigns that all drive brand recognition. There is more to do through product packaging and development and driving export opportunities.

More people are coming, and just as important as the work of the tiers of government is the work of local operators and volunteers, whom we depend on for providing the visitors with a quality, enjoyable experience when they get here, to ensure that when they go home they take away and spread a positive message. The official opening of the new Ardrossan tourism information outlet was about these local people who are our tourism ambassadors and who give their time to market our patch as the beautiful place it is and to share their love of the YP. They care about its future and have seen firsthand the value of tourism for local businesses and our local economy as a whole.

I was pleased to have had the opportunity to publicly thank these people for all they do in support of their town and its current businesses, and, in the case of the Ardrossan Museum, for the work they do together to ensure that history is not lost, that past achievements can be long remembered through the important collections on display—and there are quite a few of them. I would encourage everyone in this house to visit the Ardrossan Museum, if they get a chance. It really is a remarkable collection of farm machinery and assorted artefacts, especially associated with whale beachings and that sort of thing.

It is truly a worthwhile visit to see the important collections they have on display, where bygone days and past struggles are preserved and serve to foster important community camaraderie. Can I just add, in concluding, that the official opening was an event wonderfully catered for by the Ardrossan Angels, the lovely group there in Ardrossan that raises a lot of money for charitable benefits. Not only was the food they prepared wonderful and plentiful but the proceeds also went to a good cause.

I would like to place on the record my appreciation to the Ardrossan Angels for all the good charitable work they do. Well done to all these Ardrossan volunteers across a number of groups and to all volunteers across Narungga communities who do so much vital work for their towns; your community certainly appreciates you.