Horticulture Industry

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister update the house on how the state government is supporting the state's horticultural industry?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:30): I thank the member for Kavel for his very important question. This morning, I was joined by the Minister for Education, the member for Newland and the member for Kavel. This government has stood side by side with the apple and pear industry, particularly in the Adelaide Hills, over the recent hailstorm that it went through in November of last year. What we saw was the devastating impacts of what hail has done to an industry for two years running. In consecutive years, it has put a serious dent in the balance sheet of the majority of the operations.

This morning, we learnt that the majority of fruit in the Adelaide Hills has been impacted by hail and has been marked. This morning, the state government committed a $60,000 support package through the Hailstorm Heroes campaign. We had the CEO, Susie Green, join us this morning, as did representatives from the Lenswood Co-op, as well as growers, down at the Central Market. We know that the Central Market is celebrating its 150^th year, and we would like to stand side by side with them and the apple and pear growers to give them the ability to sell some of their product that has been impacted by the hailstorms over two consecutive years.

What we see now is that the Gala apples are about to hit the shelves. We would like South Australian consumers to come forward and understand that they are buying a beautiful piece of fruit. Internally, they are juicy, fresh, sweet, delicious. Externally, they do have a few marks on them. I would urge every apple consumer in the state to go out and purchase some of the Adelaide Hills apples. They are second to none. They are an outstanding product, and we need people to understand that when they buy that product they are actually not only buying a beautiful piece of fruit but they are also supporting our Adelaide Hills apple and pear growers, who have been dealt a harsh blow.

The 30,000 tonnes of apples here in South Australia are worth about $63½ million, and the Adelaide Hills represent about 85 per cent of the apple industry in South Australia. It is about how we help those growers after receiving a damage bill of about $30 million. The Hailstone Heroes campaign last year generated about $1 million, helping additional sales of around 1,000 tonnes. What I would say is that with every Hailstone Heroes bag of fruit that people consume they are helping our apple growers get along the way. We know that they can't continue to go to the bank and continue to ask for money, and that is why the government has put that $60,000 of taxpayers' money—well spent—into supporting our apple industry.

What I will say is that we have also stood side by side not only at community meetings. We have been up there and put financial support to the Lenswood Co-op, one of the largest apple co-ops in the country. We have also put part of the regional growth fund, standing side by side with the apple and pear growers, particularly with them dealing with high power pumping costs. We put $400,000 into 20 growers to reduce their electricity bills.

We have also appointed extra FaB scouts into the Adelaide Hills to help them deal with mental health, making sure that they are making good, informed decisions and that they have the support of not only the government and not only the community. The FaB scouts mentor program is outstanding. We have also stood side by side with the regional business support program, putting extra money into regional business support so that we can give them the best advice so that they can get through.

The financial burden of the hailstorm, and the headache that it gave the apple and pear growers, is significant. This government will stand side by side with the apple and pear growers to make sure that they can continue to produce world-class products because #RegionsMatter.