House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Question Time Sam Smith Concert Sam Smith Concert The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER House of Assembly Morialta Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sam Smith Concert The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:09): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Was the minister given business cases for the Sam Smith event and the influencer camp, and did she personally authorise expenditure on the projects? The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs Sam Smith Concert The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (15:10): The Sam Smith opportunity was part of a marketing campaign. It was a publicity event and therefore it was presented in that way— The Hon. A. Koutsantonis House of Assembly West Torrens Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister for Energy and Mining The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: You're still talking about it. The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —and, as I made clear— The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call. The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —the return on investment— Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call. The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —was much higher than expected. We expected to have about a $7 million advertising value equivalent and we got $32 million, so it was successful and I stand by that. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call. The member for Unley is called to order. The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: It was a marketing campaign and, of course, it was something that it was sought approval for and supported because it was something that was exceptional. It was something that hadn't been done before in South Australia. We said very clearly— The Hon. D.G. Pisoni House of Assembly Unley The Hon. D.G. Pisoni: Will you do it again? The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Unley! The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: —if this opportunity hadn't come for a partnership with Frontier Touring with us, it was highly likely that this publicity event would take place in front of the Sydney Opera House or the Harbour Bridge. We are committed—very committed—to challenging the perceptions of South Australia. We are getting out there because we know we are a great place to visit. We are committed to building our visitor economy. We need to turn heads. What we looked at with this opportunity was a much younger and a global audience. We are still building back our international tourism. We are at just over 50 per cent of the visitor economy that we were prior to COVID. Obviously, we are doing some innovative things, like the ten-pound Pom opportunity that was done very early— An honourable member interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The minister has the call. The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON House of Assembly Ramsay Minister for Tourism Minister for Multicultural Affairs The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Well, this is the whole point: it's about getting out there, and that's what we are doing. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta, I observe that the time for questions has expired.