China Eastern Airlines

Ms O'HANLON (Dunstan) (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Trade and Investment. Can the minister advise the house on how a new direct China Eastern Airlines flight between Adelaide and Shanghai from mid-2026 will boost South Australia's exports, trade and tourism industry?

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:05): I thank the member for Dunstan for her question and particularly for her keen interest in this. I know that the member for Dunstan has been particularly focused on what increasing flight connectivity can mean for the constituents of her electorate of Dunstan. I know that there have been particular members of her community who have advocated very strongly for greater connections.

It is a great pleasure that a couple of weeks ago I had the ability to announce a brand-new direct flight between Adelaide and the world's third largest city. Shanghai is the financial capital of our largest trading partner. It is the first time that Adelaide has ever seen a direct flight connecting to a city of this size and a city of the profound economic importance that Shanghai has, both within China and with our two-way trading relationship.

China Eastern is one of the world's biggest airlines, with a fleet of nearly 800 aircraft. This new route will not only be running a significant number of passengers to facilitate this growing two-way connection between China and South Australia but 15 tonnes of cargo every single flight. That means more of our premium rock lobster, more premium fruits and more premium vegetables going to the single biggest destination of all, China, every day on one flight, getting onto dinner plates and into restaurants on the same day. One of the greatest impediments to growing our premium food exports is timeliness. What this flight will do, working directly with exporters, is facilitate this significant growth into the most substantial and important market for South Australian exporters.

It represents more than just a flight route. It represents a strengthening of ties between South Australia and China. Next year, we celebrate 40 years of our sister state relationship with Shandong, a state in China of over 120 million people, an innovator in respect of the green transition and the home of China's largest port. This flight will, for the first time, connect into the north and north-east of China where much of our cultural and economic ties are.

The more we can open up these flights, the more South Australian businesses can grow, and the more South Australian businesses can grow, the more South Australian jobs will thrive. There are over 200,000 South Australians who work today because their employer exports. Those businesses are more resilient, their jobs are better paid and those jobs are more secure. For those of us on this side of the chamber, that's exactly the sort of work and jobs that we stand up for.

China is a $3.6 billion export destination and as we continue to grow out, whether it be in the ASEAN region, which is now at $3.5 billion, or into the EU, which is well in excess of a billion dollars, we come back to the fact that Adelaide is now a global city. We are a government that proudly puts ourselves forward not only as a global city but as a global policy and thought leader. The more we export and the more we grow our South Australian businesses, the more local jobs will thrive.