Question Time

REGIONAL SKILLS SHORTAGES

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Tourism a question about regional labour and skills shortages in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: My Victorian colleague, the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Louise Asher, has announced a joint state-federal tourism plan to address labour and skills shortages. The plan is an initiative of the national tourism strategy called Tourism 2020. It identifies employment and training needs, linking businesses with government and industry programs. The Victorian coalition government recognises the challenges and opportunities facing the tourism industry, including a tight labour market.

That is why Victoria, a direct competitor of this fine state of South Australia, is in the international and interstate tourism industry making sure its tourism workforce meets the demand with skills required. I am told that South Australia has made a feeble attempt to emulate the same program on Kangaroo Island, but here hotels, cafes, restaurants and travel and retail businesses are largely in the dark about any such initiative. The Victorian tourism industry is worth $15 billion to the state each year, which means it is more than three times the size of our industry. My questions are:

1. Why is South Australia not able to properly match this initiative?

2. Why is the minister content to let Victoria grow at South Australia's expense?

3. What action has the Minister for Tourism taken to ensure that domestic and international visitors can access Kangaroo Island on Christmas Day, following the announcement by Regional Express that it would not be flying there on 25 December? Of course, the SeaLink ferry service does not operate on Christmas Day.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:22): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, the issue of an appropriate skilled labour force in the area of tourism is a real challenge for all jurisdictions, and it has been an issue that the tourism ministerial committee has been working on for some time with a number of projects placed throughout Australia.

We are very fortunate here in South Australia because, compared with many other states, we do not suffer the same skills and workforce shortages as many other jurisdictions do, so we are very well placed in that respect. Certainly in terms of work being done at a federal level, and of South Australia participating in that, we do continue to work on strategies to ensure that we have an appropriate skilled workforce in the area of tourism.

We know that here in South Australia we are doing extremely well, particularly compared with other jurisdictions. I have already mentioned in this place, but I will mention it again briefly, that South Australia attracted 4.95 million domestic overnight visitors in our last tally, an increase of 8 per cent from the year ending December 2010. I am advised that this is the highest year-on-year growth in visitor numbers for 11 years, the second highest growth of all states and territories, and twice the national growth rate of 4 per cent.

As I have said in this place before, South Australia is punching way above its weight. Our market share—that is, the proportion of Australian domestic visitors that occur in South Australia—rose from 6.8 per cent to 7.1 per cent, driven by very strong growth in both intra and interstate visitation. SA recorded growth in all purposes of visits: business, up 14.8 per cent; visiting friends and relatives, up 8.7 per cent; and holiday, up 3.3 per cent—higher again than the national results, so again, punching way above our weight.

It is good news and, as always in this place, we see the opposition coming in here and instead of singing our praises and pointing out the great strengths that South Australia offers the tourism sector and our hardworking relationship with tourist operators; instead of singing our praises and acknowledging the hard work year in, year out of our tourism operators, the hard grind—they are often very small businesses, often family businesses, that work their guts out day in day, out and make this state the success it is—do we hear any acknowledgement of the hard work of our tourism operators? No; all we hear is doomsday and bagging and bemoaning.

In relation to Christmas Day, that is a supply and demand matter. I am confident that, if there was a demand there, a supply would be forthcoming. I challenge the member opposite me, the Hon. David Ridgway, to come into this place one day and acknowledge the hard work and significant achievements of our tourism operators right throughout this state. They are the backbone of tourism.