KANGAROO ISLAND FARM GATE TO CELLAR DOOR TRAIL

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Tourism a question about the Kangaroo Island food trail.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: As we all know, Kangaroo Island has a reputation for some of the state's finest food produce. My question to the minister is: can she provide the chamber with details of KI's food trail experience?

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) (15:18): I thank the honourable member for her most important question and her ongoing interest in tourism matters. Mr President, as you would know, Kangaroo Island is known for its premium food and wine and, given the South Australian Tourism Commission's commitment to promoting Kangaroo Island, it is important that we continue to publicise all that the island has to offer.

I have spoken before in this place about what an amazing place Kangaroo Island is and how successful the Kangaroo Island marketing campaign has been—the one that we are currently running. The campaign idea focuses around the notion of transformation, using the tag line 'Let Yourself Go'. The campaign is designed to capture the unique sense of discovery and escape that the island offers. Of course, one of the key reasons to visit Kangaroo Island is the premium food and wine produced there. Members may already be aware of the recent launch of the Kangaroo Island Farm Gate to Cellar Door Trail, which lists a range of producers, cellar door and other events.

The Kangaroo Island Farm Gate to Cellar Door Trail was produced by Tourism Kangaroo Island, with funding provided through the South Australian Tourism Commission's Destination Development Fund; and I am very pleased to advise that a total of about $20,000 was provided from this particular fund. The trail includes three suggested different itineraries developed for visitors with varying amounts of time on the island and various distances, but each itinerary provides a fabulous mixture of various scenery, food and wine experiences and generally the fabulous natural delights of the island.

Of course, the itineraries are designed to assist visitors to make easy decisions. If they have got only a very short period of time they are then able to pick a shorter tour, and it shows them a quick and easy way to visit a selection, as I said, of food and wine outlets and also points out some natural features along the way. The Dudley Peninsula and American River areas, the central and southern coast and the Kingscote area and its surrounds are all included across these itineraries and are there for visitors to consider.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: King George whiting would have to be one of my favourites. The island is renowned for its absolutely beautiful King George whiting. In fact, it has fabulous fresh fish produce. I have to say that the KI oysters are right up there as well. They are a particular favourite of mine as well. Of course, members would probably know that Kangaroo Island is well known for a whole range of things, not just its fabulous King George whiting and oysters—

The Hon. Carmel Zollo: Honey.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —but things like eggs, olive oil and honey. It has some lovely native berry jams, and a wide range of cheeses and other products as well.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Marron.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Marron, yes. The marron there is quite famous as well. As the Minister for Regional Development, tourism, food and wine I think that this is a fabulous initiative. As I said, South Australia is known for its wonderful regions, and in many ways KI is one of our star performers. It is obviously a very beautiful place, and it provides some wonderful examples of some very fine food, wine and other wonderful tourism experiences. I would like to take this brief opportunity to congratulate those people who worked collaboratively to pull these itineraries together to make this a particularly interesting feature for visitors to the island.