LOXTON COMMUNITY HOTEL

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development a question about tourism ventures in the Riverland.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: In November last year, the minister advised the council that she had approved a grant from the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund towards upgrading the Loxton Community Hotel's tourism accommodation and conference centre. Can the minister advise the chamber on how this important community project is progressing?

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) (14:37): I thank the honourable member for her important question. The people of Loxton are justifiably proud of their community-owned hotel, which has been part of the local landscape since Loxton was first established early last century. The hotel has been a community-owned business since 1946 and is owned by approximately 1,000 shareholders, all of whom are local residents. I was very happy to approve a grant of $860,000 from the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund to assist in the upgrade of the hotel, and we announced that commitment back in November 2011. The Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund was established to help the region attract further investment and encourage diversification of industry.

The major renovation currently underway at the Loxton Community Hotel is expected to boost the town's tourism capability and attract more conferences to the area. The Loxton hotel is matching the state government funding for the upgrade dollar for dollar under the conditions of the fund. While the existing accommodation includes 21 self-contained rooms in the main building, 30 motel-style units and a small function centre, the upgrade involves renovating the existing rooms to meet modern standards as well as a complete refurbishment of the function and conference centre.

This will support growth in the Riverland tourism sector and has created employment for local tradespeople who are assisting in carrying out those renovations. I have recently been provided with a progress report by the Loxton Community Hotel and the results are most impressive.

Much of the work is progressing ahead of schedule, including the major refit of the conference area, so full credit to the hotel management and the team of builders and project managers. They have done an excellent job. So far, 12 rooms have been renovated, with the remaining 18 to be completed before October. This major renovation project has already provided considerable extra employment for local builders and, I am told, has given the community a real sense of excitement. Indeed, when I visited the Riverland in May this year, I met the manager of the hotel, Karen Kilsby, and she was very happy with the progress to date and was looking forward to the new rooms coming online.

I understand that the RDA Murraylands and Riverland considers that the hotel is a significant contributor to the local economy. Certainly when I visited the hotel, it was a very bustling, busy place. The hotel provides a venue for social events, conferences and functions for local community groups and service clubs such as Rotary, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, Apex, Zonta and Probus. The revitalised conference centre will help the Loxton Community Hotel fill a gap in the region's existing small to medium hospitality and conference market, and it is expected that the completion of this project will help attract more conference customers to the hotel.

Tourism is obviously a very critical factor to the ongoing prosperity of the Riverland. It is one of the five identified pillars for a sustainable future in the Riverland Prospectus. In particular, the ability to provide accommodation for high-value tourists has been identified as one of the ways of helping improve economic investment and drive in the Riverland. Congratulations to the Loxton hotel project team for doing such a great job.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Brokenshire has a supplementary deriving from the answer.