Question Time

TASTING AUSTRALIA

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Tourism a question about time frames.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: In mid-April, around 40,000 people attended a major national—in fact, international—food event at Elder Park. It featured a range of cuisines from more than 100 exhibitors. They came from across South Australia. More than 40 wineries from regions including the Clare Valley, Coonawarra and Langhorne Creek showcased their finest drops.

It was part of Tasting Australia—a biennial event first held in 1997 and described by the minister as one of the top food and wine events around Australia. On Tuesday 1 May, the Minister for Tourism told this parliament that the 2012 Tasting Australia would be the very last one involving the event management company Consuming Passions and its very famous director Ian Parmenter. Consuming Passions had run Tasting Australia since the very beginning and had built the event for 16 years.

Then, while the Hon. Gail Gago was minister, she lost her passion for consuming and, under her watch, Ian Parmenter got the flick. 'Never mind,' said the minister. Four and a half months ago, on the first day of May, the minister assured this parliament, assured the industry and assured South Australia that the Tourism Commission was 'well down the track in the process of appointing a new director and, hopefully, this will be able to be announced soon'. The dictionary defines 'soon' as 'within a short...time...; before long; in the near future; at an early date.' My question to the minister is: is 141 days soon, by the minister's definition?

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) (14:38): I thank the honourable member for his repetitive questions. He finds it very difficult to come into this place with something original but, nevertheless, he is like a broken old record so, if he wants to waste the precious time of this chamber on repeating old questions, then I am happy to repeat the answers.

Indeed, Tasting Australia has been an extremely successful event in this state. It's sponsored by the South Australian Tourism Commission. It is a good example of one of the SATC's amazing achievements. It built the event up over many years from what started as a fairly simple and straightforward event to something that has become quite iconic in this state. Indeed, many tens of thousands of people come along and enjoy this event. It is a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of South Australia's fabulous primary produce and also some of our processed foods as well. It has a range of exhibits, including masterclasses and demonstrations. It is indeed a very fun filled and incredibly interesting and informative event.

Consuming Passions had been the event manager for some time. They chose not to reapply for that position. The SATC opened up considerations for what might be a process to refresh and rejuvenate this event. It had been travelling along in a fairly similar vein for a number of years and it was believed that this was an ideal opportunity to review, and an opportunity if need be to refresh and rejuvenate.

This is a showcase event. It is a very important event and it is critical that, if we are going to make changes, they are the right changes and that this event continues to be the enormous success that it has been. There have been considerable dialogue, negotiations and considerations about what might be a suitable future model for this event. The SATC owns the brand Tasting Australia, so Tasting Australia remains South Australian, and we are very proud of that brand. That brand does indeed have a high recognition rate and a high value rate, and we intend to ensure that however we progress this event we continue to value add to that brand.

In terms of the discussions, negotiations are continuing, as I said in this place before, and considerable work has already been undertaken. As I said, in terms of what the definition of soon is, the definition of soon is when we get it right; when we get this right and we again continue to have a fabulous showcase iconic event for this state.