REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:39): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development a question about regional priorities.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: On 8 November the Minister for Regional Development went on ABC Radio and spoke about a range of policies and strategies for regional development. The minister said:

This government is very committed, and I'm very committed as well to ensuring that our regions grow and prosper, we all want to see that...the trick is...you've got to actually have the policies in place, a plan in place to enable that to happen.

During the interview, the minister mentioned one of the key government priorities is the premium food and wine centre. The other priority she mentioned was tourism, where she said it is also a key economic driver for our regions. She also said that she visited China recently and in the Fujian province an MOU was signed with the local government there. My questions to the minister are:

1. When can we expect to see the release of a regional statement or an action plan that spells out exactly how the government is going to deliver its priorities?

2. With all the talk about developing a premium food and wine centre, exactly how and when will that happen, and how much is the government prepared to invest?

3. In relation to the MOU signed with the Fujian province of China, what does it mean in real terms? Can the minister explain the tangible benefits in terms of export revenue, what type of opportunities are available to businesses in the region and how many new jobs will be created in South Australia?

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) (15:40): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions. What the honourable member failed to mention in relation to that radio interview is that the opposition spokesperson, Steven Griffiths, had been on before me talking about his commitment to regions and he could not outline one plan or strategy whatsoever, not even a skerrick of a plan or policy, not even a whiff of a policy or strategy, yet alone vision.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Is that your opinion, Gail, is it?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It is not opinion, it is fact. If the Hon. John Dawkins listens to the radio transcript he will see that it is actually fact because Steven Griffiths did not outline any particular strategy or policy direction of the opposition for regional development. So, it is absolutely hysterical. Nevertheless, I am very proud of the commitment this government has to regions and, indeed, I am very proud and pleased with the work we have done to progress development in our regions.

I have spoken before about successful tourism in the regions and how for almost all of our regions there has been tourism growth over the last 12 months or so. That is because we have a plan, we stick to that plan and we work with regions and local operators. Tourism is a key regional economic driver and it is working. So, even with a backdrop of significant economic hardship, we have managed to grow tourism, including in most of our regions. That is a government that has a plan, sticks to its plan and works with the regions and local regional operators to identify their key priorities and then use those key priorities as the building blocks to grow tourism in regions.

Indeed, in terms of premium food and wine, again, it is a key priority plank for this government. It is one of the seven key priority planks for this government and it has wonderful opportunities for our regions. Instead of the opposition coming into this place and congratulating the government on the work it has done to date in progressing initiatives with China, what we find is that they are coming in here, again, talking down, bagging and trying to shake the confidence of businesses.

We see China as one of the most rapidly growing economies. We see that it has a burgeoning middle class, a middle class that is looking for quality products, particularly primary products and food and wine products. They are looking for quality and they are also looking for food safety, and they are two things that we have in abundance in South Australia.

We are not a low-cost commodity primary producing state: we are a quality producing state. We produce premium food and wine and we produce it from a safe environment with strong biosecurity standards and very strong food safety standards in place as well. That is what China is looking for, because it does not have that level of infrastructure.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: It signed an MOU, a piece of paper.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It does not have the consistency at all. The Leader of the Opposition scoffs at signing an MOU with the Fujian local government—that is disgraceful. That is a really important first step forward. The opposition did not even get to that step. What did it do? What has the opposition ever done in terms of advancing trade with China in relation to our food and wine? Nothing, absolutely nothing. They did not even get to a MOU stage. I think they should die of shame.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Order, the Hon. Mr Ridgway.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It is an in-principle commitment and further discussions will continue. It is the first step in a very important relationship; a very important first step in a relationship. It is an in-principle commitment to a partnership that says that the Chinese are willing to engage with us in further discussions and considerations in relation to these matters. That is a really important opportunity for us and one that this government is pursuing aggressively.