YORKE PENINSULA FIELD DAYS

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister for primary industries a question about agriculture and government support for agriculture in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Mr President, as you may well know, yesterday, today and tomorrow are three important days in the calendar for South Australian farmers and value-added componentry industries to agriculture—namely, the Yorke Peninsula Field Days, where approximately 40,000 farmers and country people will visit to learn about best practice and look at machinery, etc.

Last year I wrote to the then minister, the Hon. Patrick Conlon, asking whether he would look at rearranging the parliamentary sitting calendar so that those of us who have responsibilities to represent the whole state and, indeed, local members, would be able to attend the field days and work with those constituents. This was based on the fact that next week and the week after we do not sit and we did not sit last week. This government makes sure that we do not—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: We had the Riverland Field Days last week.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Yes. This government makes sure that we do not sit for three weeks when the arts festivals are on. Unfortunately, this government still decided—and I do not blame this particular minister—to ensure that we were not able to see our constituents at the Yorke Peninsula Field Days. My question to the minister is: is this just ratifying the fact that Labor as a government cares little or not at all when it comes to primary producers and agriculture in this state, notwithstanding the fact that one in four jobs and 25 per cent of the whole of the economy of this state is centred on agriculture?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, I was disappointed when I noted that the parliamentary sitting calendar clashed with the Yorke Peninsula Field Days program this year because I would have very much liked to attend. However, the fact is that it doesn't matter which days we look at, in this state there is always something momentous happening every week which is of great interest to most of us. This is a very dynamic state, there is a lot happening, so it wouldn't matter which days we chose, it would exclude some event somewhere. It is just not possible—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Once a year we have a big field day—once a year.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: But there are many really worthwhile field days; this is not the only important field day. The Hon. Robert Brokenshire is suggesting that the other field days are not just as important—they are.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: No, no.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: They are.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: He is—that's what the Hon. Rob Brokenshire is saying—

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Point of order.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —that the other field days are—

The PRESIDENT: Point of order, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! What's the point of order, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire?

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: The point of order is that I have been misrepresented, and I ask the minister to withdraw the comments because they are untrue.

The PRESIDENT: There is no point of order. The minister.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The Hon. Mr Brokenshire is suggesting in this place—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Did you decide on the point of order?

The PRESIDENT: I did: I said that there is no point of order.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —that the Yorke Peninsula field day is the most important field day and is more important than any other field day. Well, it just isn't. I'm sorry, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, it just isn't. They are all important in their own way, and to each region they are exceptionally important. I think that it is a very narrow focus the Hon. Robert Brokenshire has—it is a very parochial focus. Unfortunately, as I said, it wouldn't matter which day we chose, it would exclude access to some very important event to some particularly important community group. It is just not possible for us to sit and not clash with some very important event, but I am disappointed that this has happened this year.

In terms of his outrageous statement that this is indicative of this government's not caring about the regions, I need to set the record straight with such a terrible allegation, so I put on the record that our agriculture sector is obviously an incredibly important contributor to the South Australian economy. Compared with other Australian states, our agriculture sector in South Australia has historically provided a much greater share of the state's economic growth. Agriculture, forestry and fishing contribution to South Australian economy has grown 64 per cent in real terms over the last 10 years.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: You've sold the forests.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Well, you sold our power. They are happy to privatise our power and everything else. This compares to 28 per cent real growth in South Australia's economy as a whole over that same period. The agribusiness sector directly employs 8 per cent (I think that is one in five in total) in food and wine, which makes it a very important employer in this state.

I need to say that, even during very difficult times, this government has managed to put in place a number of significant supports for our agriculture sector. We set up a case management framework, which assigned senior public servants to assist in our regions, and this service has resulted in significant investment in this state, such as Inghams Enterprises, Thomas Foods International, and a number of other important industries. The framework assigns senior public servants to accompany all organisations seeking to invest in South Australia—so they partner with these companies—and, as I said, Thomas Foods is a very good example of that.

In terms of research and development, we have a fabulous capability. The South Australian government continues to commit significant funding to underpin South Australia's research development capacity, and many agribusinesses are either participating in projects or benefiting from those outcomes. The department also works with a number of industry associations and key stakeholders to ensure that they can access state government funding through the Skills for All program, and strong industry bodies are essential, obviously, for the success of any agribusiness in this state.

The government is currently supporting the activities of a number of business associations, such as Food SA, the SA Wine Industry Association—there is a long list. For instance, Food SA, we have contributed $550,000 per annum over four years and $250,000 per annum over four years for the SA Wine—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I would like to know what the Coalition opposition is proposing to expend on Food SA when they are ever in government. I would like to see what policy direction they have and what financial contribution they plan to make for Food SA. Let them put the money on the table.

This government has contributed over half a million dollars and a further $250,000 per annum over four years for the SA Wine Industry Association, which also includes a number of in-kind supports, not to mention $20 million for our sustainable rivers fund and also our biosecurity services—I could speak at length about that—and also our SARDI science programs, just to mention a few areas where this government supports our agribusiness sector.