China Trade

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Natural Resources. Minister, will you inform the chamber about some of the potential benefits arising from the growing South Australia-China relations?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. As you know, last week the Premier led an almost 250-strong delegation of South Australian business, industry, state and local government representatives to our Chinese sister province of Shandong. The purpose was to develop new trade and investment relationships and build on those established previously. What has emerged is that this is a relationship very much based on reciprocity and mutual interest. It is important that we keep looking for new and innovative ways that we can partner with regions such as Shandong.

We know, for example, that tourism is an industry with enormous growth potential. It already contributes over $5 billion to our state each year and employs more than 30,000 South Australians, I am advised. South Australian international visitor numbers grew over 13 per cent in the 12 months to December 2013—well above the national growth, I have also been advised, while China saw a 40 per cent rise in visitors to also reach an all-time high. We also know that while Chinese visitor numbers make up a large proportion of our international visitors, almost 80 per cent of independent Chinese tourists do not venture beyond major cities.

There is an enormous potential here to grow visitor numbers outside of Adelaide and encourage international visitors to stay a little longer. Cleland Wildlife Park is an iconic South Australian tourism and conservation asset, and over 100,000 people already visit the park every year. The Cleland master plan has identified the need to improve facilities in the park for it to become a real centre of excellence as well as a base for tourists to explore the Adelaide Hills, and it is already being promoted through the Australian exhibit at Ocean Park in Hong Kong which features, of course, Cleland koalas.

It makes great sense to promote this investment opportunity in China, and elsewhere, to develop Cleland into a major tourist destination. This could include, of course, accommodation, local food and wine opportunities, and an international koala centre of excellence where visitors can interact closely with the animals. Through this kind of partnership, we could help establish Cleland and the Adelaide Hills as a truly premium tourist destination for many millions of people.

The delegation to Shandong Province is also resulting in new opportunities for South Australian businesses to export their know-how. For example, China is increasingly turning its attention to environmental protection and South Australia's expertise in clean technology is highly sought after. In particular, our world-leading knowledge and technology expertise has developed and been instrumental in solving South Australia's water problems and can help China address some of the challenges that it is now facing into the future.

We have the highest level of water recycling in Australia, having the capacity to harvest 20 gigalitres of stormwater every year and recycling about 30 per cent of our wastewater. We have addressed the issue of dryland salinity and water logging through the creation of a network of smart channels in the South-East. In addition, South Australia is leading the way globally in many areas, including advanced irrigation efficiency, water harvesting, natural filtration and storage, managed aquifer recharge, water quality testing, small scale regional and decentralised wastewater treatment plants, and the development of robust policy and legislative frameworks. This expertise has attracted the attention of India, the United States and now China.

I was most pleased to learn that during the delegation an MOU was signed between the Shandong Academy of Environmental Planning and the Water Industry Alliance. The MOU opens the way to direct talks to further business relationships with South Australian water companies. These are exceptional outcomes of the recent trade mission to Shandong. I look forward to growing ties with the province and with China as a whole that will mutually benefit our economies.