Regional Tourism

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:12): We'll start with the sensible questions now.

The PRESIDENT: I don't need commentary from you, the Hon. Mr Hood. Get on with the question.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister please inform the chamber of his fourth ministerial trip into regional South Australia to meet with tourism operators and the local business communities of the Murraylands and the Riverland?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in regional South Australia. Yes, last week I did another two of the Meet the Minister events in regional South Australia. I should congratulate the South Australian Tourism Industry Council. Following the release of the Regional Visitor Strategy, I said, 'Why don't we do some regional visits?' They said, 'We'll organise them for you.' There are 19 of these three-hour meetings across South Australia. We have concluded 14 now. We had one in Hahndorf last night.

It's a great opportunity for me to get out and mix with some of the people I know well across regional South Australia. Last Friday's early morning one was at The Bend, the motor racing facility, which I have driven past thousands of time on that road. I have been in for a quick look when the superbikes were there but I met Dr Sam Shahin there before the tourism meeting where she gave me a guided tour of the facility, and it is a spectacular facility. The Shahin family should be commended for the investment they have made in South Australia which will have a caravan park, some extra driving training facilities, an ANCAP testing area, and of course accommodation for motoring enthusiasts, and an air strip. I saw the old Mitsubishi Motors drag strip or test strip where Mr Shahin, Dr Shahin and their family are going to turn it into an air strip. It was great to have a look around.

We had great attendance at the Meet the Minister forum—over 50 people in attendance—and a whole range of good questions were asked. Regional tourism: there is some enthusiasm and excitement in that particular area. From there, I had a great opportunity to go to the Big River Pork processing facilities and abattoirs, which I hadn't been to before. I have been to a number of abattoirs and pig abattoirs in my time. This was certainly impressive and very up to date. I think they have some expansion plans because clearly there is a big demand for the high-quality produce they turn out.

I then went on to Renmark. Members will recall that last week I talked about the signing of the EasyMile MOU, which is the driverless vehicle—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Obviously, members are quite excited about the visit to a pork abattoir. There were some familiar faces, I would have to say. I talked last week about the EasyMile trial at the Lyell McEwin Hospital and the old General Motors Holden car park. What I saw was fabulous. The Renmark council is now going to implement this EasyMile driverless bus in its community to connect a couple of retirement villages with the town centre, the hospital and doctors. It is a great initiative because so often new technology makes it into the city and is embraced by the city, but it doesn't get out to our regional areas. It was fabulous.

I commend the district council for having the foresight and vision to go down that path of having a driverless vehicle. Some of the citizens and residents at a couple of the aged-care facilities said they can now finally relinquish their driver's licences because they know they still have their independence. They can jump on this bus, go to the doctor, go to the hospital, go to the shopping centre and do all the things they would like to do. I think it's a great initiative for that regional community, and I look forward to the development that has been going on there. We also had a great turnout for the tourism workshop on the River Murray Queen, which is a spectacular facility. Matt and Susan Major are taking that from strength to strength.

I also had an opportunity to get up at the crack of dawn, as I often do, to look at the sunrise over the River Murray from Headings Landing, which was really spectacular. It is part of Mr Tony Sharley's great Murray River Walk. He is doing an incredible job of showcasing the river and local produce through his luxury guided walks. Again, it shows that there is so much we take for granted as South Australians that we need to share with the rest of the world. People like Mr Sharley share it in an exceptional way, and I congratulate him on what he has done.

We also had an opportunity to look at some other great businesses there. Mr Ben Haslett from Woolenook Fruits had a whole range of suggestions around trade, exports and growing the South Australian economy. I congratulate him and thank him for his suggestions. I look forward to the five remaining regional visits that we will do over the next few weeks to complete the 19 three-hour meetings across regional South Australia.