Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Kangaroo Island Visitor Centre Kangaroo Island Visitor Centre The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY Legislative Council Kangaroo Island Visitor Centre The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:39): I would like to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment a question regarding the lack of funding for the KI visitor centre. Leave granted. The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY Legislative Council The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: There are 170,000 visitors each year going to Kangaroo Island. With an increase in cruise ships, Kangaroo Island is becoming an even more popular destination for tourists. It is disappointing to be informed that the KI visitor centre has been temporarily closed due to the uncertainty of future funding. For some years the information centre has been operating on a previous allocation of funding from the previous state government. The population of KI is less than 5,000 people, so funding to its visitor centre by the council is not possible. Due to the reliance on tourism, will a Liberal government guarantee funding for the KI visitor centre? The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council Minister for Trade The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:40): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in Kangaroo Island. I know he is often there and enjoys visiting. I have been made aware that the local council is no longer funding the visitor information centre. It had been funded by the local council. I became aware only a couple of days ago. I have a range of meetings with the Tourism Commission on Thursday, I think, so part of the discussions will be around ways that we can look to either encourage local council to reopen it or look at ways that we may be able to open it. We accept that visitor information centres are particularly important. It is something that the local community values, and certainly the travelling community values, so we will be looking at ways that we can reopen that visitor centre.