Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the council on how South Australia has secured the 2020 Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee Joint Business Conference and the enthusiasm amongst delegates to visit Adelaide next year?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for his question. Yes, I am excited and pleased to inform the council that last week I had the pleasure of attending the Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee meeting in Osaka and announcing at the close of the conference that Adelaide, South Australia, will host the conference for 2020.

This conference has been around for a long time, such is the longstanding friendship with the nation of Japan. The hosting nation swaps each year—one year Japan, the next in Australia—yet, staggeringly, the last time we hosted this conference in Australia and in Adelaide was in 1990. Yes, that's right: some 30 years ago. In fact, it is only the second time in the 58 years of this conference that we have had it in Adelaide.

Really, you have to ask the question of the members opposite. Clearly, they didn't value the relationship between Australia and Japan. In their 16 years in office, they could have hosted this particular conference, but they chose not to. They chose to turn their back on Japan. We were happy to invite them.

When you consult the website of the Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee, the last time the conference was here was October 1990. Throughout the conference I spoke to delegates about why South Australia is such a fantastic place to invest, to trade and to visit. I met with a genuine excitement for what next year will bring from the hundreds of delegates who will travel to Adelaide. Almost all of the attendees at the conference had never been to Adelaide and were incredibly excited about the opportunity to visit our great state next October.

I commented during the announcement that probably no-one in the room had been at the conference last time it was in Adelaide but, sure enough, two Aussies afterwards came to shake my hand and introduce themselves and let me know that they had been there before and they couldn't wait to come back.

These connections we make underscore that the Marshall Liberal government is investing in in-market presence in our target markets. Relationships are key to fruitful trade and investment outcomes, and we are thrilled to have opened an office in Tokyo in Japan and recruited the fantastic Ms Sally Townsend as our representative there.

Many of the attendees gave me fantastic feedback on how the office is running under the leadership of Ms Townsend, who is working directly with delegates looking to explore options to invest in South Australia. I look forward to welcoming the delegates who descend upon Adelaide next year for this great business opportunity.

We all know the benefits of conferences like this and how much money they bring into the state but, more than anything, this is an important milestone that signals we are serious about our engagement with Japan and international engagement more broadly to grow our economy through increased trade and investment. Unlike the mob opposite, we see Japan as a market that is highly valuable and see great opportunities where we can collaborate and build fruitful long-term relationships.