Regional Trade

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:17): My question is to the Minister for Trade and Investment. Can the minister please provide an update to the council about how the Marshall Liberal government is re-engaging with regional exporters and businesses as COVID-19 restrictions are easing?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade and Investment) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for her question and her ongoing interest in the recovery of our export sector. We know that South Australia has eased restrictions on intrastate travel over the past few weeks. As Minister for Trade and Investment, I have made it a priority to begin revisiting our state's regions. My inability to travel interstate or overseas is a great opportunity to get back out to the regions. South Australia's regions are home, as you well know, to some of our key exporting businesses, and it is critical that I and my department continue to engage with these affected producers.

As we know, COVID-19 has heavily affected our high-value seafood export sector, as supply chains have been interrupted and key markets have become less accessible. Two weeks ago, I visited Port Lincoln to meet with some of the affected seafood producers, including Clean Seas, Eyre Peninsula Seafoods and Western Abalone. This trip gave me an opportunity to speak to those key producers about our International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) response in collaboration with our federal government and their freight and logistics needs.

Throughout these visits I was supported by regional state TradeStart advisers, who connect business and exporters with our department's network around the world. I thank Mr Ryan Butta and Mr Tim Coote for their support. I was impressed by these businesses and the spirit of innovation they have shown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an example, when 85 per cent of Clean Seas traditional markets were shut down due to COVID-19, this company pivoted into a retail space and is utilising best practice rapid freezing technology to guarantee the freshness of fish that they have previously been able to deliver fresh. Eyre Peninsula Seafoods, meanwhile, have been exporting their mussels through the Adelaide-Singapore flight established by the IFAM initiative and the Export Recovery Taskforce.

Through these flights, EP Seafoods have been able to minimise the disruption to their supply chain, and it is fantastic that Singapore Airlines have committed an extra flight per week to continue our inbound and outbound freight capacity. We also visited Western Abalone, the largest producer and marketer of abalone in South Australia. Western Abalone exports much of its green lip abalone to Hong Kong, so Cathay Pacific's announcement yesterday of flying freight back into this high-value market will no doubt be very welcome.

Outside the seafood sector, I had an opportunity to visit the Whalers Way launch facility, run and being developed by Southern Launch. They also have a facility at Koonibba in the Far West. Upon completion, Whalers Way will become Australia's first polar and sun synchronous launch facility for satellites. The space industry is one of South Australia's key growth sectors, and Whalers Way's site offers a unique value proposition through the combination of good weather, proximity of established infrastructure and unimpeded southern launch trajectories. The visit to Port Lincoln was one of several I am planning across the rest of the year.

The developments we have made towards opening up trade through the recently announced Singapore Airlines and Cathy Pacific flights will only help to strengthen our high-value and perishable exports. It is important to note that the Koonibba facility in the Far West will also be an important research and test facility for the Southern Launch group. I will continue to engage with exporters from all industries to understand the issues along the supply chain, increased connection and opportunity for South Australia to come back stronger than before.