Rural Business Support Conference

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister please inform the chamber about the Rural Business Support Conference held earlier this month?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I am sure the minister heard the question, I am sure I didn't hear it, but—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Martin, please repeat the question so that I can hear it.

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN: It is a pleasure, sir.

The PRESIDENT: I don't know about a pleasure, just read the question.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: And don't mislead the house.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, don't harass the Hon. Mr Martin.

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN: My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister please inform the chamber about the Rural Business Support Conference held earlier this month?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for his question. I was very pleased to be able to open the Rural Business Support biannual conference a couple of weeks ago at the Lakes hotel. It is such a great thing to come together face to face, and I commend Rural Business Support for their commitment to sharing knowledge and building networks.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Attorney! Minister, please ignore the Attorney.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I will point out that the Lakes hotel was at West Lakes, not at Mount Gambier, and therefore had nothing to do with complaints about chicken from the former opposition leader.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: However, I am always glad when anyone in this place is so focused on Mount Gambier as an area, as obviously the Leader of the Government in this place is—always keen to find additional references.

I was very pleased to open the Rural Business Support biannual conference a couple of weeks ago at the Lakes hotel, West Lakes. It is a great thing to come together face to face, and I commend Rural Business Support for their commitment to sharing knowledge and also to building networks. As I have already spoken about today, our farmers are currently experiencing very challenging times due to the drought conditions that are affecting much of the state. The chamber is also very aware of the importance of primary producers to our state who provide our food and fibre and also, of course, make an enormous contribution to our state's economy, as I referred to earlier today in this place.

Rural Business Support is imperative to the ongoing support of primary producers and regional communities, which is why the drought support package that we have announced includes additional funding for mental health and wellbeing support, including for rural financial counselling services. I also very much appreciate the advice that people such as Brett Smith and Mont Saunders from Rural Business Support and others have provided into the drought advisory group discussions and the regional roundtable meetings.

Rural Business Support has a unique insight into the challenges of farming businesses that is incredibly valuable to government in understanding the appropriate support measures in times of distress. I very much appreciate the willingness of Rural Business Support to share these insights at all levels for our common goal of supporting primary industries, primary producers and regional communities.

I am very proud of the partnership with Rural Business Support to deliver rural financial counselling in this state. Rural Business Support's 20 years of experience in delivering such services provides a depth and breadth of understanding of our regional communities that is crucial to effectively supporting farmers who are experiencing hardship.

Often when I am around the state talking to people who have had interactions with Rural Business Support staff I hear about the commitment of those staff and the appreciation of the professionalism as well as the compassion that they extend and the practical assistance they provide.

Of course, Rural Business Support provides several other services to our rural communities that I am also very proud to support through our partnership. The RBS Relief Fund was launched in July 2022. This fund is a really fantastic addition to the suite of support that RBS offers, because it provides practical help with day-to-day costs that may well just make the difference to a family experiencing hardship. It can also provide an important gateway into the full service with RBS, which is so important for the long-term recovery of farmers and their farming businesses.

I am always excited to support the charity soccer match, and I look forward to doing so again next year and hope I will be joined by some in this chamber. The RBS Relief Fund provides a channel of support where government may not be able to provide the solution with flexibility, and this particular initiative is to be commended.

The work of Rural Business Support is absolutely vital to the long-term prosperity of our primary industries and regional communities. Again, I thank the Rural Business Support staff for the professional, compassionate and thorough way they go about providing the services that are so important to our regional communities.