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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-04 Daily Xml
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WORLD FOOD EXCHANGE

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (15:35): Over the last 24 hours in this place we have seen, I suggest, something quite bizarre in relation to a well-advertised event for South Australia that was meant to take place between 21 and 25 September. That, of course, is the World Food Exchange. I was quite bewildered yesterday with the answer provided by the minister. I do not really think that the minister knew what was going on to the extent that the answer was a one-liner. We came back today and asked her a further question and we still did not get much of an answer.

What concerns me about this is the fact that it is most confusing for the industry. How can industry people—in this particular case food and tourism people—be assured of long-term planning and be assured of staging successful events when they are on again/off again? And why on earth, in the winter edition of Food (bearing in mind that winter started on Sunday), a document put out by PIRSA, would the government place a half-page ad on this World Food Exchange? There seems to be a lack of communication between the minister's department and PIRSA, which, I think, is alarming. I do not think it is fair to those who would have already made bookings and plans to attend.

There is no doubt that organisations have done that and have been told that what was to be a week had become a couple of days and has now turned into something like a long lunch on Hutt Street. The fact is that businesses, organisations and those involved in the food industry cannot, with any certainty, know what will happen with this event, either this year or next year. I simply make the point that if you are going to run and advertise an event, and if you are trying to attract people from around South Australia, more widely from around Australia and, more to the point, from overseas, why on earth do you not do your homework and get your advertising and planning right? And why on earth is the government still advertising it?

Not only is the event still being advertised in this magazine, Food, but it is still also on the calendar of events on the computer. If members pull up the website it is still there, and it is still advertised for 22-27 September this year. The article states:

Join us in Adelaide for introductory sessions about the many food and wine resources of South Australia, then visit one or more of South Australia's regions, digging deep into the wines...for food lovers and adventurers. Call us for costs and more information.

Well, the more information you get is: 'Whoopee boys and girls! Yep, it will be terrific, but it's not on. She's gone; out the door!' For June, the magazine states:

The inaugural World Food Exchange aims to showcase South Australia's ecologically sustainable world class agriculture and aquaculture practices to importers, journalists and food practitioners from around the world.

Well, great. Just terrific. Only, again, it ain't happening! It has had the pin pulled on it. I think it is a slap in the face, quite frankly. The website mentions the agricultural and aquacultural practices of food growers. It is a smack in the face to those people who produce world-class products for the marketplace in terms of domestic and international use. It is an absolute smack in the face to those people to have this thing fail like it has. I condemn the minister for what has taken place here. It is an absolute disgrace. You cannot run around and be full of froth and bubble on all these big events in Adelaide during March and then not do the homework on the major events you have got planned for the rest of the year.

It is just not on and it is not satisfactory. The minister has failed on this. The fact that the advertising campaign is still going on is a failure. It is erroneous, it is misleading and it does our profile in the world—

Mr Venning: Unprofessional.

Mr PENGILLY: Yes, 'unprofessional', the member for Schubert says. It makes us an unprofessional state in respect to that information.

Time expired.

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