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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-24 Daily Xml
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COMMUNICASIA

Ms FOX (Bright) (14:38): Will the Minister for Industry and Trade inform the house about the recent Asian information and communication technologies exhibition, CommunicAsia, in which South Australian companies had the opportunity to showcase their technology to a diverse cross-section of the global IT market?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Gambling) (14:38): I thank the honourable member for this important question. Some of South Australia's brightest information and communication technology companies had the privilege of showcasing their wares at CommunicAsia.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Sorry?

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Nothing? Okay. CommunicAsia was held in Singapore last week from 15 to 18 June.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: No? What a shame. More than 60,000—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Oh, the strategist; there he is. More than 60,000 business visitors—half from international markets—attended a three-day exhibition, which is considered the premier export event for the Australian ICT industry. The exhibition, which is now in its 21st year, is the ideal launching pad for expanding a company's presence in Asian markets. It brings buyers and sellers together, focusing on the commercial implications of cutting-edge technologies.

It is expected that there will be product launches and announcements from the South Australian exhibitors, who have plans to export their technology to a wide variety of sectors, including defence, mining, telecommunications, health, business, education and entertainment.

Six South Australian companies exhibited at CommunicAsia including Australian Satellite Communications, VersaDev and the Institute for Telecommunications Research, UniSA's research development group. There was also representation from a variety of local businesses involved in e-learning technology, projection technology, satellite and high-frequency radio communications, telecommunications solutions and patient management software.

In addition to the exhibition stand, a networking dinner was held to showcase South Australian companies to prospective international clients and to build potential business relationships. I am pleased to advise the house that KPMG in its 2010 Competitive Alternatives Survey rated Adelaide as the second most competitive city in the world for software development and the most cost-competitive in Australia for web and multimedia development—and the cities surveyed, in case anyone criticises, were Adelaide, of course, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

As the Minister for Industry and Trade I am very proud of this recognition. It is events such as CommunicAsia that put us on the world stage, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved in coordinating the South Australian exhibitors, particularly the Department for Trade and Economic Development's Singapore representative office and Innovate SA.

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