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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-22 Daily Xml
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RUNDLE MALL SHOP TRADING HOURS

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (16:22): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. In light of the government's decision to extend trading hours in Rundle Mall last Sunday to accommodate tourists on two cruise ships, does the minister still stand by the government's position that Rundle Mall is not a tourist precinct?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Food Marketing) (16:22): What a fantastic weekend it was for tourism in Adelaide. There I was down at Outer Harbor on Sunday morning—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There a point of order. Member for Croydon.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: The question anticipates debate on a bill before the house.

The SPEAKER: I uphold that point of order. It is a bill before the house. Minister, although I have upheld that point of order, you can choose to answer but you need to be very careful in what you wish to say.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I would love to finish off where I was going. All the people who were there on Sunday were really excited. The Queen Mary 2 was there. What a magnificent vessel that is! It is 152,000 tonnes. That is very big—that is very, very big. There was another one, the Amadea, I believe, which was a bit smaller. But the important thing is that, if the really big one had not been there, the small one would have looked really big. So that was interesting as well.

What I was going to say is that I went there and had a look at the really, really big one of 152,000 tonnes. The other one I think was about 20,000 or 30,000 tonnes, or something, which is still big—it's very big.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: He's gone. Anyway, this is interesting, actually—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: So, all these people—there were more than 1,000 crew on the Queen Mary 2, plus 2,200 to 2,800—

Mr PENGILLY: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order.

Mr PENGILLY: The question directly related to the member for Adelaide and whether the City of Adelaide was now a tourism precinct.

The SPEAKER: I understand your point of order, member for Finniss, but I have already pointed out that there is a bill before the house and therefore it is not appropriate for the minister to answer that question.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker. The honourable member did raise an important matter, and I am desperately trying to avoid breaching any rule about moving onto a matter before the house. I am trying to circumnavigate that a bit. Anyway—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.R. RAU: —I was given the opportunity of going on board the Queen Mary 2, and it is a fantastic experience, 12 storeys of boat, vessel, ship.

The Hon. K.O. Foley: Ship.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Sorry, ship.

The Hon. K.O. Foley: A submarine's a boat.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The equivalent of 10 jumbo jets worth of tourists piled off those vessels.

The Hon. I.F. Evans: Tourists?

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Tourists, and they were delighted with the upgraded facilities at Outer Harbor, a great effort and partnership between Flinders Ports—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.R. RAU: —and the state government. They just loved the scenery of Adelaide, and they just could not wait to get out there. The great thing is—and a lot of people do not realise this—that they are coming back again next year. It is all going to happen again next year. They will be bringing their friends. They will be telling their friends and they are coming back. It was a great day for tourism, and I thank the honourable member for her question.

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