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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-18 Daily Xml
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BAROSSA VALLEY

Debate resumed.

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (11:42): I rise to speak to this motion and also seek to amend it. I move:

After (a)—

Delete 'condemns' and insert 'congratulates'

Delete 'failing to support' and insert 'its support to'

After (b)—

Delete 'urges' and insert 'acknowledges the work'

After 'state government' delete 'to improve the accessibility of the Barossa Valley by increasing transport services to, from and within the region' and insert 'has done to increase assistance to the Barossa Valley region making it an attractive place to visit and access for tourists'

Mr VENNING: Sir, point of order. I believe that it is against standing orders to move an amendment that is in direct opposition to the original motion, and I think that is.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Hon. M.J. Wright): The member for Schubert is right: if it is a direct negative it should not be an amendment. However, I do not think it is in this case, so I think the amendment is in order.

Mr PICCOLO: The first point I would like to make is that if the member was serious about working together with the government to highlight and showcase the Barossa he would not have this motion. He would have a motion that would say that this house calls on all the stakeholders to work together for the benefit of the Barossa region. It does not say that. This motion (and it is not the first motion we have heard of this kind) is basically a negative motion and achieves very little. The motion has two parts. One is the tourism aspect, about which I will speak first, and the second part is about the transport services. Again, the member for Schubert was very clever with his words and only really told half the story, particularly when he talked about the bus services. When you hear the full story, you understand why the motion cannot be supported in the way he has moved it.

I would just like to state that the state government acknowledges the importance of the Barossa Valley as a premium food and wine destination. In fact, the bill we have just passed through this place regarding the Barossa protection zone is testament to that. We are doing a whole range of things in the tourism area. For example, the South Australian Tourism Commission, on behalf of the state government, is focused on implementing destination action plans (which the member referred to) to ensure that the resources that we put into tourism are effective and give the best results not only for the people who are actually involved in tourism but also all people in the Barossa region.

For example, the key recommendations of the Barossa destination action plan include the need to upgrade various accommodation facilities from three to four star, and the need to develop experiences in the region in the next two years relating to the themes of family friendly, natural environment, cycle tourism, food, wine, culture and wildlife experiences. In relation to the cycle tourism, which has been mentioned, we do actually have some cycle tracks being built at the moment, courtesy of the federal Labor government, so to suggest that the Labor government does not care about the region is just a nonsense. We are putting a lot of money into a whole range of projects in the region.

Additionally, we are developing an overall Barossa events strategy, targeting 30 additional tourism events to be included online in the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse by June 2015. People will go to a region when they have a reason. We are mindful of that and that is why the state government is supporting that. We are also targeting 20 operators to become TXA online connected by December 2012. We encourage operators to attend trade events, leverage South Australia's China strategy and increase our market from China. As the member also mentioned, we should maximise the cruise ship opportunity, signage and entry statements, and explore options for increased transport services.

Annual funding is provided by the South Australian Tourism Commission for the development of appropriate tourism experiences and product that align with regional DAPs. This funding is provided through the Tourism Development Fund and also the New Product Support Program. One of the DAPs was just announced recently for the Barossa, as an indication of the commitment of this government to improving tourism in the Barossa.

As an example of the sort of support this government has provided to the region, in recent years the South Australian Tourism Commission, on behalf of the state government, has provided funding towards the following projects in the Barossa region: Hentley Farm, the Kingsford Homestead (which has just recently opened; we provided funding to assist with that; I think we actually provided quite a bit of money for that), the Barossa Backpackers, the Jacob's Creek Visitor Centre, the Maggie Beer Farm Shop, interpretive trail nature walk, the Barossa visitor centre redevelopment, the TeAro Estate winery upgrade, and the Chateau Tanunda grand entrance.

All these projects have been funded and supported in part by the state government, so to suggest that the state government does not acknowledge or understand the importance of tourism in the Barossa is incorrect. The Barossa Valley has been and will continue to be featured in marketing activity to highlight South Australia as the premium food and wine destination in Australia. This promotion will include significant advertising and publicity support. Barossa products and experiences will feature in phase two of the South Australian Tourism Commission intrastate campaign, Best Backyard.

The Barossa has recently reinvented its brand and the South Australian Tourism Commission will support the representation of this region to the domestic market, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, with a focus on food and flavours, in conjunction with the already established wine associations. This will give the South Australian brand another dimension, leveraging existing brand equity and giving South Australia an opportunity to own food and wine as a brand attribute. The Barossa will play an important part in that overall state strategy, again highlighting the importance this government places on the Barossa as a tourism destination.

There is a whole range of conflicts in Mr Venning's comments around increasing transport services to the area. Firstly, he says the service was very profitable, it was always a privately run business. Why did it cease? If they are profitable, generally private operators still continue to operate. He also said that it would be profitable today. If it was profitable today, remembering that this government has committed to provide in-kind support to get the wine train back on track with a whole range of support services, it would have happened. The fact that the private operator, a business, is not prepared to do it indicates that perhaps the numbers are not there as suggested.

If there is a market opportunity, if there is a business opportunity, business people take it. The business people in the Barossa are smart operators. If there was an opportunity to take it, they would be taking it. The fact that it does not add up is something which is sad, but that is the reality and we cannot expect the taxpayer to pick up every tab.

The state government is committed to ensuring that regional communities have access to public transport services and, as such, commits millions of dollars each year in concession reimbursements. Concession reimbursements are not free: they actually cost money that taxpayers pay through the state government to private operators who operate the services on behalf of the state government. So, to suggest that we do not put money into regional services is incorrect.

A whole range of different services is provided and different models operate. In my own town of Gawler, there is a different model to that in the Barossa and other country towns, depending on the populations. We need to ensure that monies are spent wisely.

Regular passenger services in regional areas provide a range of different services, including intraregional, intratown (provincial city services) and flexible, demand-responsive services as well as specific services to assist people to access medical facilities and to enable children to access schools. There is a whole range of services which the state government subsidises. If the member for Schubert believes we do not subsidise, then perhaps we should just remove the subsidy and see how many services you would have, if you want the reality. The reality is a lot of those services are provided because the state government does subsidise them.

Current services in the Barossa region include services between Angaston and Gawler, with connections to Adelaide via the Gawler train line—as mentioned by the member for Schubert—intertown services within the regional towns, school services and the dial-a-ride service. To take advantage of the Adelaide Metro train line from Gawler and also the introduction of free travel for seniors between 9.01am and 3pm Monday to Friday, and all day on weekends and public holidays, LinkSA, which is a contracted service, recently restructured its services to the Barossa region.

This is the point that the member for Schubert did not make. He is correct in saying that there is not a one-stop service to Adelaide anymore, what he did not say though was that this restructure has resulted in an increase from two services to the CBD and two services into Gawler to now operating nine return services between the Gawler Railway Station and Angaston on weekdays. So, the services have changed, but there are more services to actually provide more links. It is certainly true that you have to get from a bus to train but, rather than having just the two services to the city, people now have a greater opportunity to travel during the daytime to the city by both bus and train.

Time expired.

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (11:52): I will just make a brief contribution, without getting into world war III between the two sides in here. I think the Barossa Valley is a fantastic area, but I want to make the general point that, in South Australia, we have fantastic tourist opportunities for people to go and view things and do things, to buy local produce and so on, throughout the whole state. What I would like to see—and I see the Tourism Commission is doing some of this at the moment, but I think we need to do more—is get the people of Adelaide and the people from the rest of Australia to realise what is on offer in our regions.

I love country towns. There is a rumour that I am a bit of a shopper but, if you go to a place like the Barossa, you can actually get real things like corn brisket. If you go to Linke's or to Male's Meat at Mannum you can get corn brisket. You can get real things, apart from the fantastic wines, it does not matter which part of South Australia you go to. There are a lot of people in Adelaide, in particular, and on the east coast of Australia who do not realise that those hidden treasures exist: places with antique shops, cafes and local produce.

I know people are travelling because the Aussie dollar is high and it is relatively cheap to go overseas, but people can see things that are equally good, if not better, right here in South Australia. I would like to see a lot more effort put into encouraging Australians, not only South Australians, to get out into the regions and experience life in those areas—as I said, the food, wine and the experiences of cycling. There are cycleways, and I notice the provision of the new cycleway in the Barossa. People need to get out and visit some of these areas. The Flinders Ranges is an unbelievably attractive area, as is the Coorong.

I think too many people in Australia are still city based. They fly overseas to some wonderland and at the same time they are flying over their own wonderland, which is here. My message is that I am not into the business of condemning or congratulating the government regarding tourism in the Barossa, but I think the Tourism Commission, with the private sector, really needs to encourage people to have a look at what is on their doorstep, rather than flying to other parts of the world to look at something that is often second-rate when compared with what we already have here.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

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