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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-01 Daily Xml
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OVERSEAS TRADE OFFICES

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood) (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade. Why did the minister tell the house on 29 February 2012, in regard to overseas trade offices, that 'the establishment of overseas offices focuses on major economic growth in emerging markets such as China, India, South America and South-East Asia', given that the minister only eight weeks later is now closing offices in three out of those four markets?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (15:14): I do not think the member for Norwood has actually read the government's report that it commissioned. We are not withdrawing from our overseas representation; we are simply changing the model.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Well, we are. We want to leverage off the government's investment. The smart thing to do is that, while you have a federal government investing in very large overseas representation through Austrade, it is much smarter to have offices embedded in Austrade than have your stand-alone offices. I know, Madam Speaker—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Weeks ago when the member for Norwood asked the question we were undertaking a review. The important thing about the review is that we are taking a considered approach to our overseas representation. What we are doing is making sure that we get it right. The government can sit back and do very little and still have double digit exports to overseas markets. Indeed, we are leading the nation in our export growth—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: That is not actually accurate, and the advice that I have is that South Australia, according to the ABS, is leading the nation in export growth. The member for Norwood wants to talk down the hard work of our farmers, the hard work of our miners and the hard work of our manufacturers. Quite frankly, with the Australian dollar at an all-time high, to have our exports doing so well is exceptional, and the only people who think that this is bad news are members opposite. What they try to do is to say, 'No, we don't want the 12-month rolling average. We want the rolling average that makes our figures look best.'

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order: This is debate.

The SPEAKER: Yes. I refer the minister back to the substance of the question.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The minister is responding to the constant interjections of the member for Norwood—perhaps he could just be quiet.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, Minister for Transport. Minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Madam Speaker, the ABS showed that South Australian exports hit $11.75 billion in the 12 months to February 2012. This is a growth rate of 18 per cent, the highest in the nation. That is —

Mr MARSHALL: Point order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Point of order. The member for Norwood.

Mr MARSHALL: My question specifically related to the overseas trade offices and nothing do with the export performance.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Norwood. The minister can choose to answer the question as he wishes.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: However, we do not want to rest on our laurels. We want to ensure that our export sectors are robust, not just mining and agriculture, and that is why we commissioned a review of our trade offices by Mr Roger Hartley. The Hartley review found that our SA overseas offices in their current form are not performing as well as we had hoped. Despite South Australia leading the nation in export growth, we want our overseas offices to be better at facilitating inward investment into South Australia, and that means changing the way we do business internationally.

Now, we cannot just simply have one approach which is basically a very 1980s/1990s bricks and mortar approach where we build an office, we rent an office space, we have offices in very large cities and hope that trade and investment comes. China is urbanising at such a rate that there are over 160 cities in China with a population larger than one million people. The member for Norwood would have us based in one city hoping to reach those markets. What we should be doing is adapting, moving, being agile, being able to get into certain markets so that they fit our manufacturers, they fit our agriculture sector and they fit our mining sector, not just to facilitate trade but for inward investment. The only people who think that our export figures are not doing well are members opposite.

The government has laid out a new policy direction for India and for China. We have put out a demand study and a green paper on manufacturing, and now we are reviewing our trade offices. We are leading the nation in our export growth. Our economy is doing exceptionally well. Our employment rate has a five in front of it, which those opposite cannot stand. We are making sure that we get the settings right for the next 20 years.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Reynell.

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