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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

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (11:30): I move:

That this house—

(a) condemns the state government for failing to support tourism in the Barossa Valley region; and

(b) urges the state government to improve the accessibility of the Barossa Valley by increasing transport services to, from and within the region.

I thank the house for allowing me to make this speech, particularly as I have the members of the Probus group in my electorate in the gallery. I did not expect to be able to do this, but thank you very much for doing that. The South Australian Tourism Commission announced in early August that the Barossa would be the focus of a major tourism campaign in an attempt to increase intrastate and interstate visitor numbers. After being neglected for so long, this was welcome news.

However, the number of South Australians visiting the Barossa has been allowed to drop by 44 per cent in the last decade before anything has been done. I have been trying to bring this matter before the house, but until now, there has been no action. This is absolute proof that the Labor government has taken the iconic wine region for granted for too many years. But, do not take my word for it; the South Australian Tourism Commission Marketing Director, David O'Loughlin, said in The Advertiser on 3 August:

It is time to focus some energy on the Barossa. It is one of our great icons. In a way, we have probably left the region to wither on the vine.

We have heard that before, but it appears that it is just lip service. If a 44 per cent drop in interstate tourism was not bad enough, it was also revealed in The Advertiser of 3 August 2012, on pages 1 and 6, that 'the number of interstate people who say they are considering the region has dropped by 45 per cent'. It took intrastate tourism and those considering interstate travel to the Barossa to both drop by nearly 50 per cent before something was done. This is yet another example of Labor's complete disregard for rural and regional South Australia. It really has all but totally ignored our tourist icon.

It is interesting that the announcement for a new tourism campaign in the Barossa comes in a period of non-stop cuts, relocations, restructures and sackings. The former CEO of the South Australian Tourism Commission, Mr Ian Darbyshire, was stood down in March this year in favour of a restructure, and was replaced by a part-time CEO. The Tourism Commission's visitor centre was moved from the highly visible location in King William Street to an out-of-the-way basement in Grenfell Street, and then they moved in with Services SA; certainly a backward move.

Regions (including the Barossa) have also been stripped of their hardworking and knowledgeable local tourism managers in favour of a more centralised structure. Yes, we do have a regional tourism manager, who I know works very hard, but this is a reduction. State government funding for visitor information centres has also reduced, with local councils having to pick up the slack.

These cuts have only served to make it more difficult for all tourism areas, including the Barossa Valley. Stripping local knowledge, slashing full-time staff with experience, downgrading our primary visitor centres in Adelaide, and cutting funds to regional visitor information centres; is it any wonder that tourism is failing to thrive? I do welcome the announcement that, at long last, the Barossa will actually get some attention from the Labor government to support tourism in our region, but where have they been for the last decade?

If the state government were serious about boosting visitor numbers to the Barossa Valley they would be increasing the transport services available to get visitors to and from the region. For people who travel to a particular region there needs to be easy and convenient transport options available. We have all been tourists ourselves and we know that, when you get to a destination, it has to be easy, it has to be convenient. You are not going to get on the phone and try to work out how to get there. People will always take the easiest, obvious and convenient option. I am afraid that has not been the Barossa.

From 1 July this year, the commercial operator who provides a bus service through the Barossa and to Gawler discontinued their direct service from the Barossa to the Adelaide Central Bus Station. This affects a lot of people—the visitors this morning would all know what that does—not being able to get a direct bus to the city, having to catch the bus to Gawler and then get on the train. It is certainly better than nothing, but it is nowhere near as good as the service we used to have.

This operator is not underwritten by the state government and, aside from some small concession rebates for concession cardholders, is provided with no government subsidy. The cessation of this direct bus service between Adelaide and Gawler has now left the region with no direct public transport service between Adelaide and the Barossa. Any potential visitors to the region who do not wish to commute by car or take part in an organised tour must catch the train to Gawler using a Metroticket and then transfer onto a bus for the Barossa onto a separate ticket.

I would also note that with our overseas visitors, particularly Americans, we are very conscious of the accidents we have been having of people driving cars who are not used to driving on the same side of the road as we do. So we do discourage that. We do discourage overseas visitors from driving here, but in many cases there is no option; they do have to drive because that is the only way.

I have raised this lack of transport to and from within the Barossa ad nauseam in this house and with the minister, but despite my continued lobbying the Labor government has failed to act. Yes, for years I have been lobbying for the return of the passenger rail service, but to no avail, but some improvement to the existing services would be better than nothing. What about providing some funding to subsidise the current commercial operator to lower fares or have a bus service that runs on the Metroticket system so commuters do not get hit with another fare when transferring from the train? I have raised these suggestions also to no avail.

Certainly, the Barossa Wine Train, as we know, is still owned by a Barossa identity and it could be running again in a week or two if it was allowed. I cannot believe that that train was viable before it stopped running when we were getting five or six cruise ships a year. Now we have 21 cruise ships, you would think it would have to be doubly viable. There would be nothing better, when a cruise ship docks, to have the Barossa Wine Train waiting by the wharf. That would be hugely popular; I am sure it would be booked out every trip. But ,no, there is too much in the way and Mr John Geber who owns this train is unable to operate. I have appreciated in recent days, though, some discussion with some ministers. I do appreciate that; let's hope we can have some success.

The Barossa Destination Action Plan 2012-2014, launched in November 2011, lists increased transport services as a priority for the region. The report, a joint project to the Tourism Ministers' Council, South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism Barossa, examines gaps in the tourism offerings in the Barossa region. When releasing the report on 25 November, Senator Nick Sherry commented on what needed to occur to ensure future tourism growth in the region, and I quote:

While the region has lost market share over the past decade, a new audit of the Barossa forecasts potential growth of 30 per cent in tourism spending by 2030. That's if we realise investment opportunities.

As I said before, one of the areas of priority for the Barossa as detailed in the report is transport, and transport and tourism are linked. All the tourism campaigns in the world do little good unless potential visitors can get to the Barossa easily and conveniently and return safely after spending the day in Australia's finest wine region.

We can do much more to market the many wonderful features of the Barossa, and I have named only a couple of those. The bike track from Angaston to Nuriootpa is fabulous. Coming from the Barossa Range, the Angaston end, the panoramic view is fantastic. Riding through the vineyards has a touch of Europe. A new bike track is to be extended all the way to Gawler, and it is now being constructed. I think that is going to be a huge drawcard for the Barossa.

I do not know how many members have been to the Steingarten vineyard: it is right on the very top of the Barossa. It has history, and the view is absolutely splendiferous—fabulous. Many new and upgraded cellar door facilities are happening in the Barossa. It is all there. Yesterday we saw the passing in this house of legislation to protect the Barossa. It is all about protecting the Barossa and I am pleased it is through. It has a strong intent to maintain the uniqueness that is the Barossa Valley. It is for those who live there and also for those who visit, and we have to move on and make sure that it is all available.

As you travel around—and I do—the Barossa has huge name recognition, more so than Adelaide, in many cases, as you are touring around France and these places. We do need to do more of it, because it is sad to realise. One day in here I mentioned the figure that it had dropped 44 per cent, and the house could not believe it, but it has. We do really need to pick that up.

We have rail lines that link the Barossa. All the towns are linked by a rail line—except for Angaston now, because that is where they put the bike track. If nothing else happens, at least a small rail car would be a great idea to commute to and from the towns, because they have only got the Stone train to worry about and that is only one per day.

I hope that the house will consider this motion. I have said it before, and I am very honoured to make this speech in front of a large group of Probus people from the Barossa Valley: it is an honour to represent them and this region. Last night, we had a wonderful function in the Barossa in relation to the BIL water scheme celebrating a birthday and farewelling the first chairman, Dr David Klingberg, and we have a new chairman.

It is all good. I think we have to look on the positive side. I hope that the house will support this and that, with all goodwill and diligence, we can return the Barossa to being a premium place not only in Australian but also world tourism. I urge the house to support the motion.

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