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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-25 Daily Xml
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Hong Kong Koalas

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the house on how koala diplomacy is helping to strengthen the relationship between South Australia and Hong Kong?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:25): I thank the honourable member for her question. I know she has been a visitor to Ocean Park in her previous role as minister for multicultural and ethnic affairs. It may sound flippant to talk about koala diplomacy, but the Chinese love their koalas and it is a lovely way of reaching out to peoples on the other side of the world and, in doing so, draw attention to South Australia and make some wonderful connections.

I had the great pleasure of launching the new Adventures in Australia exhibit at Ocean Park, Hong Kong, featuring three koalas, a couple of wallabies and some laughing kookaburras, as they are called in China.

Mr Pengilly: I can provide a few more koalas if you want them.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Yes; I said there were more where they came from. In fact, I did get a question from the Hong Kong press about the fact that they were being brutally slaughtered in other states and I said, 'Not here. We treat them with kid gloves and are not engaged in culling,' even though there are some who would urge us on that course.

On this visit, I was joined on the delegation by South Australians including, most importantly, His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le, whose brainchild this event was. Four years ago he dreamt up this idea. It has taken quite a long time to bring it to fruition, but I must say that not a day has been lost. There has been an enormous amount of work done over that four-year period in dealing with quarantine, in creating the habitat, in growing a plantation of gum trees somewhere in mainland China and then acclimatising these koalas to the experience.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, that's true. We did wonder whether we should have invited the member for Bragg but instead we invited the Hon. Jing Lee and the Hon. Tung Ngo from the other place, as well as representatives from the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Ocean Park is one of the world's premier theme parks. To give you some idea of its visitation, seven million people come through the parks—

Mr KNOLL: Point of order, Mr Speaker: this is all detailed in the Premier's press release from the 23 March, entitled 'Cleland koalas discover a new home in Hong Kong'.

The SPEAKER: Would the member for Schubert please email it through to me?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will be giving some insights that can only be given to you now. Being fresh off the plane from Hong Kong this morning, there are things that have not yet hit the press and I am happy to—

An honourable member: Even though they're waiting outside for the latest detail.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That's right. One of them is that it's a miracle I'm standing here at this moment. The other that I should let you in on is that Mr John Tsang, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong—effectively, the Treasurer of Hong Kong—has struck up a wonderful relationship with our Governor, which is obviously an incredibly mutually beneficial relationship for our state.

It is going to allow us to share opportunities for exchanging tourists, because they can just look but not touch the koalas in this sanctuary, but they will be able to cuddle the koalas if they come up to Cleland. That is a rare thing—to be able to go up to the top of the freeway, 20 minutes away from the city, and actually interact with animals in a way that can only be imagined in places like Hong Kong, a highly urbanised environment. This is a fantastic way in which we can reach out and make these relationships.

The other element of it that is very powerful is the fact that a young South Australian chef, Nigel Rich, a great young man—

Mr Knoll: '…Executive Chef from The Elbow Room…'?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That is one of his jobs, but what he has now done, more importantly, is to make sure that a number of fantastic South Australian wines are on the menu. I know that there are not too many theme parks that carry Grange Hermitage on their menu list.

An honourable member: By the glass?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I don't know whether it's by the glass: we were drinking it by the bottle. What it has done, though, is it has allowed people in Hong Kong to see what we have on offer. Essentially, what is being represented to people from mainland China—about 60 per cent of the people who come through Ocean Park are from mainland China—is the very best of Australia seen through the eyes of South Australia.

So when people think about Australia, they will be thinking about South Australia and they will have a fantastic brand of South Australia very much in their faces as they walk through this extraordinary exhibit. All credit to His Excellency and also the agencies who make this work.

The SPEAKER: I have considered the member for Schubert's point of order. The news release was issued by the Minister for Tourism, and I think the Premier's answer was sufficiently different not to offend the rule against readily available information.

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