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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-07 Daily Xml
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Kangaroo Island Meat Processing

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister please update the house on the state government seeking feedback on artisan meat processing on Kangaroo Island?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:51): I certainly can and I think the member for Finniss. It is an important question and I know he has a very keen interest in the livestock industry, as did his forefathers on the Fleurieu Peninsula over many decades. During the election campaign, the Marshall Liberal government made a commitment that they would be reviewing the current procedures around meat processing on Kangaroo Island.

Sir, as you would understand, Kangaroo Island does have limitations when it comes to meat processing and, in particular, remaining competitive but also putting premium products onto the shelves, into the tourism industry, and also addressing the unique situation that Kangaroo Island has, particularly with addressing supply of meat and poultry products.

A key part of the process of investigating these options for artisan meat processing on Kangaroo Island was through a discussion paper that the state government has released. We have received submissions. We continue to call for the primary producers both on Kangaroo Island and within the tourism industry at how we could best support the artisan meat industry, particularly on Kangaroo Island.

It is also very important to note that with my recent trip to Kangaroo Island, it was brought to my attention that there are a number of premium livestock producers wanting to provide and promote premium red meat, poultry and the like. To service a growing tourism industry, a government has to consult with the people far and wide, those producers, so that we can bring forward a policy document or a policy paper so that we can address the need for that artisan product.

What I would say is that is progressing. We have received a number of submissions. It is also important to note that there are a number of dedicated farmers and livestock producers but that there is no dedicated processing facility on Kangaroo Island, so that is why we have put a paper out to gather information, to gather submissions, so that we can best address the situation. I look forward to hearing from the Kangaroo Island community through the process, and I'm sure there will be some outside-the-square ideas, but what we need to do is understand how as a government we can support Kangaroo Island, the livestock industry, and the artisan meat industry because hashtag #RegionsMatter.

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