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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-11-11 Daily Xml
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Shadow Country Cabinet

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:34): Today, I would like to bring to the attention of the house a visit by the shadow cabinet to the Barossa region last week. There were a number of elements to the shadow cabinet meeting, including a business breakfast and a number of presentations by local government and business organisations. Also, there was a community forum and visits by shadow ministers to various sites throughout the region.

What I would like to concentrate on in this grieve is the presentations because I think they provide a good overview of the issues confronting the Barossa Valley at the moment. The first presentation was undertaken by Bim Lange, the Mayor of the Barossa Council. He highlighted key issues, such as water security and freight movement, and gave an overview of what they call the Big Project, which has a 35-year horizon and which is based on a long-term, prioritised and costed plan for investment in the council region. It includes things like accommodation, culture and culinary precincts, sports, tourism and major events facilities, as well as a cycling trail, the Adelaide Wine Capital Cycling Trail. This council obviously has a bold vision for its region.

That was followed by the Light Regional Council, with Mayor Bill O'Brien and Brian Carr, the CEO. This council highlighted the issue of water security and what is required in terms of investment to make water a secure resource for the long-term economic development of the Barossa Valley. The mayor also talked about plans and the potential for The Drovers Way, which is a proposed tourism trail from Seppeltsfield to Anlaby Station.

That presentation was followed by the Town of Gawler mayor, Karen Redman, who unveiled master plans for a $155 million sporting precinct in Gawler. The precinct would connect the Gawler Oval, Princes Park, Essex Park and the Gawler Showgrounds site to form what would be a new high-quality attraction for sportspeople and tourists in the region, amongst other things.

Jon Durdin, the Chair of Tourism Barossa, was the first from the business organisations to make a presentation to the shadow cabinet. Jon emphasised the importance of business operators contributing to the overall improvement of the tourism industry. Tourism operators provide firsthand referrals to visitors about the experiences the Barossa offers. His other key messages were that there are gaps within the industry, particularly in terms of funding support. He also acknowledged that we must ensure we build and capitalise on the Barossa brand and do more in that space to grow visitation to the region.

James March, the CEO of the Barossa Grape and Wine Association, talked about some of the top issues for the Barossa's peak wine industry body, which included reliance on exports to China. They are concerned about how the new China policy may impact on local growers and wine exporters. He raised the issue of water security. He talked about how we need to ensure recovery of domestic tourism, which will help the Barossa, as well as destination marketing and also protecting the Barossa brand, which is very important—in the same way that most famous wine regions throughout the world have protected their brand by making sure they are clean and green, which is one thing this government is not capable of doing.

The shadow cabinet also met at the Barossa Cellar, the home of the Barossa Grape and Wine Association. It is run by the Barons of the Barossa to showcase local world-class wines, as well as generate a lot of visitor traffic and provide an opportunity to educate global wine enthusiasts about the Barossa brand. Anne Moroney, the Chief Executive, and the Deputy Chair, Rolf Binder, of Regional Development Australia: Barossa Gawler Light Adelaide Plains, listed a number of key projects they believe will unlock investment in the Barossa area. Again, they mentioned water security as the number one issue in that regard.

Nicole Hodgson, a co-chair of Seppeltsfield Road Business Alliance, said their priorities as an alliance of businesses along Seppeltsfield Road are marketing the destination as a premium wine and tourism precinct combined with food, wine and accommodation experiences and events; creating a 15-kilometre off-road walking and bike trail linking Tanunda to Greenock; and water was again mentioned as a priority for the Barossa's Eden Valley area.

Jessica Greatwich from the Krondorf Road Cellars Alliance gave a presentation and talked about looking forward to delivering a cultural and historical walking tour that would pick up on the culture and history of the region. When I have further time on another occasion, I will complete my report to this parliament.

Time expired.

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