House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-12-01 Daily Xml

Contents

Election Commitments

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Trade and Investment. Has the delivery of the government's election commitments garnered any positive international attention?

The SPEAKER: That is a very broad question.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION (Taylor—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Planning) (14:58): Thanks to the member for Elizabeth for his question. Of course, he would have witnessed the great damage done by the previous government in June 2019 when they abolished funding for Brand SA.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated. I anticipate that the point of order will be 98.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Yes, sir, standing order 98. The minister may be new, he may be arrogant, but he's got to obey the standing orders.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Morialta, you, too, must refrain from personal reflections. The minister has the call. I remind the minister that he must respond to the substance of the question.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: I was just trying to give a bit of context to the fact that this government is bringing back Brand SA. Of course, Brand SA was backed by 8,000 registered businesses. They all wanted to participate in Brand SA. Of course, the previous government, led by Banquo's ghost up the back there, abolished the funding for that. Why was Brand SA backed by South Australian business? Because it involved pride in SA, investment in SA, jobs in SA, consumer support for business in SA. Why would any government known to man back out of such a thing? Why would you defund such a fine institution? Of course, that's why we made an election commitment to bring Brand SA back.

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morphett!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: That's why we have invested $6 million—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —in our first budget to bring back Brand SA.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morphett!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: That's why the department has recently—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett is called to order and warned.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —appointed Jessica Douglas. It's good to see I've charged him up. He hasn't made a noise up until now.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: That's why the department has recently appointed Jessica Douglas as manager for Brand SA. Ms Douglas' first task will be to rebuild this very fine institution. Her previous role was with the University of Adelaide and involved leading the Make History campaign. I am really confident that Ms Douglas and the department actually have the experience and skills to rebuild what is a very fine institution.

We have recently seen the Brand SA logo make international headlines when it was on the back of the 36ers' shorts as they made history by beating an NBA team, a historic victory, beating the Suns in Phoenix, Arizona. That's a really, really important initiative by Brand SA. It was a really important moment for South Australia.

We are working with the department to bring back a Brand SA advisory board. I look forward in the future to being able to announce the members of that board. That new board will be about liaising with industry, bringing additional expertise to Brand SA to elevate our state's produce and encourage South Australians, along with everybody else across the globe, to back our products, to choose SA, to back Brand SA and to promote exports. We have also established Invest SA—another election commitment fulfilled.

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett knows better.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: We never hear from the member opposite—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —but I've got his attention now. The department has recently appointed Mr Chris Wood—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated. Member for Morphett, your contributions are contrary to the standing orders; however, it being the last sitting day, I am not going to exercise 137A. The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: It's the first time ever that an opposition has criticised a government for meeting its commitments, for meeting its election commitments, and in our first year. Like all my colleagues—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —this is a government that—

Mr Telfer interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Flinders!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —does what it says: bringing back the race, bringing back confidence—

Mr Patterson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett knows better.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —bringing back economic growth, bringing back Brand SA—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —bringing back Invest SA. That's what we are all about: promoting the state.

The SPEAKER: The member for Flinders is warned. He well knows the standing orders. He certainly does after yesterday. The leader has the call.