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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-04-02 Daily Xml
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Trade Relations

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:24): I move:

That this house—

(a) recognises the need to re-engage with strong, reliable trading partners and diversify into new markets;

(b) condemns the Malinauskas Labor government for neglecting our core trading partners and risking South Australian trade on unstable trade relationships;

(c) criticises the Labor government's failure to provide adequate support and education for SA's exporting sectors facing significant headwinds;

(d) endorses the opportunity for a bipartisan trade approach to display both political and cultural stability to our trading partners;

(e) emphasises the importance of inbound and outbound trade missions to build trust between South Australia and the rest of the world; and

(f) implores the Labor government to facilitate direct flights to and from India to further promote our trading relations to grow the export economy.

The state of South Australia's trade could potentially be described as being at a crossroad. We have seen a number of opportunities, particularly in our commodity sector, that have faced significant challenges. I guess the most recent challenge has been the sanctions put on a number of our large commodity sectors into China.

As a former shadow trade minister, I was given quite a bit of pressure and experienced quite a bit of head knocking by the then Labor government for expressing the concern that we were throwing caution to the wind by putting all of our export opportunity into a trading basket that was specifically targeted at China. As a former trader, as a former primary producer, it rang alarm bells for me, and I expressed those concerns. I am not going to say, 'I told you so,' but those concerns rolled out very steadily. It demonstrated how vulnerable we are as a trading partner when it comes to putting the majority of our trade into one particular basket, which was China.

South Australian exporters have seen a significant downturn with that event. It is great to see that governments have come to the table and negotiated with China to have a lot of those sanctions reversed, but the damage has already been done. Have we taken the opportunity to learn from that sanction? I would say that we have somewhat. I have seen the current federal Labor government and this current Labor state government continue to run straight back into the arms of China, which has real concerns for me. Yes, they are our largest trading partner and, yes, they offer significant opportunity, but diversity is the key. Our trading partners must be a diverse group of countries and we must spread the risk, even if it comes at a small cost economically.

Some of those trading partners are emerging still. I will talk a little about India later, but I want to touch on the immediate challenges that South Australia is currently facing. Obviously, our cereal grain sector is one of the largest and most important commodities that we export and so is wine. A lot of those products are put into containers. Some of it is put into hulls of ships, particularly grain and mineral exports.

As of yesterday, exports have increased. The landside charges for shipping containers has just risen by 54 per cent. That is a 54 per cent increase in charges that the consumer will benefit from in a trading country. We cannot pass on that 54 per cent increase in container costs. It is an absolute outrage that the shipping lines can do that under a government's nose without the government pushing back and saying that this must not happen.

The other headwinds that we have all seen—and we have had questions, we have had debate, we have had farmers come to our doors with concerns—are particularly with the drought, which has flowed on to crop reduction, and we have also dealt with oversupply and with restrictions. The list goes on. The primary producers in this state are resilient. I do not like to use the word resilient all the time, but we are price takers, and what we are seeing, with the headwinds we are currently facing, is that that risk must be lessened. We must put more of an effort into more trading partners so that we can spread that risk and not have a reliance on one or two significant markets.

New exporters are struggling to break into some of these new markets, but what I must say is that the export-ready programs that were implemented back in 2018—and I am very, very proud that the shadow policy trade documents I wrote were about acknowledging and supporting new entrants into export—were about acknowledging that the former Labor government had closed our trade offices—all of them bar one, in China, in Jinan. We reopened those trade offices, and they are the shining light on the horizon for our commodity sector, for our exporters,

We know that many of the larger exporters here in South Australia, in Australia, have their own arrangements—they have their own networks, they have their own employees doing all that legwork, all those negotiations—but we are there to cater for those smaller exporters, the SMEs, that one day might become large exporters. Today they are small fry, but the opportunities are there that they will become larger ones, just like the large ones of today. They were once small exporters too, but they have gone in and put their faith in their product, they have put their faith in negotiations and they have built their businesses, many of them over a long period of time.

It is very, very important that we acknowledge the work they have done. It is a decade-long initiative, particularly for building reputation, building trust. It is about going to other shores, other countries, and introducing ourselves, making sure that they know who we are. Then we have to build those trusting relationships. What I will say is that under the former Rann-Weatherill government those trade relations were damaged significantly: closing trade offices and turning your back on the opportunities for trading relations really did damage our reputation, and that is something that we as a state, we as a country, have to rebuild.

We are facing challenges as we speak. Tomorrow there will be some announcements by the United States on the sanctions and tariffs they will put on some of our highly prized commodities—red meat will be one, wine will be another one, and the service sector will be another challenge. However, we are also dealing with biosecurity measures, we are dealing with the impact of a very strict biosecurity regime that we hold dear to our heart, that we are very, very proud of, so that we do not export disease and do not import disease. That is something that keeps our reputation clean and green, with that market advantage.

We need to continue to work on making sure that we are a strong trading economy and that we deal with—and better deal with—the headwinds, as I have said. I have talked about China, and I will talk a little bit about India, because I think India, in particular, is a huge opportunity for South Australia. As a trading state we have, for far too long, put reliance on agricultural commodities into China but China has said, black and white, that they do not respect the opportunity South Australia gave them. But those relations are starting to grow and they are understanding, meeting and respecting South Australian businesses that are now travelling to India and making those offerings.

Yes, we are stronger in areas that we never thought possible: space, defence, cyber. Education is a great industry that we have Indian students coming to our shores for. It is a $3 billion economy. It is a massive opportunity that I see only enabling the offerings of our universities, of our educational institutions, that will see much, much more opportunity coming, particularly with the amalgamation of our universities so that we can get better ranking and so that we can give a much stronger offering to those Indian students.

I must say that India is no different to any other exporting nation. They are, at the moment, dealing with climate change and they are dealing with the government reprioritising land. They are now not using their most significantly productive land for farming; they are now changing it. They have an urban sprawl. They have a very, very fast-growing population and that is seeing a lot of that prime farming country being repurposed.

That is opening up opportunity for protein, and South Australia is very good at growing that protein product—lentils, beans, peas and the list goes on. The opportunity there is something that we must explore. We must spend more time enabling India to better understand what our offerings are, and that we are a safe and responsible citizen on the economic export platform.

I will just talk briefly about the imminent headwind that will be announced tomorrow. The US tariffs will affect South Australia significantly. We know that red meat is a $4.2 billion industry going into the US. Where we are seeing that significant growth is that we had a 285 per cent increase in red meat exports into the US in the last 12 months. That is significant.

What has happened is that the US herd has shrunk. It is at its smallest point since the 1950s. Whether that is reprioritising land or whether that is the drought or whether there is just a downturn in what we are seeing in the US economy, what it means is that we have geared up again into an economy that has become very reliant on red meat, particularly coming out of South Australia.

It must be said that we have to actually understand what diversity we need. Will we pick up other markets? Yes, we can. Will we pick up markets worth $4.2 billion? Time will tell. I am saying to every South Australian that they can run commentary on the US President, they can run commentary on what tariffs will potentially mean, but we do not know what it will mean economically until they are announced, and they have not been announced as yet.

Another opportunity that I think should be considered is the ASEAN region. South-East Asia has huge opportunity and there are a number of countries in that ASEAN region that are starting to have more reliance on South Australian products—green, clean, reliable exporting food products that I think will give significant opportunity for our South Australian primary producers, our exporters, and businesses that are putting everything on the line to help grow South Australia's economy.

Again, the inbound and outbound trade missions must go on. As I said, I used to very proudly bring my trading partners to my home, eating dinner at my table, showing them my farm, showing them the river, showing them the blue sky and showing them where the environment was that I was growing the food that I wanted to export to them. It is a huge opportunity. Sadly, both state and federal Labor governments have defunded a lot of opportunity: agtech, plant protein and the huge opportunity that is now being put on the back burner.

Direct flights are something that I think must be considered. Dedicated trade offices are also—I will continue my remarks at another time.

Time expired.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (12:39): I move the following amendments:

Amend paragraph (b) to remove 'condemns' and replace with 'congratulates', remove 'neglecting' and replace with 're-engaging', remove 'risking' and replace with 're-establishing', remove 'unstable' and replace with 'stable';

Amend paragraph (c) to remove 'criticises' and replace with 'recognises', remove 'failure' and replace with 'programs'; and

Amend paragraph (f) to read as follows: 'Recognises the direct advocacy of Premier Peter Malinauskas and trade and investment minister Joe Szakacs to attract direct flights to and from India to further promote our trading relations and grow the export economy, during their recent missions to India.'

I might make a small contribution to the debate around this motion. As you can appreciate, I do not necessarily agree with the analysis provided by the member for Chaffey. In speaking to the motion, I will be brief and will relate the comments that I make to my region and the area in which I have some interest: in both the Barossa and the Clare Valley, where I have been the duty member. These are just some of the examples that I can speak on because I have actually been involved in some of these activities.

For example, in terms of supporting new companies, TradeStart has provided 90 specific trade services to 32 South Australian companies in the region through Barossa-based regional adviser, Mr Anthony Grundel. The TradeStart adviser also has networks with RDA Barossa, Light and Adelaide Plains, and the Northern Adelaide Plains Food Cluster and works with the Barossa Council City of Grapevine Texas Sister City Working Group, AusIndustry, the Office for Small and Family Business, Barossa Australia, and the Clare Valley Wine and Grape Association.

I was fortunate on 2 December last year to be provided with a briefing of the trade support services and programs available to people who wish to export, particularly in the area of wine and associated industries. I also facilitated in-person meetings to Barossa wineries with the Department of State Development directors from the USA and India.

I supported Maggie Beer products as one of nine South Australian brands at the Specialty Fine Foods Fair in the United Kingdom in September 2024. Also, I assisted 11 wineries from the Barossa and Clare Valley regions which will be featured at the Wine Australia Roadshow in North America in May 2025. These wineries will receive in-market support from the Department of State Development USA team, who will also attend the event.

I have also worked with Barossa Australia and the Clare Valley wine region, supporting hosting of events during the South Australian Wine Ambassadors Club and China wine inbound immersion programs held in May and December 2024. In one of those inbound delegations I was fortunate enough to meet the inbound Chinese delegation, the distributors in China who were coming to South Australia to purchase wines for sale in China.

Viterra Australia has a significant up-country grain-handling facility at Roseworthy, in my region. The Department of State Development's trade office has supported numerous inbound delegations to visit the facility over the last 12 months, including groups from India and the Middle East.

As you can see, despite what has been said the government has been busy to make sure we diversify the number of trading partners we have but, having said that, also not forgetting that China is an important trading partner. If there is anybody you should criticise in this whole debate about wrecking our trade relationships, it would have to be the Morrison Liberal government, which absolutely went out of its way to offend as many trading partners as possible to the extent that it impacted on our wine industry and our primary production industry.

That the member for Chaffey neglected to mention any of this in his contribution to this debate indicates that paragraph (d) of his motion, 'endorses the opportunity for a bipartisan trade approach', actually has no meaning. It really has no meaning. You cannot say, on the one hand, 'Let's do this in a bipartisan way,' and criticise the state and federal governments, and then, on the other hand, neglect to say that the biggest risk to our trade over the last 10 years has been the Morrison Liberal government and their behaviour towards our trading partners.

That is not just my view. You go out there to the wine regions, and the wine growers and winemakers will tell you that. If you go to the Clare Valley, I can tell you who they blame for the poor trade relationships we have overseas. It is not this state government or our federal Labor government, it is the Morrison Liberal government. It is interesting to note that the state Liberal government has been very quiet about that sort of behaviour.

I mentioned the South Australian wine ambassadors as part of state development. The government of South Australia has established the South Australian Wine Ambassadors Club as part of the Wine Export Diversification Program to create an international network of advocates who share our passion for South Australian wine and who advocate on our behalf right across the world. There are at this point in time 35 wineries in the Clare Valley and the Barossa Valley regions which are part of this program and which actually lend support to this program and have their wines promoted across the world.

We have, for example, Adelina Wines from the Clare Valley, Arila Gardens from the Barossa, Cirillo Estate Wines from the Barossa, Claymore Wines from the Clare Valley, First Drop Wines from the Barossa, Kilikanoon from the Clare Valley, Massena Vineyards from the Barossa, Matriarch and Rogue from the Clare Valley, Michael Hall Wines from the Barossa, Paulett Wines from the Clare Valley, and there are a whole range of other wineries which are part of this program and which we support across the globe.

Contrary to what has been said, this government has been very busy promoting our wine and our primary production products right across the globe. I understand that we need to actually expand our markets, but also not neglect any of the markets we have already established, and make sure we do not cause the chaos that the Morrison government did in our situation. With those comments, I seek the support of my amendment.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (12:47): I rise to support the member for Chaffey's original motion dealing, as it did, in a mature and constructive way, with the needs of South Australian export businesses and our exporters generally, and indeed I oppose the amendments proposed by the member for Light. This is an extraordinary amendment, following a tradition of amendments brought to this house by the Labor Party that seek to self-satisfy the Labor caucus through aggrandisement of the Premier, for whom all of the Labor members of parliament who seek to bring these amendments seem very, very keen to please, very, very keen to one-up each other as they congratulate the Premier more and more than the last one on his grandeur, his greatness and the alleged achievements of his government, while ignoring the practical reality confronting South Australians, of whichever industry or sector they may represent in the way that the motions are brought to the house from week to week.

In this case, the member for Chaffey has brought to the house a motion dealing with the important matters to do with trade. The fact is that South Australian exporters are struggling. Whether we are talking about new traders or established traders, the costs that they are facing are increasing. This involves not only those increasing costs, which have been well dealt in relation to just this week, but also landslide charges for shipping containers, rising 54 per cent since 2022, and the headwinds, including drought, crop production, oversupply, trade restrictions and the cost of doing business in this state, in this nation, under Labor governments. The list goes on.

These issues are very important to me personally. I grew up in a small business household where our entire family's income was supported by my parents' business, a business which manufactured water treatment equipment for both the domestic and international market. Dad worked really hard to ensure that we contributed to South Australia's export industries. Mum's support for that business made it a life-consuming project for them both. Through the overseas missions that they participated in, in particular to India and South East Asia, they made a contribution.

Exporters are always going to be subject to the business conditions prevailing in the local market as well, and the costs of doing business in a state are dramatic. Those costs of doing business in South Australia are a real concern. Also important is the nature of how we support our export businesses in South Australia now.

I bring to the attention of the house the Export Ready program, which was introduced by the Marshall Liberal team as a strategy to help South Australian businesses overcome export challenges—a program this Labor government has not supported. It is evident now, in the absence of support for that program, that we do again need a comprehensive strategy to educate businesses and help them break into new markets, whether through workshops, training, personalised mentoring or establishing an export knowledge centre. We need better networking collaboration within the trade space.

These are serious and positive measures that the member for Chaffey, as our shadow minister for trade, has brought to this parliament. We have the amendment proposed by the Labor Party that all the reasonable criticism, all the commendable suggestions, from the member for Chaffey should be set to one side and replaced with a self-congratulatory series of nonsense brought in in its place. When you speak to these people they say, 'We would like to tell you how good we are,' and that is just not good enough for the people of South Australia. They deserve better. So we oppose those amendments.

I note particularly the proposed removal, by the member for Light's amendment, of the member for Chaffey's paragraph (f), imploring the Labor government 'to facilitate direct flights to and from India to further promote our trading relations to grow the export economy', to be replaced with the member for Light's suggestion, an alternative form of words, again commending the Malinauskas Labor government, their minister and the Premier for being so good, when the results actually are not on the board.

Bring forward all the motions you like to this chamber in your own names when you have achieved something—instead of amending the member for Chaffey's motion by replacing this call for a direct measure that will be appreciated not only by export businesses, although they certainly will appreciate it, but also by Indian residents in my electorate who would love more direct flights to their original home country to engage with friends and family—and then we will have something to listen to.

I take the opportunity to commend my former staff member Gurtej Sohal on his marriage this month. I am sorry that I cannot make it to India to help participate in that celebration. Maybe a direct flight would have helped if the Malinauskas Labor government had actually achieved that sort of thing. Instead, all we have in its place is the commendation to themselves for thinking about it or for talking about it. They have not done it—that is my point. To the Sohal family, to Gurtej and his new wife to be, congratulations. I encourage all members to oppose the amendment and support instead the member for Chaffey's original motion.

Mrs PEARCE (King) (12:53): It is no secret that a range of international factors have made the trading environment more complex for exporters over recent years. We acknowledge this and have been proactive in the actions that we have taken to support our exporters through these times, and I am pleased to share that the steps we have taken have hit their mark. We have managed to buck the trend and grow our exports to record levels and I know the impact that it is having on a local level, because there are open doors for constituents in my electorate, like those for Melanie of Litharian Wines.

Melanie is a passionate, proactive and incredible woman. She understands the opportunities that await the bold and driven and has come leaps and bounds in showcasing her products to the world. Through the support that has been provided by this government, Melanie has been able to showcase her wines to Asia and beyond. Most recently, Melanie was able to go to Tokyo as part of the Tasting SA exhibit at Foodex 2025, showcasing just how much South Australia has to provide.

I caught up with Melanie this Monday just gone at the community cabinet that was held in my local community. She shared with me that she has been able to enter into a trade deal that she has been seeking out and now has her eyes set on Japan. I am so happy that her hard work is paying off and that we have played a role in helping her to get a leg up.

In fact, we have helped many to get a leg up. The final full-year data for 2024 has revealed that South Australian merchandise exports topped $17 billion for the second year running, marking a more than 50 per cent increase on pre-COVID levels. Our local South Australian businesses have proven to be resilient and innovative. They are taking opportunities to engage and diversify into alternative markets, to spread their risk and find new buyers for high-quality products.

They have a state government that is standing with them in a myriad of ways, including strategically placing trade offices throughout the world to support them to connect with the global market. I thank the Minister for Trade and Investment for the work he is undertaking to support our local exporters, and the more than 100,000 local workers that they employ, while navigating the current trade climate.

The strong results we are seeing have coincided with the steps taken to remove Chinese tariffs on Australian wine and federal government engagement to stabilise the trading relationship. I thank the federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the work they have undertaken in this space.

Of course, this year I am confident that we will see even further growth and development as a result of the lifting of trade restrictions with China on our world-renowned South Australian southern rock lobster industry. In January alone, $33.5 million worth of lobster was exported to China, and I again thank the minister and the Albanese government for their efforts in this space. I am confident that our government's Seafood Export Growth Program helped play a fundamental role in this success.

We believe that there is tremendous opportunity for innovative, growing South Australian companies that want to take the plunge and explore international trade, and we are absolutely determined to back them and help expand their footprint across the globe. Just look at our Global Expansion Program that has supported companies such as Foil Drive to get a leg up.

The Global Expansion Program is designed to empower businesses with the tools, resources and guidance needed to navigate the complexities of global trade, and across four years helped participating exporters achieve $50 million in exports. I have very exciting news: applications for the current round of the program are currently open, and any interested bodies have until 5pm on Friday 11 April to get their applications in.

We understand that to grow South Australia's trade and investment opportunities it is important that we grow our engagement with countries all over the world. Simply look at the doors that have opened thanks to our links with Malaysia, one of our state's largest exporters and one of the fastest growing regions in the world, with increasing global economic influence. The sustained direct flights we have with Malaysia Airlines have unlocked over 75 tonnes of direct air freight capacity from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur every week, fuelling our exports.

We are putting that understanding into action with the new relationships that we are currently developing. Both the Premier and the Minister for Trade and Investment have recently travelled to India to engage Indian airlines at the highest level. They have pushed our state's case as a destination for flights and connectivity, because we know global engagement like this yields benefits. Air freight is an important driver of economic activity for our state, and some of our most highly valued exports travel by air, from high-end medical equipment and instruments to sheep and beef meat to perfumes.

I am grateful to both the Premier and the minister for the work they are doing to ensure that we fully capitalise on every opportunity presented by the world's fastest growing major economy. Whether it is through programs such as the ones I mentioned earlier or other initiatives, such as the delegations and business missions which the minister has been highly engaged in, we have made it clear that we are here to back South Australians and their products.

We talk about the impact trade and investment have on a macro level, which is important, but just as importantly the decisions we make and the supports that we provide have a real impact at a local level as well. Just look at Melanie's case that I explained earlier and the difference that it has made for her. For these reasons, I support the motion in amended form.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:59): I just want to make some comments on the member for Light's contribution. It really does alarm me that a longstanding member might get up and read out things that have been written for him. I refer to:

(b) condemns the Malinauskas Labor government for neglecting our core trading partners and risking South Australian trade on unstable trade relationships;

We had the Premier of China here and we saw our Premier there, having photos taken with him. Nowhere did we see the trade minister. He was not invited. Why was that? Why was that? That demonstrates that we have a Premier who is very popular and we have a trade minister who was on the nose that day. It really does alarm me that it is more popularity over politics.

I will just touch on paragraph (d). What I must say is that travelling with the former minister to India was a great outcome.

Debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:00.

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