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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-28 Daily Xml
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Rock Lobster Industry

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:51): My question is to the Minister for Trade. Could the minister please explain to the house the benefits and the strength of the lobster industry in South Australia, particularly the southern rock lobster industry, since its recovery and openness to the China market?

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:52): I thank the member for his question, and in particular for his passion for the southern rock lobster zones. I obviously heard the member for Flinders interject and note the success of all lobster zones across South Australia, and there has been extraordinary success for our lobster fishers and our exporters.

But the great news is that this is good news for local regional communities. Going back a couple of years, to those sorts of dark old days when politics prevailed over trade and economic policy from the federal government, what we saw was a decimation of the prosperity and wellbeing of regional communities, particularly in the member for MacKillop's area, in Robe, where lobsters in his zone play such an important role in the economic prosperity and wellbeing of his community. As I said before, it's not just in the southern reaches but in our waters all the way across the West Coast, in Ceduna and further.

Rock lobster, and particularly how sought after it is around the world, is part of what South Australia is best known for—our premium, high-quality, sustainable seafood, whether it be shellfish, whether it be tuna from Eyre Peninsula and the Port Lincoln region, or whether it be wine and primary products. This is what is in our DNA.

The good news, and in direct response to the member's question around the rebound, is the success of southern rock lobster. It is fantastic news. In fact, it's news that has been record setting and record breaking for our state. In the last 12 months, since we as a state government have worked so hard in collaboration with the federal government to not just return rock lobster into China but to diversify rock lobster right across the world, we have seen the doubling of our record lobster exports. This is fantastic news. These are great, decent local jobs in our regions.

We have backed this in as a state government through direct financial investment in that diversification piece. We are really pleased to see the return of lobster into China; in fact, China is and remains our largest trading partner, and we as a government see the future of our economic collaboration—the trade, the exports into China—as being really important to our state's economic frame. We want to see more trade with China. The federal government wants to see more trade with China.

But when it comes to our lobster industry and our seafood industry, we are seeing great gains made through the diversification efforts that not only the industry is undertaking but that diversification piece of which our government is investing in. Just a couple of weeks ago, as I was announcing this good news with the head of the South Australian seafood industry, Kyri Toumazos, at his family's export facility, they were boxing up fresh live lobsters to head off to Singapore.

That is a great example of not just the efforts that we are making with our region in Singapore but also the efforts that have been delivered by our government, the great work of Minister Bettison and her department, as well as the support of the Department of State Development to get more direct flights. Not just today has South Australia seen the great news with Air New Zealand, but these extra flights going to New Zealand were carrying the member for MacKillop's prized lobsters into Singapore.

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