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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-10-27 Daily Xml
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COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMMERCE SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:51): I rise today to speak about the importance of supporting South Australian enterprises in international trade and the role of the Council for International Trade and Commerce of South Australia (CITCSA, as I will now call it for the purposes of the Hansard report).

CITCSA is the peak body for some 40 international chambers of commerce and business councils located in South Australia. May I remind the Labor government that it was Lynn Arnold, the former Labor premier, who started the idea of CITCSA. The idea was further developed and implemented in 1994 by the then Liberal premier Dean Brown. Since its inception, CITCSA has been supported by successive state governments.

Today, I would like to speak up for the many industry chambers and associations under the auspices of CITCSA. I have had a long association with CITCSA, dating back to the days when I was working for the Department of Industry and Trade, also as vice president of the Hong Kong Australia Business Association South Australia Chapter, and as president of the Asia Pacific Business Council for Women.

I have witnessed first hand how CITCSA has helped various ethnic chambers achieve outcomes that directly benefited this state. A brief report supplied by CITCSA, dated September 2010, stated that its members facilitated some $70 million worth of business for South Australia. CITCSA has become a nurturing hub for all its 40 member organisations and has a proven model that facilitates trade through the understanding of language, culture, prevailing business practices, local customs and knowledge of the political environment in their country of origin.

Member organisations under CITCSA comprise successful business entrepreneurs who are leaders of their community and possess credentials that command the respect of their respective countries of origin. Members such as the African Chamber, the Australian Asian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Indian Business Council, The Italian Chamber, the Romanian Chamber and the French Chamber, just to name a few, all hold the keys to opening doors to many South Australian trading partners. Over a period of 16 years, CITCSA has developed shared experience and knowledge to assist its members to stage outbound and inbound missions.

To take away the financial support of CITCSA in this budget cut, we are looking at an amount of $200,000 per annum. Although that may not be a great amount, this is a demonstration that the Rann Labor government is not serious about helping the small business sector develop export markets. It is a demonstration that this arrogant government does not value the many contributions that the multicultural chambers and councils make to this state.

How can the state government in its SA Strategic Plan on the one hand say that it aims to treble the value of South Australia's export income to $25 billion by 2014 but is now phasing out funding support for CITCSA after 30 June 2011? This government is really out of touch with small business in the export community and international trade.

CITCSA works strategically and independently with each chamber in their respective countries of origin in developing worldwide networks to facilitate market access for the export of South Australian goods and services. It will be a real shame to see it go, and a loss to the export community of South Australia, so I urge the government to review this position.

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