Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, rise to talk on a very important local event in my electorate which happened last weekend. I am sure most in this House would be aware of the Kangaroo Island Cup—the cup that stops the island—which was run on Saturday at the end of the three-day-long Kangaroo Island Racing Club meeting. It is a fantastic meeting. It truly does stop the island.

Some of you will not be aware of Kangaroo Island. I know the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services, Mr Shorten, who is sitting on the front bench, has not been to the island. I wish he had been.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The parliamentary secretary will resume his seat. This is the adjournment debate and the member for Mayo has the call.

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your protection. The parliamentary secretary is of course welcome to visit the island at any time; I would happily escort him around. It is one of the best kept secrets in our country. It is seven times the size of Singapore, but it is only 15 kilometres off the mainland of South Australia. Of course, that stretch of water has many a good snapper in it. If you are ever looking for a good snapper-fishing trip, I would urge you to visit that part of our country.

Kangaroo Island is visited by 160,000 people every year. It has a population of 4½ thousand, so it relies solely on tourism. That figure includes around 40,000 international visitors. More international visitors go to Kangaroo Island than to any other tourism location in South Australia, and it is a very important part of our tourism economy. We think that there is more potential for Kangaroo Island, particularly in this situation of global financial crisis and a lower Australian dollar. We want more Australians and more South Australians to visit Kangaroo Island. It is such a well-kept secret and we want to make sure that people know about how good it actually is.

The KI Cup, which has been run for 125 years, was won this year by Bravely, in one of the closest finishes in the cup’s history.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Never heard of it!

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is not likely to win a Melbourne Cup, I can probably suggest, the member for Canning, but it had a great run over the 1,900-metre course and it beat out—

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Randall interjecting

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Canning asks if I backed it. I did actually back it. It was the only punt I had on the day, and it got home most handsomely. What I can say is that Shauna Black, the editor of the Kangaroo Island newspaper, the KI Islander, also backed Bravely. She had it on the front page last week, so we were on a unity ticket there, which was good. It was a wonderful day, and the sponsors did a fantastic job. One was Coopers Brewery, a famous South Australian company which employs many good South Australians and of course produces a very fine beer, Pale Ale, which is one of the best beers going around. Another was SeaLink, which provides the ferry service.

This leads me to my more serious point this evening. That is to call on the federal government to treat the 15-kilometre—that is all it is—stretch of water between Kangaroo Island and South Australia as a national highway. That would mean freight concessions going forward, and that would make the island more competitive. One of the great challenges the island has is getting enough funding to keep its roads and its services up to scratch. With only 4½ thousand residents, the local government has much difficulty keeping the island’s infrastructure up to standard so that the tourism industry can develop.

What I will do in support of the island’s mayor, Jane Bates, who, with her council, does a fantastic job, is ask the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government to consider this submission and to look at it in great detail. I am sure that the Minister for Tourism will be in support of my call here because it will add to the economy of South Australia, it will add to the economy of our country and it will mean more people in jobs. Of course, we on this side of the House are all for jobs, so I would ask the ministers to look at this. It is a small issue in comparison to a lot of the issues we deal with in this place but it is very important for the residents of Kangaroo Island.

In summary, I again congratulate the KI Racing Club. Roger Williams, who is the chairman, did a wonderful job on the weekend. There was a record crowd, Member for Canning, which was welcomed in this time where global economic circumstances have everyone feeling a bit down. It was a great event and I was pleased to be part of it.