Following a 2012 State Government-commissioned review, South Australia realigned its international engagement strategy to focus solely on China and India.

At the base of this “new model” for investment and trade representation was the Hartley Review of South Australian international offices, which recommended the closure of a number of the state’s trade shopfronts.

It was evident at the time that resources for South Australia’s international offices had been scaled back – so much so that some offices were not staffed. Taxpayers were essentially paying rent for offices that were not being fully utilised.

So when the Hartley Review recommended rationalising those offices, it seemed like an easy solution for the State Government.

One office remained open in Shanghai, as the State Government turned its concentration to the two countries for which the state had developed individual engagement strategies: India and China.

As South Australia pours a majority of its trade efforts into increasing exports to those countries, the state’s trade relationships with other countries has been in cruise-control or – in the case of trade partners such as New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and the Middle East – allowed to fall into a state of steady decline.

During this time, local exporters have essentially been left exposed to the volatility of the Chinese economy, and that was no more evident than in the $829 million slump in SA merchandise exports to China in the 12 months to September 2015.

The reliance on, and volatility of, such a singular large market has prompted businesses to look to other overseas destinations, but without the on-ground support other states have established.

Without an on-ground presence building the state’s profile, it is easy to see why we are also losing valuable market share of national exports. South Australia’s exports failed to reach half of the State Government’s target of $25 billion by 2013, and we are still well behind the newly established $18 billion target by 2017.

The Minister for Trade has recently implemented Liberal Party policy with the introduction of targeted international trade strategies proposed in relatively neglected areas such as the North Atlantic, North Asia and the Middle East.

Now, South Australia is being forced to play catch-up. In fact, the State Government is currently playing catch-up with its own targets on establishing these strategies, with its international engagement Economic Priority promising to complete new trade and investment strategies to encompass the North Atlantic and North Asia by 2015 and the Middle East and North Africa by 2016.

With the state only just establishing a South-East Asia international engagement strategy, one must wonder why it has taken SA so long to have an established, targeted plan for such an important region.

Behind China, ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) – Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia – is South Australia’s second-largest trade region.

Following the Hartley Review, the South Australian Government closed trade offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chennai, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Dubai and Santiago, most of those in the ASEAN region. The closure of the offices saved the state more than $2 million, with promises of investing this money into embedding staff into Austrade offices.

However, to date, South Australia has just three staff members in Austrade offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Shanghai.

In August this year, the Minister for Trade visited Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to discuss embedding staff into the network of Austrade offices, but I have not been advised of any further action on this promise to date.

South Australia spent less than $850,000 on overseas offices and officers embedded in Austrade in 2013-14 (including continued costs to close overseas offices), well below the $2.8 million once spent on international representation. The state’s overseas presence is a ghost of its former self.

As South Australia has downsized its international office presence, other states have increased theirs; Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria, in particular, have added several trade offices.

In June 2013, the Victorian Government took a delegation of businesses on a super trade mission to South-East Asia, including to the growth markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and this followed a previous trip with 600 business representatives to this part of Asia in 2013. South Australia recently undertook a similar exercise to China, several years behind Victoria.

For South Australia to succeed in global markets and create new opportunities with our trading partners, the state needs to expand its presence in international markets.

We may never know the ramifications of closing trade offices overseas and therefore giving the appearance to potential investors that South Australia was reducing its presence and global footprint.

A Marshall Liberal Government is committed to providing better targeted support for our state’s emerging exporters and ensuring South Australian businesses have the necessary permanent on-ground support our state is sorely missing.

Tim Whetstone is the Shadow Minister for Investment and Trade.