MARINE PARKS

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (15:32): I wish to talk today about marine parks, and I note the release by minister Caica on 26 August of the draft management plans and, indeed, the commencement of the public consultation (or review period) where information sessions are being held around the state giving people the opportunity to comment on those draft management plans and the implications that the outer boundaries, the sanctuary zones, the habitat protection zones, and the principle of marine parks will have on their regional community.

I think it is important to update the house on a public meeting that I attended at Port Wakefield about three weeks ago on a Sunday, before the release of the draft management plan. The residents of that area who were impacted by Marine Park 14 in particular attended in force. The footy club at Port Wakefield was full with about 230 people there. I recognise the fact that Chris Thomas, the director of the project, and David Pearce, who is the local liaison person within the department that minister Caica is in charge of, were in attendance and answered questions posed to them from the floor.

However, there is a lot of anxiety existing in that community. They are very concerned about what impact the size of the sanctuary zone declaration is going to have not just upon professional fishers but the rec fishers also. There are about 25 professional fishers or so who fish from those waters who are going to be impacted by this, and they employ collectively (if you look at the indirect jobs that are created from it) over 150 or so people, and the revenue and expenditure in the area amount to about $5 million or $6 million.

The 230 people there that day had an opportunity to consider a proposal developed by the local action group which is made up of recs and pros and business operators in that area, with alternative boundaries for a sanctuary zone. It still encapsulates the key principles that the minister wants to see created whereby the uniqueness of the upper gulf marine environment is protected but it reduced in size the boundary of that sanctuary zone. One would hope it allows development to still occur, fishers to have confidence in the future of the industry and the community to believe that they are going to have a future.

Chris Thomas, who was at that meeting, indicated that that level of support is going to make a difference when it comes to the eventual position announced by the minister after this public consultation period is completed on 22 October, but it enforces the need for the community—not just at marine park 14 but also the communities that either use or live close by the other 18 marine parks in South Australia—to get involved in the process. This eight-week consultation period is such a key time for them. No matter what level of impact and views they have put in the past, it is important that they look at this latest draft management plan and identify the impact they think it will have on the local community. That is where I have a great level of frustration with the economic impact statements associated with this draft management plan, because they do not talk about what the real impact will be on the communities that support those sanctuary zones.

From Yorke Peninsula's perspective, while modifications have been made and the minister has listened to some degree on action group submissions that have come in, I know there is still a lot of fear and uncertainty from people who think they cannot go fishing in their local patch anymore. That will impact upon the level of business activity in the area, real estate transactions that are occurring and the confidence of the people in the community. We have to ensure we get this process right. There are many people out there who are talking about this; I know the blog sites are full of it. There has been talk of rallies.

As I understand it, the professional industry has been—I use the word advisedly—satisfied in many ways, which frustrates a lot of the recreational fishers, who are very upset by this. I note that the Recreational Fishing Advisory Council, which is the peer body of the recreational group has come out in support. I can tell you—and there are probably 300,000 fishers in South Australia—that the peer body might have come out in support of it, but I know of hundreds and hundreds of recreational fishers who are not happy. They are unhappy with the position taken by this peer body and they want to see some level of common sense exist in it, because if it does not they are very fearful of what is going to happen.

Marine parks have been talked about for 10 years. There is support on both sides of the political spectrum for the principle of marine parks but, unless this process is right and unless it works with the community, it is going to be a complete failure; it will not have the support of the people and you will find that people will just go out and do whatever they choose, and that is going to create anarchy just about. I encourage the minister to listen intently to all the submissions that come in and to act as best as he possibly can.