WARREN RESERVOIR

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (15:44): I rise today on an issue that I have been passionate about and lobbying for for nearly 20 years: opening the Warren Reservoir (located just out of Williamstown) for recreational activities. This could include canoeing, sailing, rowing and land-based activities around the lake, including bushwalking and picnicking. I was very pleased that in recent weeks there has been some movement on this issue and that the Barossa could soon have its very own recreational lake. We could call it the Warren Reservoir, Lake Warren or even Lake Caica. I recently met with the now Minister for Water and the River Murray and was ecstatic at the response from the minister, who supports the Warren Reservoir being used as a recreational lake. This has been a long time coming, and I do appreciate the involvement of the previous minister, the Hon. Paul Caica, hence Lake Caica.

The Barossa Council and SA Water now will work together to develop a sound management plan for the recreational use of this lake. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been entered into. It sets out the arrangements for the working party. I am confident that the Barossa Council, which has been lobbying for the Warren Reservoir as well to be turned into a recreational lake, will work to ensure the desired outcome. I look forward to liaising with the council and SA Water to ensure it.

Also, recreational activities such as kayaking, sailing, canoeing and picnicking on the Warren Reservoir will boost tourism numbers to the Barossa region. We heard about that today from the minister during question time. The South Australian Tourism Commission is spending money on a new advertising campaign to entice increased visitor numbers to the Barossa. A recreational lake would be a fantastic addition to the offerings the region already has and diversify the experiences available to visitors.

The Warren will become another premium tourist attraction in the southern end of the Barossa. With the Whispering Wall just a short distance away, it will certainly attract a lot of people. I can just see it now: a hot summer's day and the reservoir is packed with families and tourists utilising this body of water to its full potential. It really is idyllic, with inlets and gullies, stone bridges, bush and birds. There is precedence for recreational lakes in other states, and the ability to open up South Australia's reservoirs for recreation has been examined in the past by a parliamentary committee.

In 1977 (and this is before I got here), a committee was established under the chairmanship of Mr J. Melville, later to be known as the Melville inquiry, which examined the issue of public access to and recreational use of public water supply reservoirs and reservoir reserves in South Australia. The committee provided 31 recommendations, including a recommendation to establish a standing committee to establish how government policy should be applied to allow access to individual reservoirs and reserves. Recommendation 15 outlined the activities that that inquiry deemed permissible on reservoirs, and I quote that recommendation:

Activities which should be permitted are (a) water based: fishing, rowing, canoeing and yachting; (b) land based: nature study, bushwalking, orienteering, picnicking and barbecuing.

The proposal to open up the reservoirs has been around for some time. Again, a report of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Recreational Use of Reservoir Reserves in 1980, recommends:

The Waterworks Act 1932-78 should be amended to make provision for the recreational use of reservoirs and reservoir reserves.

I sincerely hope that we see the Warren Reservoir opened up for recreational access in the not-too-distant future. It has been recommended before, but it was not followed through. Now is the time for some action and positive outcomes for the Barossa region.

I would again like to acknowledge the hard work and determination of the previous minister, the Hon. Paul Caica, and I thank him and the current minister for their support and for really having a can-do attitude. I only hope the bureaucrats at SA Water can show the same attitude. There is more to be done, and I assure the house I will follow this through and I will not let up until it is actually happening.

I also want to publicly thank the Minister for Tourism for taking my constituent Mr John Geber and me for lunch yesterday. Mr Geber owns a Barossa icon, the Château Tanunda, and revealed futuristic, expansive plans. He also owns the Barossa Wine Train, which really is at the end of the tracks. If we cannot get this train going from here, it will be lost, I can assure you, and you will not be hearing from me for much longer on that. I appreciate the minister's time, and we would appreciate some answers. You have to admire Mr Geber's enthusiasm; I have been pushing it hard because he and others have done it to me. He has shown confidence in the Barossa and I think it is high time he was rewarded.