Natural Resources Committee: Annual Report 2013-14

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (11:13): I move:

That the 99^th report of the committee, entitled Annual Report 2013-14, be noted.

The year 2013-14 has been yet another busy one for the Natural Resources Committee. The state election in March 2012 saw the dissolution of the previous membership and appointment of new members to the committee. I am pleased to report some continuity in membership with three members from the 52^nd parliament's Natural Resources Committee remaining—Hon. Robert Brokenshire MLC, Hon. John Dawkins MLC and me.

We have also been joined for the 53^rd parliament by the members for Kaurna, Napier and Flinders. The member for Flinders replaced the member for Stuart when he resigned in June this year to fill a vacancy on the Economic and Finance Committee. We also had another person who left our committee (the member for Little Para) to join the Economic and Finance Committee. We were very sad to see both of them go from our committee, but I am very pleased to say that the committee is still in good shape and working really well. The Hon. Gerry Kandelaars has also returned to the committee after an absence of 17 months, so we are very pleased to have him back with us. It is a bit like the Blues Brothers: the band gets back together again every now and again, so who knows what might happen.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon: Do you play good music? That's the question.

The Hon. S.W. KEY: I can't answer that. I thank the previous members of the committee who have variously retired or moved on to new challenges. These include: Mrs Robyn Geraghty, the former member for Torrens; Mr Don Pegler, the former member for Mount Gambier; the member for Frome, who has gone to higher duties; the member for Little Para, as I mentioned; and the member for Stuart. In addition, another member who has gone to higher duties is the Hon. Russell Wortley MLC.

Mr Pengilly: What happened to John Gazzola?

The Hon. S.W. KEY: He was not on our committee, member for Finniss, so I cannot speak on his behalf.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Finniss is going to be well behaved today, aren't you, member for Finniss?

Mr Pengilly: Absolutely.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: We have a gallery watching our behaviour this morning.

The Hon. S.W. KEY: Their collective service to the committee has been invaluable and we will miss them. The committee staff have remained unchanged during the reporting period. Over the reporting period, the committee undertook 12 formal meetings totalling 30 hours and took evidence from 11 witnesses. Fourteen reports were drafted and tabled: the annual report for 2012-13, seven reports into natural resources management levy proposals for 2014-15, the final Eyre Peninsula water supply inquiry report, the 2013 annual report on the Upper South East Dryland Salinity and Flood Management Act, two reports on bushfire preparedness and prevention, a report on the committee's Whyalla region fact-finding visit, and a report detailing the committee's visit to the northern part of the Alinytjara Wilurara NRM Board region.

A fact-finding tour was undertaken in 2013 to Whyalla and the region. The committee intended also to visit the southern part of the Alinytjara Wilurara NRM region and, in particular, the Aboriginal communities of Yalata and Maralinga. However, due to time constraints, unsuitable weather and a whole lot of other issues, the tour had to be postponed. Sadly, the tour has been postponed until next year for this committee. Hopefully we will get there. A lot of it is certainly beyond the committee's control because it is to do with the communities being able to receive us.

I acknowledge the valuable contribution of the committee members during 2013-14 and I thank all members, both old and new—from the old band and the current band—for the cooperative manner in which they have worked together, and I have no reason to doubt that there will not be a continuation of this spirit of cooperation for the conclusion of this year and into the next. Finally, I would like to thank the members of the parliamentary staff for their assistance: Patrick Dupont, our executive officer, and David Trebilcock, our research officer. I commend this report to the house.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Gardner.