Granite Island

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before the member for Finniss speaks, he knows what is going to happen, doesn't he? During your grievance you will be spoken over, because you paid no respect to the other members who spoke this afternoon, so I do not know if I will be able to help you.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (18:03): I am perfectly happy if they want to interject; it does not worry me in the slightest, quite frankly. After that load of diatribe from the member for Kaurna, I recall the days of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd absolutely chaotic government well. Thousands of people coming into Australia, blah blah blah—you will get yours, son; just wait, you will get yours.

I wanted to talk today about Granite Island opposite Victor Harbor. Granite Island has been an iconic visitor destination, along with Victor Harbor, for generations, and sadly at the moment things are in a bad way. About three million visitors a year go to the Fleurieu, about two million go down to Victor Harbor, and about 650,000 go or have gone to Granite Island during the year on visits by walking out there, or taking what is in fact the only horse tram in the world.

Over a series of years things have gone from bad to worse on Granite Island. This includes the huge reduction in penguin numbers. My view is that it is the New Zealand fur seals. There are other reasons as well, but that is being investigated. The penguin visitor centre is bereft of penguins, to say the least. DEWNR, in their infinite stupidity, do not want to allow a penguin breeding program to take place. If it were not for the volunteers who go out to Granite Island to try to keep the place neat and tidy and do some work, that would fall off the radar as well.

In addition, the kiosk out there, which has been the subject of a lease for a considerable number of years, is on the point of closing down or closed already I think. The lease has run out. The lessee was up for $70,000 a year in lease payments to DEWNR. My understanding is that the lessee has not paid that rent for two years so they are $140,000 out of pocket. The Victor Harbor council charges $12,000 in rates for the Granite Island kiosk and commercial enterprise out there which is not operating. I am not quite sure whether they have been paid or not. It is a matter of great concern to the community of Victor Harbor. It is a matter of great concern to me that Granite Island looks like something that is fresh out of a war zone in the Middle East. It is simply not good enough.

The Times newspaper in Victor Harbor has picked up on this issue and talked about it regularly and, indeed, last week they called for a champion for Granite Island. I think they are quite justified in calling for that. We have a minister in another place responsible for the environment department who does not seem to want to get his hands dirty on anything much lately. I intend to try to speak to the minister this week sometime about Granite Island. I have heard rumblings that tourism may come in and try to assist. I say great if that is going to happen, however, knowing the way the mandarins in the department of environment work, I would think they will do anything to try and keep the department of tourism out of it—so we have a complete mess down there.

The Victor Harbor council is greatly concerned. The community thought that the City of Victor Harbor council still ran the island. That is not correct. They actually do have, as I am led to believe, a Granite Island committee, a section 41 committee under council, which is a good thing. However, this really needs something to happen in a hurry and it needs to be worked on rapidly. I guess it is almost too late for this year.

I have private enterprise operators down there who would like to take out a coffee cart or something so people when they can get out to Granite Island—if they go on the horse tram or if they walk—can at least get a drink or a coffee or something similar to that. Now, that seems to be taking an inordinately long time as well. As I have said, I have operators who would willingly do that.

My view is that there is no way known that any commercial operator should be asked to pay $70,000 a year for a facility out there by way of rent. I do not know what the circumstances were. It was a very good facility at one stage. The toilets out there were a disgrace before Christmas. Fortunately, a couple of officers of DEWNR have been helpful and they have been painted and have been brought up to some semblance of decency to look at and whatnot but, as I said, if you want to encourage visitation people have to have good things. I have finished.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well, you finished yourself. I was going to listen, but—

Mr PENGILLY: And I never got an interjection.