Port MacDonnell Jetty

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (15:07): Thank you very much; you took me by surprise! My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure: what improvements to the Port MacDonnell jetty have been undertaken to assist recreational and commercial users of the site?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning, Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (15:07): Thank you, Mr Speaker, I'm sorry it took a while for the penny to drop then, and can I thank the member for Colton for his keen interest in these infrastructure projects—fishing as well as jetties.

Port MacDonnell—located in the southernmost part of our state, on the Limestone Coast—has a long and rich maritime history. The town is well known for its lobster fishing and I am told it has the largest lobster fishing fleet in Australia. The town has also recently seen a significant program of works undertaken to restore its historic jetty.

The government has been restoring various jetties around the state in recent time. The Semaphore jetty recently underwent a $1.9 million refurbishment in 2010, and this year $25,000 was spent to add stairs and provide jetty users beach access. The Largs Bay jetty was also upgraded in 2013 at a cost of half a million dollars for new steel piles, lighting, shelter and a new timber deck on the outer, narrower end of the jetty. In 2014, $1 million was spent to refurbish the state heritage-listed Grange jetty; the works also included steel piles and the replacement of structural timber beams, deck planks, handrails, new lighting and a shelter at the end of the jetty.

Over the past nine years, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, in partnership with the District Council of Grant, has undertaken a multistage project with support from the Port MacDonnell Professional Fishermen's Association, the Port MacDonnell Offshore Angling Club and the local community to improve port facilities at Port MacDonnell.

Mr KNOLL: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Can the member for Schubert assist the house?

Mr KNOLL: In your inbox as we speak is a Facebook post outlining the exact two sentences that the minister has just spoken—paragraph 3 of the post.

The SPEAKER: Can the minister take some advice from James Joyce and use some elegant variation?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I certainly hope so, Mr Speaker. Back in 2006 DPTI completed stage 1, which was a $1.5 million project to widen and deepen the navigation channel into the harbour. As a result of these works, the harbour now has an all-weather, 24/7 access channel to service the wharf and boat ramp.

Then subsequently, in stages 2 and 3, the service wharf was extended by 70 metres, and extra lanes were added to the adjacent boat ramp at a cost of $2.8 million. The wharf extension provided an efficient and safer method for loading and unloading and refuelling for the commercial fishing industry.

The Port MacDonnell jetty is currently used for both commercial and recreational activities. By lengthening the existing service wharf it ensured that the commercial fishing operations could be transferred from the jetty to the wharf. Stages 2 and 3 were completed in February 2015 and funded by the state government through the Boating Facilities Fund, the federal government's Regional Development Australia Fund and the District Council of Grant.

I am pleased to inform the house that the fourth and final stage of works have commenced, which will include restoration works and installation of new aids to navigation in the navigation channel. As part of these works six new port and starboard aids to navigation will be installed to mark the navigation channel—

Mr KNOLL: Point of order, Mr Speaker. This is dated on a DPTI press release of 29 May 2015, which will be in your inbox directly.

The SPEAKER: Can the minister assure me that he is not reciting a news release?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I am, indeed, reciting some information which has been prepared—whether it is a newsletter, Mr Speaker, I am not aware.

The SPEAKER: The minister has finished. And I thank the member for Schubert for his service to the house and he remains the scourge of lazy, lazy ministerial staff. The member for Stuart.