House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Lincoln Cove Marina Lincoln Cove Marina Mr GEE House of Assembly Napier Lincoln Cove Marina Mr GEE (Napier) (14:47): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Can the minister provide the house with details on what the state government is doing with the marine facilities at Port Lincoln? The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly Lee Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Minister for Housing and Urban Development Lincoln Cove Marina The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:48): I thank the member for Napier for his question. As all members are aware, particularly the member for Flinders, Port Lincoln is an important community in South Australia. It has a proud history for its fishing industry and it is also an export and grain handling facility for grain grown on Eyre Peninsula. It also has a thriving tourism industry, including the set-off point for cage diving with great white sharks, swimming with sea lions or bluefin tuna, or tasting some of the finest and freshest seafood in the world. In recent years, there has been a significant growth in daytime seaborne tours operating out of the Lincoln Cove Marina. As these organisations grow, so does the need for marine infrastructure required to support these organisations also to grow. Many members would be familiar with the Lincoln Cove Marina and the pontoon area adjacent to the Marina Hotel. Tour operators have expressed an interest in the redevelopment of this pontoon area to accommodate their growing needs, in particular to accommodate larger vessels. As some members may be aware, we have had an issue in recent times with the inability of this pontoon to accommodate larger vessels. Certainly, the member for Flinders has raised this issue with me, as has the Minister for Tourism. The Tacoma Preservation Society also sees this pontoon area adjacent to the hotel as an ideal location to moor its— Ms Cook interjecting: The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: So soon? Ms Cook House of Assembly Ms Cook: Sorry, it was accidental. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: I call the member for Fisher to order! The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: I might finally make it to four minutes now, Mr Speaker. The Tacoma Preservation Society also sees this pontoon area adjacent to the hotel as an ideal location to moor its historic vessel, the Tacoma, a purpose-built tuna fishing vessel of about 26 metres in length and, I am advised, weighing around 150 tonnes. In responding to these competing interests, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure will be undertaking a public request for proposal process to license and develop the seabed land adjoining the Marina Hotel. I am pleased to advise that, once this public request for a proposal process has been completed, the successful proponent will be offered a licence of sufficient duration to be able to invest in improved facilities, and in particular, preferably, develop facilities that will be able to accommodate these larger vessels. Of course, we need to allow the opportunity for such a proponent to be able to amortise these costs over a lease period. I advise that at this point in time we are looking at a lease period of a maximum of 20 years at an independently assessed annual licence fee. I would like to remind the house of the significant importance that these industries and organisations have, not only for Port Lincoln but also for South Australia, and the vital role that the state government can play by assisting with the continued growth of these sectors through this initiative. It is an exciting time for the Port Lincoln community, and my department will continue to work closely with the City of Port Lincoln and the member for Flinders to ensure that the right proponent is chosen to undertake the proposed redevelopment which will see an increased amount of activity in the Lincoln Cove Marina and surrounding areas.