National Park Rangers

Ms LUETHEN (King) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Can the minister—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left and my right will be departing shortly, unfortunately.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The leader will not be provoked by the Minister for Primary Industries. Member for King, could you please repeat the question.

Ms LUETHEN: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Can the minister update the house on the recent annual migration of rangers event, held to celebrate World Ranger Day, and progress on the new government's commitment to restore ranger numbers across the state of South Australia?

The SPEAKER: The Minister for Environment and Water.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: He will be heard in silence, won't he? Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:32): I thank the member for King for her question. It is an excellent question which shows her—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —dedication to the natural environment. She particularly often raises with me the value of Para Wirra Conservation Park within her electorate, which I know she and her family enjoy regularly. It is such an important site for our city's environment, found within the boundaries of her electorate.

It was a great pleasure on Monday night to be able to attend the annual rangers' migration dinner, which sees rangers from across the state come together annually at an event hosted by the South Australian Ranger Association. That is an acknowledgement of World Ranger Day, which was the following day, on 31 July. Some 70 people, many of them rangers, gathered at Woodhouse recreation centre at Piccadilly in the Adelaide Hills for that event, and we were entertained by Sean Willmore, Managing Director of the Thin Green Line Foundation, which looks at the welfare and support of rangers across the world, particularly in developing countries.

It was great to be able to share with the rangers who were present our government's very clear commitment—and members would know about our government's very clear commitment—to rebuilding our shattered ranger workforce in this state. When the Liberal government left office in 2002, there were some 300 rangers in our state; that fell as low as 88 in 2016 and had risen slightly to 93 last year. That is a decimated workforce, and of course we are committed to rebuilding that workforce.

We know that rangers are synonymous with protecting and enhancing our natural environment, looking after threatened species. Who would have thought that rangers would have become threatened species themselves under the cruel reign of the Labor government for 16 years? In fact, it was almost as hard to find a ranger in this state under the Labor government as it was to find a competent minister.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister, please return to the substance of the question.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I'm sorry, Mr Speaker. The reduction in rangers has caused significant problems for our natural environment. That's why we are committed to an increase of around 25 per cent in the coming years of that ranger workforce at the front line.

It was interesting to look at where rangers had been lost across the state under the Labor government. I noted with some dismay the loss of a ranger at Mount Remarkable conservation park. We know that the poor member for Cheltenham had his terrible accident in Mount Remarkable conservation park, and if only there had been more rangers there they might have caught him before he hit the ground; who knows?

It was with great interest that I listened to a grievance speech by the member for Wright last week where he talked about the great service that rangers contributed to the Cobbler Creek conservation park. Well, if only the Friends of Cobbler Creek conservation park were aware that the member for Wright was part of a party which hates rangers, which decimated their population across the state. I look forward to sending a copy of this contribution to the Friends of the Cobbler Creek conservation park so that they are aware of the party which is very strongly committed to rebuilding the ranger workforce.

Mr Boyer interjecting:

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: We know they play an iconic role in the preservation of our natural landscape in this state and build partnerships with the community, local government, friends groups and many people across our state in the maximisation of the preservation of our natural landscape.

The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Wright.

Mr Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Is the member for West Torrens okay?

Mr Koutsantonis: Yes, sir.

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe has the call.