Dog Fence

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Flinders has the call.

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Premier, please! You will be leaving early for the airport.

Mr TRELOAR: My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Can the minister please inform the house how the government is supporting growth of the state's livestock industries by protecting livestock from predation by wild dogs?

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (14:40): Yes, I can. I thank the member for Flinders for his very important question. He knows only too well what the protection of our livestock industry is about. He is one of the great sheep farmers of the state, alongside the member for MacKillop. What I can say is that this morning I stood alongside the federal member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey, to make a collaborative announcement with the Morrison Coalition government, the Marshall Liberal government and the livestock industry to announce a $25 million initiative for the rebuild of the dog fence.

It is a fence that is 100 years old. It is a piece of national infrastructure, which has been overlooked for many years, to be rebuilt. What we have seen now is that the wild dogs are heading south. Sadly, we are seeing more and more numbers of lambs, calves and animals that are being attacked by the wild dogs. For instance, back in 2016-17 it was reported that about 10,000 lambs were taken. This year alone, it has been reported that more than 20,000 lambs have been taken and we know that we have lambs and sheep at record prices, wool at record prices.

Today was a great day not only for the pastoralists, not only for our farmers, but it is a great day for the meat industry, the red meat sector in South Australia: a $10 million commitment from the Coalition, a $10 million commitment from the Marshall Liberal government and a $5 million commitment from the livestock industry. This is a great initiative. The 5,400 kilometre-long fence is the longest fence in the world. Here in South Australia, the fence is around 2,150 kilometres and the majority of that now needs a rebuild, not just a repair.

So again the Coalition will work with the state government and industry to rebuild the fence, and it is great news for the pastoralists. What I can say is that now pastoralists have a government that is their friend, a government that is prepared to put the money there to protect their industry, to protect the red meat sector, making sure that we can actually grow our economy because we know that the red meat sector is one of our largest growing economies.

We are facing challenges at the moment with the drought. We are facing challenges at the moment with a number of stock that are being sold due to feed shortages, but what I can say is that we have a grown-up government working with the Coalition, making sure that we actually protect one of our vital industries here in South Australia. It is also important to note that it will create jobs—$25 million worth of fence is a lot of fence—16 initial construction jobs and, as the fence progresses, we will see up to 63 full-time equivalent jobs there to build the fence.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Get migrant workers. They will be cheaper.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: The member for West Torrens thinks he an expert on fence building.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: He is not an expert on anything. What I can say is—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: What I can say is that the dog fence is there to stimulate an economy here in South Australia. What we will say is that the benefit of this fence, once it is commissioned, is expected to give dividends of around $120 million to the South Australian economy. That is a significant contribution to our economy. It is a significant shot in the arm for the livestock industry, but it is also a significant shot in the arm for our export sector. We know that red meat is one of our largest economic exports. The world is crying out for good quality red meat. South Australia has it. The Marshall Liberal government is prepared to stand up, be counted and contribute to that because #RegionsMatter.