Parliamentary Committees

Natural Resources Management Committee: Management of Overabundant and Pest Species

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (11:03): I move:

That the third report of the committee, entitled Inquiry into Management of Overabundant and Pest Species, be noted.

The Natural Resources Committee initiated an inquiry into the management of overabundant and pest species in 2018 in the context of a significant review of the natural resources management framework in South Australia. Numerous previous parliamentary inquiries and fact-finding visits have revealed ongoing concerns with multiple overabundant and pest species in South Australia.

Management approaches to overabundant and pest species balance multiple complex issues. Natural resources management principles facilitate the stewardship of natural assets for short and long-term sustainability and productivity. Management of species that are impacting on a resource is an important part of ensuring the ongoing health of that resource.

The inquiry sought to gauge the efficacy of current legislative policy and partnering approaches used to manage overabundant and pest species and to understand whether any other approaches may provide effective alternatives. The committee invited submissions relating to the costs of managing overabundant and pest species and their impacts within South Australia—for example, effects on agricultural outputs, environmental values, tourism, road safety and amenity.

The committee visited Meningie and the Coorong region and heard oral evidence from 12 witnesses and received 41 submissions. The committee received evidence about a wide range of impacts arising from overabundant and pest species populations, including impacts on agricultural industries and outputs, ecosystems and biodiversity, animal welfare and communities, throughout the state. The committee heard evidence that there is presently an overabundant species problem that is causing an imminent threat to our state's biodiversity, among other impacts. The overabundance of several species was caused by changes to the landscape, including both the clearing of native vegetation and its restoration.

The committee heard that, unless we act to manage the problem, there will not be a lot of other biodiversity in the state. Addressing the problem requires management of overabundant and pest species, together with community and education. Both are necessary components of addressing the problem, and I want to emphasise those two aspects in particular. This is not a matter of standing back and doing nothing or allowing conditions that might prevail from time to time in different local areas to simply go unaddressed. It requires active, wise management and that, necessarily, goes together with the active education of our community as to those needs, particular as they are to local areas from time to time and in circumstances of differing seasonal conditions also from time to time.

The committee found that certain species are presently overabundant and causing problems in particular locations. Again, I wish to emphasise that the nature of this report was not to inquire into a solution for a particular species but, rather, to look at addressing the problem of overabundance in its totality. As it happened, significant bodies of evidence were heard in relation to a number of species in particular. As a result of the evidence that the committee heard, the committee recommends that the Minister for Environment and Water should consider immediate declarations in relation to those species, and that is the subject of recommendation 2 of the report.

In relation to kangaroos, in particular, the committee heard that a dire overabundance is affecting the South Australian natural environment and agricultural output. Managing the problem requires a substantial population reduction in both the short term and long term. There is some discord apparent, and it emerged in the evidence, between the outcomes of commercial harvest on the one hand and parallel population management on the non-commercial side. The non-commercial destruction of kangaroos presently involves the possibility of underutilisation of kangaroo carcasses and is likely leading to a high degree of waste.

Better use of non-commercially harvested kangaroo products is a current opportunity that the committee recommends action be taken on. Indeed, the committee recommended that urgent attention be applied to strengthening markets for kangaroo products and otherwise amending the economic settings that will facilitate better commercial and environmental outcomes. The government should undertake further inquiry to examine the structures, processes and challenges that prevent the development of a more robust commercial kangaroo products industry. Those recommendations are the subject of recommendations 11 and 12 of the report.

The kangaroo challenge also highlighted the different management approaches operative on Crown land sites and those on privately held land. In the committee's view, responses to overabundance and invasiveness should not differentiate between Crown landholders and private landholders. We recommended that responses should be formulated according to impact and risk, regardless of land ownership.

The committee heard that some other industries arising from the use of overabundant species products could be investigated. Carp mining within the River Murray is one example. The committee recommends that the government should investigate the potential for mining carp within the River Murray system, and that is the subject of recommendation 13. Where extraordinary or urgent circumstances arise, the government should have the capacity to respond.

For certain species, a ministerial declaration could facilitate urgent management where a population of a particular species is overabundant, with resultant degrading or deleterious impacts on a landscape. Such a protocol does not exist within the current framework. The Minister for Environment and Water is best placed to initiate an urgent response for critical situations involving an overabundant or pest species. This would apply to a designated area for a prescribed period of time.

In response to the information presented to the inquiry, the committee recommends that the proposed ministerial declaration be considered in relation to identified populations of western grey kangaroos, little corellas, long-nosed fur seals and koalas. Stakeholders agreed that a risk-based approach is the appropriate basis for managing overabundant and pest species in South Australia. Evidence presented to the committee recommended that action to manage abundant species must be government led and managed by local stakeholders, including landholders, as well as national park services, Aboriginal communities, and local management authorities such as landscape boards and councils.

With the revision of the natural resources management legislative framework in South Australia, the inquiry highlighted that there is a desire among stakeholders that state-based coordinated management options are adopted wherever practical. These should be supported by issue-specific guidelines and/or codes of practice developed by the relevant stakeholders. Those stakeholders include the relevant agencies, local authorities, experts and local Aboriginal community representatives.

The committee heard that the costs of managing overabundant and pest species are substantial and are often dependent on periodic funding arrangements between parties. Evidence for successful initiatives cites long-term funding and funding partnerships as key factors. The national framework also recognises that prevention-based approaches are the most cost-effective. The committee recommends that these principles should continue to be recognised within the Landscape SA framework.

In response to the information presented to the inquiry, the committee recommends that the Minister for Environment and Water should ensure that the Landscape SA framework provides appropriate resourcing of landscape regions to continue the local management of overabundant and pest species. It also recommends that the South Australian government should participate in further negotiation among the states and commonwealth for longer term funding and funding of prevention-based approaches.

The committee heard evidence about the importance of engaging with stakeholders to build understanding about environmental management approaches, particularly the need for managing species population numbers to maintain biodiversity in the future. In response to the information received as part of the inquiry, the committee recommends that the government should provide more education and information to the community about environmental management practices, including the rationale for decisions made in relation to overabundant and pest species. The Alinytjara Wilurara NRM Board submission refers to specific impacts for Aboriginal communities. They include:

damage or fouling of significant cultural heritage sites;

prevention of hunting and other traditional uses of land and subsequent reduced opportunities to transmit knowledge to young people; and

reduced opportunities to pursue novel or developing industries, for example, carbon sequestration.

These issues also emerged in the committee's interactions with Ngarrindjeri elders at Meningie, where the Ngarrindjeri expressed their distress at the destruction of the Coorong environment, particularly the impact of seals. It was noteworthy that the Ngarrindjeri highlighted the damage caused to pelicans and other native species by seals.

The committee is expressly interested in facilitating further involvement by local Aboriginal stakeholders in the management of overabundant and pest species. It has therefore recommended more active involvement for local Aboriginal communities in policy development and implementation measures, and that is the subject of recommendation 5 of the report.

The committee received evidence from several expert researchers about the need for continuing research. Research outcomes provide valuable data and present best practice methodologies to underpin evidence-based policymaking. The committee recommends that the South Australian government should continue to monitor research to provide an evidence base for effective management responses and greater understanding of best practices.

The committee thanks those stakeholders who responded to the terms of reference and contributed to this robust inquiry. I recognise and thank each of the members of the committee for their contributions to this report: the member for Finniss, the member for MacKillop, the member for Port Adelaide, the Hon. John Darley MLC, the Hon. Terry Stephens MLC and the Hon. Russell Wortley MLC. On behalf of the committee, I thank Mr Philip Frensham and Dr Monika Stasiak for their assistance throughout. Their work was invaluable and greatly appreciated.

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (11:18): I also rise to speak on the inquiry into the management of overabundant and pest species. The Natural Resources Committee looking into this space heard from many people who had concerns and issues around the overabundance of animals. There were also some who commented on plants in the pest space, but the main focus of the witnesses we heard from was on animals, birds and fish.

There were many people who spoke about how their environment and local area were affected adversely by the overabundance of either native or pest species. We heard from people who spoke about the problems they face with little corellas and the damage they can do in certain towns. These corellas flock and nest in trees where they remove the foliage as they nest and effectively kill those trees in the landscape.

We heard from different areas around the state in relation to issues with kangaroos. Kangaroos are not considered to be a problem everywhere, but there were particular hotspots where kangaroo numbers were such that some sort of management was required. We also heard about issues in relation to koalas, particularly on Kangaroo Island. Koalas were never native to that area but have adapted well to their environment, and they live in blue gums. We were informed that koalas on Kangaroo Island are actually considered to be 'super koalas' because they have adapted and are able to eat blue gums, whereas most koalas around the country cannot eat those leaves because their gut does not allow them to get the nutrition they require.

We also heard about issues with seals, particularly in Meningie, and the problems that occur as the seal population has ballooned. They are damaging the local fishing industry, and the native environment, and are affecting the other native species in the area. One of the key things we heard was the concerns of the local Aboriginal community in Meningie in relation to the damage being done to the native species that they consider to be their totems.

The pelican attacks were very concerning to them. They stated that seals were not in their records, stories and history of the area, which go back for thousands of years, so they do not see seals as part of their natural environment. We heard about pest species, in particular, deer, carp (as the member for Heysen mentioned earlier), goats and rabbits. This morning, there was a release on the management of rabbits, which talked about the release of the calicivirus into areas. I think that is very important.

I attended a meeting at Parawa only last week. I was the first person to arrive, and when I pulled into the Parawa Hall at around 7.30pm my lights shone into the car park, which was just a bare paddock, and I saw around 60 rabbits grazing in that car park. The damage they are doing to the local area is one important reason why we have to consider how best to manage these species. Culling sometimes needs to be an option. In this case, the re-release of the virus into certain areas will help manage the numbers and control the problem so that the damage to other important native species as well as commercial crops, etc., in the region is minimised and everyone can live harmoniously.

The challenge is how we manage native and pest species to make sure that we are achieving these outcomes. Before Australia's settlement, when the Aboriginal communities operated in these lands, they managed the areas. They conducted burnings and all sorts of things to manage their environment and keep everything in a particular balance. Once you start having that sort of influence on the environment, whether it was back thousands of years or more recently with the calicivirus, and as soon as you start having those inputs into managing the environment, it is very hard to go back to a natural state of the environment and a natural balance. As soon as you touch one spot in the system, it will have another effect on the system.

One of the pieces of evidence from Associate Professor David Paton that really sunk home for me was the concern he had for some of the plant species in the Mount Lofty Ranges because of the number of kangaroos that are currently in the region and the risk that we could lose plant species because of the overgrazing by kangaroos in particular. We have to be very conscious that we do everything we can to try to keep the biodiversity across the area and make sure that we do not have particular groups of the population fall out of balance.

Interestingly, on our family dairy farm, when in 1976 we moved to Mount Compass from a previous farm in Port Elliot, there were no kangaroos—none—and that was the case for many years. As a kid, you would get quite excited when you saw a kangaroo hop through the farm, but sadly, at that point in time, you would often see the same kangaroo dead on the road because it was not a natural resident on our farm. It was obviously travelling back to where it lived and was not negotiating the roads well.

In more recent years, as we have done things on our farm to try to increase the biodiversity by fencing off tree areas and giving shelter to native scrub, etc., we have seen a complete change in the population of kangaroos on our farm. We have gone from no kangaroos 40 years ago to probably something like 300 or 400 now, just by giving them shelter and places to live. That is the effect that we can have by making these changes to our environment. By making those changes, we then have to think about how we manage those 400 kangaroos and whether that is too much for the local environment to cope with.

That is when farmers around my region have stepped in and got permits to do some culling to reduce the numbers to try to keep them at a point where the effect on their business is minimised and also where the population does not get to the point where they are effectively eating themselves out of house and home in the local bits of scrub that are now being protected by fences from other grazing animals.

It was a very important inquiry, and I think it certainly raised many questions. Hopefully, it has made it very clear that we should manage the local overabundance in a very similar manner, whether it be native or pests. We should not necessarily jump to saying that culling is the only option, but it does need to be something that we consider as an option in the management of all these overabundant animals. I very much thank the other members of the committee and the team that supported the committee in preparing this report.

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (11:28): I rise today to speak in support of the motion to note the report into the management of overabundant species, which is the third report of the Natural Resources Committee of this parliament. I also thank the previous two speakers for their input thus far. As a member of this committee, I welcome the completion of this report and would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for their efforts and deliberations and, importantly, thank the staff for their work to support the committee.

I would also like to recognise stakeholders who took the time to provide 41 written submissions, and 12 witnesses who provided evidence to this committee, including a substantial contribution from the member for Hammond. I believe the report provides a useful context for the range of species that are considered to be overabundant and highlights some important pathways to be considered to address overabundance and the issues that are associated with boom and bust population cycles.

The terms of reference for the inquiry included inquiring into the management of overabundant and pest species in South Australia, with particular reference to:

(1) the efficacy of existing or novel regulatory policy and partnering frameworks used to manage overabundant and pest species;

(2) the cost of managing overabundant and pest species;

(3) the impacts of overabundant and pest species on agricultural outputs, environmental values, tourism, road safety and amenity; and

(4) any other relevant matters.

Overabundant species have long been a vexing issue in our state and, in fact, across Australia. The topic can be highly emotive, particularly in balancing views in relation to the preservation of our native species with that of impacted parties. The impacts of overabundant species are felt through impacts on productivity by species such as deer, rabbits and kangaroos on agricultural producers There are also impacts of overabundant seal populations on catch for our fishers. Our communities feel impacts through the destruction of our public spaces, such as ovals and sporting grounds, by corellas, for example, and also the impact of accidents with kangaroos on our roads.

Currently in my electorate of MacKillop, we have an unprecedented number of kangaroos. In our region, the community holds a range of views on this matter, with many people wanting action to reduce these numbers.

The overabundance of native and pest species has been driven by the significant changes that have been made to our landscape, including the clearing of native vegetation, the establishment of monoculture crops and the absence of or changes to the predation dynamics. Challenges faced in managing our overabundant species include:

the range and divergence of opinions held by stakeholders in relation to management approaches;

the level of understanding of roles and responsibilities of parties involved in managing overabundant and pest species;

limited resources to manage the species; and

the need for more research to support the implementation of best practice management.

Key differences in our state's regulations provide the framework to support the management of overabundant populations of both pest and native species. By its very nature, this legislation assigns different agencies and individuals with different responsibilities. This is a structure that works for managed populations; however, overabundant species can create a level of complexity that requires careful navigation.

Our inquiry learnt that the management of overabundant pest species continues to be a significant concern across South Australia. The report highlights that the cost of overabundant and pest species is significant. Biosecurity SA reports that $15.7 million was invested in pest management programs in 2017-18. This included the investment of:

$4.4 million from commonwealth funds;

$1 million from industry;

$10.3 million from the NRM levy and the South Australian government; and

$0.8 million from other sources.

The economic impact of these overabundant pest species is significant, with a 2016 PestSmart survey highlighting that the economic impact of pest animals could be as high as $790 million. This includes control costs, loss of production, damage to infrastructure and research and development costs.

I was interested to note that Natural Resources South East, whose jurisdiction covers part of my electorate of MacKillop, invests 37 per cent of the NRM levy raised in the region on the management and control of pest species. This is a significant proportion of investment in pest species and, of course, is in addition to the significant expenditure of landholders, who hold responsibility for the management of declared pest species on their own properties under the Natural Resources Management Act.

Importantly, the inquiry has made a number of useful recommendations, which I hope will be taken on board and investigated further to enable our state to have a coordinated and successful approach to the management of overabundant native and pest species. In terms of policy, regulatory and partnering frameworks, some of the key recommendations of the report include:

the Minister for Environment and Water should be able to declare a species overabundant for the purposes of managing its population impacts;

the Minister for Environment and Water should consider immediate declarations in relation to western grey kangaroos, little corellas, long-nosed fur seals and koalas where populations are having a damaging impact on an identified landscape;

a risk-based and impact-based approach should be applied to both native and invasive impact-causing species on both privately held and Crown land; and

working with Aboriginal communities to partner for better management outcomes.

other recommendations include the development of a policy and codes of practice for managing overabundant species and partnering with landscape boards, councils, landholders, Aboriginal communities, industry groups and other relevant experts.

It was also recommended that the landscape boards needed to be appropriately resourced to enable the continued management of overabundant pest species and that a longer term view and funding need to be secured to ensure that prevention-based approaches can be implemented. There was also a need identified for the South Australian government to provide more education and information to the community about environmental management practices, including the rationale for decisions made in relation to overabundant and pest species.

Some of the final recommendations of the committee in the report included that the South Australian government supports the development of markets and considers settings to support these markets and enable the development of new ones. Taking action to establish and develop markets for abundant species, particularly kangaroos, will be important and will need to include measures to avoid waste and ensure the full use of carcasses, broadening the range of areas in which commercial harvesting can be undertaken, the initiation of harvesting trials, the consideration of fee structures associated with harvesting activities and further investigation of challenges that may prevent the development of a more robust kangaroo product industry.

There is significant interest and concerns that have been raised with me in relation to kangaroo populations. Key to people's concerns is safety. At night, roads across the MacKillop electorate have become risky places to travel along because of the high numbers of kangaroos. The community wants action on this issue. I am hopeful that both the recommendations of this report and the recent engagement process undertaken in relation to the commercial harvesting of kangaroos in South Australia can yield some viable solutions to address the overabundant populations we are seeing across the region.

Before I finish, I will just pass on some local knowledge in regard to a couple of these issues; one is the kangaroos on the Limestone Coast. We have been blessed down there with what I would call an average to good season. We have had our winter rains and we have feed left over. It would be minimal from our last spring/summer, but we certainly have not had the trying conditions of the drought experienced across the rest of Australia. The kangaroo population would have had to move in from other areas or is flourishing.

I was unfortunate enough to hit three kangaroos within about 10 minutes on Saltwell Road between Cape Jaffa and the Princes Highway. The first two went underneath the car in what I would call a good way without any damage, but the third one was a big buck that would have been at least 100 kilos. Although I have a roo bar for exactly this purpose, and I had slowed down to 50 km/h, the roo bar did need replacing.

Mr Pederick: You weren't going fast enough.

Mr McBRIDE: As the member for Hammond says, I was not going fast enough. Let me tell you that the kangaroo did not run away and I had to drag him off the road in a dead state.

This is a very common issue because, when I went to the crash repairer, he was absolutely full with business. His business was brimming. He has 15 tradespeople on at this time of the year because of exactly what I had been exposed to. Most of his issues were of kangaroo incidents on the road with vehicles. The population in our region is obviously highlighted by that. In fact, he even said that it was not uncommon, because at this time of year he puts on his maximum number of tradespeople at his crash repair business, and then his quiet period is actually the spring/summer.

I think one of the reasons for this is that the roadsides in our region become the only areas of food and harbour for the kangaroos. They do not sleep or dwell in these areas, but they certainly come onto the roadside to eat. We see kangaroos mostly at night, but I tell you what—between 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the morning would be one of those times when if I can avoid being on the road I do.

Another issue I would just like to touch on—and I am sure that the member for Hammond is going to give a lot more detail on this—is the long-nosed fur seal. Firstly, may I say that we have a fair amount of support for control of the seals in the region around the Coorong. It is not just the fishers whose livelihood depends on their catching fish species like the Coorong mullet and the mulloway out of the Coorong. Even the local Indigenous Aboriginals certainly have an issue with it. As a population, we must recognise that we have changed the landscape, and we have also changed the opportunities; so, we do need a management plan to manage these species.

With my time running out, the final recommendation included investigating the potential mining for carp within the River Murray system, which is also something that could be looked at. It was a pleasure to participate in this inquiry. I know that the hearings were well attended, and the people who gave evidence spoke with passion and conviction about their concerns and the impacts that they have experienced associated with overabundant species. I commend this motion to the house.

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (11:40): I also rise to make a contribution on what is the third report of the Natural Resources Committee, entitled Inquiry into Management of Overabundant and Pest Species. I agree entirely with the member for MacKillop that it is best to stay off the road between 4am and 6am, and I am pleased that the member for MacKillop, most evenings at least, is at home before 4am; so that is good.

The Natural Resources Committee initiated an inquiry into the management of overabundant and pest species in August 2018. Many years of sustained effort have gone into managing overabundant pest species in South Australia, yet the committee has recognised that overabundant and pest species continue to impact on South Australian agricultural outputs, environments, tourism, road safety, amenity and other values.

The Department for Environment and Water anticipates that populations of overabundant and pest species will increase, as will the number of species causing impacts in South Australia. The department also expects that the social, environmental and economic impacts of overabundant and pest species will increase. The costs of managing these impacts are therefore also expected to grow. The relationships between communities and overabundant and/or pest species are highly complex. The dimensions of these relationships include both positive and negative elements.

Overabundant and pest species pose threats to agricultural outputs and have impacts on urban lifestyles as well. They cause ecological imbalances but can also occupy the position of necessary apex predators. For food and tourism industries, certain species can represent opportunities for new markets, or fulfil roles as icons. Some species may be regarded as cultural totems within Aboriginal cultures.

In view of significant reforms being implemented within the natural resources management system in South Australia with the new Landscape South Australia Bill, this inquiry provides the opportunity to consider how overabundant and pest species should or could be managed into the future. The inquiry investigated the extent to which current approaches have been successful and sought evidence about any novel approaches that may warrant consideration. The terms of reference incorporate considerations about the efficacy of arrangements at the state and national levels and seek to understand whether current management strategies facilitate short and longer term outcomes.

During the last decade, the South Australian parliament has conducted several investigations into the impacts of certain abundant plant and animal species in South Australia through the Natural Resources Committee and also the ERD Committee. Stakeholders regularly discuss overabundant and pest species when the NRC conducts fact-finding visits to natural resources management regions. I am fully aware of this because I spent some very enjoyable years on the Natural Resources Committee here in this parliament.

The Department for Environment and Water explained to the committee that overabundant species and native species are occurring in population volumes significantly greater than would occur in natural environmental conditions, and pest species are invasive species that are not endemic to South Australia. That is a significant description of the difference there.

The Department for Environment and Water also distinguishes between species that occur in overabundant population volumes across the state and those it considers as impact causing. Impact-causing species have an impact on a particular industry or geographical location and thus may warrant specific management or intervention responses.

The report addresses overabundant and pest species issues raised in submissions and evidence presented to the inquiry. The committee heard evidence in relation to several species and has adopted a case study approach in using these specific species as illustrative of principles that can be applied to a broad management approach. It has derived recommendations that can be applied to specific species and, more broadly, to emerging challenges. Should time permit, I will run quickly through those recommendations.

The committee heard evidence that there is presently an abundant animal problem that is causing an imminent threat to our state's biodiversity. The overabundance of several species was caused by changes to the landscape, including the clearing of native vegetation. I also agree with the member for MacKillop in that, obviously, since European settlement we have significantly changed our natural environment. In many instances, we have created a perfect environment for even native species to become abundant.

I cite a couple of examples from my electorate in particular: one is kangaroos, and that has been touched on already by members' contributions. As drought conditions impacted the north of the state during 2018, certainly in the southern areas of the electorate of Flinders we saw increasing numbers of western grey kangaroos and the pressure they put on fences, livestock and existing infrastructure.

The other example that I am fully aware of and is not often mentioned—it is not even realised particularly—is the example of wombats in the west of the state. Those farmers who farm west of Ceduna, particularly—even more so west of Penong—spend a significant period of the year looking to control wombats. They do that under permit of course, always, but the damage wombats can do to cropping paddocks and wheat paddocks is significant, and land restoration needs to occur before paddocks can be profitably cropped.

It is a significant impost for a relatively small number of farmers but, for those in the Far West of the state, it is a significant and growing problem. I can also say from casual observation that the population of wombats is spreading further east and further south across the peninsula, so it is going to be an ongoing problem. I now come to the recommendations because they are important and I am sure they will be well considered by the Minister for Environment:

1. The Minister for Environment and Water should be able to declare a species as 'overabundant', for the purposes of managing its population impacts.

2. The Minister for Environment and Water should consider immediate declarations in relation to western grey kangaroos, little corellas, long-nosed fur seals…

I know the fur seals have caused a particular problem for the tuna ranches in and around the bays of Port Lincoln. They have developed strategies to overcome that threat; nevertheless, the population remains high. The recommendations continue:

3. The South Australian Government should apply a risk-based and impact-based approach to both native and invasive impact-causing species alike, and to both Crown land and privately-held land.

This is an important recommendation because many of the concerns of farmers in the electorate of Flinders over the last 12 months have been about the number of kangaroos that are impacting their properties coming from national parks or Crown land where there is no effort to control populations. Further:

4. The South Australian Government expedites the development of integrated strategies for priority species where these are not already in place…

5. The South Australian Government should develop policy and codes of practice for the management of species in partnership with Landscape Boards, Councils, communities including landholders, local Aboriginal communities, industries, and relevant experts.

In other words, there are many stakeholders who need to be involved in this conversation. It can never be purely and simply left to the landowner even though the landowner is often the one bearing the economic impact of these species. The recommendations continue:

6. The South Australian Government should seek engagement with and advice from local Aboriginal communities…

7. The South Australian Government should continue to monitor research to provide an evidence base for effective management responses and greater understanding of best practices.

There are a further half a dozen or so recommendations. I probably will not have time to touch on them today, but they are readily available to anybody following the Hansard and are also in the committee's report.

I particularly want to get back to the electorate of Flinders very quickly. My earliest memory as a boy growing up on the farm was around the efforts we had to make to control rabbits back in the day. Myxomatosis had come and gone, it was prior to the days of calicivirus, and one of the genuine life skills that my grandfather passed on to me was how to set a rabbit trap. I can take anyone who is interested through that process, but it involves digging a hole, setting the trap and placing the trap in the hole. They are illegal now, of course, but they were a great tool for us at the time.

Before we were to sprinkle sand over the trap and the mechanism, we were to lay a small piece of cut newspaper over the top. That protected the mechanism from the dirt that was overlaying it so it was able to go off. I remember as a little boy asking my grandfather what the piece of newspaper was for, and he said that it was for the rabbits to read before we got back to them.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:50): I rise to speak to this motion regarding the third report of the Natural Resources Committee, entitled Inquiry into Management of Overabundant and Pest Species. Before proceeding any further, I want to go through some of the lead recommendations:

1. The Minister for Environment and Water should be able to declare a species as 'overabundant', for the purposes of managing its population impacts.

2. The Minister for Environment and Water should consider immediate declarations in relation to western grey kangaroos, little corellas, long-nosed fur seals, and koalas where populations are having a deleterious impact on an identified landscape.

3. The South Australian Government should apply a risk-based and impact-based approach to both native and invasive impact-causing species alike, and to both Crown land and privately-held land.

Those are just the first few recommendations from this committee. I commend the committee for their great work into overabundant and pest species. I think we really need to take some action now. I have been presenting about long-nosed fur seals—or as they are known and were known before their name was attempted to be changed by a former minister in another place, New Zealand fur seals—and the impact they are having not just on fishing stocks but also on native birdlife whether it be musk ducks, terns, pelicans and the like.

I have been onto the issue of New Zealand fur seals for about 10 years now, and I have moved two motions in this place. I have also lodged a petition with almost 1,600 signatures—1,600, so it would be one of the largest petitions in this place—which means we really need to take action in regard to New Zealand fur seals.

The problem we have is that in the past, in the former government, starting from the minister, there was a Sergeant Schultz 'I see nothing; I hear nothing' approach taken in relation to New Zealand fur seals, but when you talk to the people in my electorate and also in the electorates of MacKillop and Finniss, these people who are invested in the sea and the fishermen invested in inland waters are being heavily impacted. It is not just the inland waters; it is the offshore waters as well.

Not only that, it is the Indigenous people, the Aboriginal people. I note that Darrell Sumner got into a lot of trouble for clubbing seals and running over them. I do not condone that, but Darrell was just so frustrated and so outraged as a local Indigenous person—not only that, as a Vietnam veteran—that he decided to take matters into his own hands. I mention Darrell because he also had his house raided. He said to me once, 'I would have let them in if I had known they were coming,' but he was not home.

The issue we had because of the sensitivities of the minister, and this was infused right down through the department of environment, water and natural resources at the time, was, 'We just need to clamp down on this. There is nothing to see here. We are not going to have anyone say that we need to take active management of New Zealand fur seals.' Obviously, this generated some publicity a few years ago when I raised this subject in this place.

When I presented to the committee, I reported the feedback I had from both Penny Debelle and Michael Owen, one reporting for The Advertiser and one for The Australian. They were raided. They were raided by compliance officers to find out what information they had on New Zealand fur seals. You would have thought we were being invaded by a communist country. This was totally over the top and just outrageous. Instead of looking at the reality of the situation and noting the problem, we heard, 'No, we don't want to know about it.'

I have talked to staff in natural resources. To be fully transparent, I will say that my wife, Sally, is an environmental scientist. She is not working in that field at the minute but used to work in natural resources. You talk to some of these people in leadership roles and they say, 'Don't worry about it. We will pay out those Coorong and lakes licences and just be done with it.' Really? That is the attitude. It is just out of control and we need to take real action.

I note that the former chief executive to the former minister Sandy Pitcher set up a working group to look at seals. It involved local people and councils. I got a phone call direct from Sandy, who said, 'No, you are not to be involved.' That was just fodder for me. Straight up, that was the next press release. I shot that in and had an excellent run. Again, it was the Sergeant Schultz approach: nothing to see here.

Mr Duluk: Nothing to know.

Mr PEDERICK: Yes, nothing to know, but then it got even better. I got an excellent leak that they were going to set up a viewing platform at Goolwa, which I used to look after because it was in my electorate of Hammond at the time. It has now been transferred to the member for Finniss's electorate. This was more fodder to me. Fancy setting up a viewing platform to view these seals causing their havoc on native birdlife and local fish populations. It was just outrageous. What it does show is that you have thought police who think they know better than everyone. They put the fishermen through a program of trialling crackers, which took far too long. It took about 18 months and it worked out that it cost about one-quarter of a million dollars a year if they instituted these crackers at $3.50 each.

The Hon. D.C. van Holst Pellekaan: AC/DC music.

Mr PEDERICK: Yes, that's it. They used AC/DC music, which is excellent music by the way, to scare off the seals. Over time, it might have attracted the seals. Be that as it may, it got down to the fact that I think only one licence holder was going to use these crackers because it just got too hard. There was too much training and it was just ridiculous.

What we need to have is real action, and we can do it. We can get the optics right. What I am talking about is a culling process as part of this procedure. I stress again that, as part of this management of overabundant species—yes, I am concentrating on seals—I know that in America they round them up and take them away to be euthanased. As I reported to the committee under questioning, it might be 30 or it might be 300. When you have stocks that 10 years ago were 100,000 and are increasing at 5½ per cent, this is not a species in decline. This is a species that is overabundant and needs management—

Mr McBride: Out of control.

Mr PEDERICK: —and, as the member for MacKillop indicates, is out of control. But we also need to take action against corellas so that we do not have people taking matters into their own hands, as we have recently seen at One Tree Hill. I note that the Coorong District Council has sent 25,000 corellas to a better place, and more councils should get on board. I think the government should take over this program so that we have a coordinated approach to little corellas across the state.

In the main, we just need to be proactive. We need to have courage and we need to be realistic. As I said to the committee, the department shoots deer. They shoot Bambi from helicopters, yet they are too timid to take an active approach to New Zealand fur seals. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.