Flinders Chase National Park

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:31): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Did the minister tell anyone from Eco Action or Friends of Flinders Chase that the government intended to exempt tourism developments from native vegetation clearance laws?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (15:31): Really, the deputy leader is mischaracterising the nature of the regulation because there are still environmental controls required around any application that would be put forward with regard to development in Flinders Chase National Park. This is not some sort of instrument that creates an opportunity for them to avoid paying a significant environmental benefit offset or anything like that. Those controls are still very much firmly in place. Again, the deputy leader has a desire to stoke and inflame divisiveness with regard to this issue. I will continue to reiterate—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order: if that is not debate, sir, what is? It's debate.

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens rises on a point of order. There is no point of order for debate. If there are points of order in relation to the manner and nature of language used or subject matter addressed, I will hear the point of order. The minister has the call.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: I mentioned earlier the importance of this Reimagining Kangaroo Island Parks project, which has been going on for the last three or four months, and it has gone on with exceptional goodwill involved. Not only that, to the side of that, the work being done by the Australian Walking Company, by the environmental groups on the western end of Kangaroo Island and by my department to come up with a way to get this project, which was envisaged in the first place by the Labor Party, to go ahead—the amount of goodwill and effort on the parts of those various parties has been immense.

I want to take the opportunity to thank the individuals who have been involved, and particularly Fraser Vickery from Eco Action, who has sat down with the private developer, who has sat down with the various stakeholders and worked exceptionally hard to come to a compromise agreement, one that we know the opposition doesn't want because they don't want this resolution.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Mawson!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: We are, bit by bit, getting towards a resolution that will achieve the environmental benefit. It will achieve a conservation dividend, a broader benefit for the park, and of course that is a park that has gone through a tremendously difficult experience over the last 12 months with the fires from January 2020. The opportunity for environmental restoration through a conservation dividend is immense.

To have the private company, the department, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Eco Action and the various friends groups coming together to negotiate on a better outcome here that balances tourism development and conservation I think is something we ought to be celebrating here today. I'm certainly celebrating it, and I will be going to the island in the near future to celebrate it with the people who have been involved. If we land that compromise and if we get that mediation right, the opportunity to do really good things for the island's tourism economy and for conservation is immense.