Opening Up Our Reservoirs

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (14:39): My question is directed to the Minister for Environment and Water. My question is: can the minister please update the house on how the Opening up our Reservoirs program is contributing to job creation and economic growth across the state?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:40): I thank the member for Davenport for his question and I know he is very excited about the upcoming opening of the Happy Valley Reservoir which will likely prove one of the jewels in the crown of the reservoir opening project that the Marshall Liberal government has been pursuing since coming to office in 2018.

We know that the opening of our reservoirs has been an incredibly successful initiative. It has been drawing people out into the natural environment to enjoy the great outdoors, to learn about nature, to undertake physical activity—whether it is walking, mountain biking, kayaking or throwing a line and catching some fish. It has been a very successful program to date and there is more to come. We know there have been around 250,000 people through the gates of our reservoirs over the last couple of years since they were opened up for recreational opportunities.

While conservation and managing these reservoirs in the same philosophy as our national parks is a really important part of it, the economic uplift that comes to the communities that have reservoirs on their doorstep is incredibly successful as well, no more so to date than Myponga Reservoir on the western Fleurieu Peninsula. We have seen people go down to that community. It is now a destination in its own right, more than it ever has been before. We are seeing people getting down to that community, spending money in existing cafes. We have seen a new cafe, the Valley of Yore, open up. We have seen the Myponga Kayak Hire start up there, I think initially just as a part-time opportunity by local residents and is now transitioning into a full-time prospect for them.

It is great to see these microeconomic opportunities roll off the back of what is in many ways quite a modest investment into the outdoor amenity that we are providing through the reservoirs. So for a relatively modest financial investment, we are getting a very significant economic uplift. We are also seeing that residences, both commercial and residential, in and around reservoirs are increasing in their value as people show more interest in those particular geographic locations.

It's not just down at Myponga; it's also in the northern reservoir precinct where we have South Para Reservoir, Barossa Reservoir and Warren Reservoir. We know that the Barossa Kayak Hire facility based in Williamstown, which was set up by a young family, is going gangbusters as we create a sense of place for these communities based around reservoirs, seeing the diversification of the local economies, drawing more people into these areas so that they can enjoy them, so that they can spend money on their way and have a whole range of really great experiences.

It is a fantastic opportunity. Labor make a lot of noise about this. They hate it. They will probably close the reservoirs; we know that. They have a very anti—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: And listen to the locker room thug himself! The deputy leader starts to just change—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is warned.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: —the subject with his interjections. He is a thug, he is a bully and he will close our reservoirs.