St Kilda Mangroves

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water: then what was the minister implying when he said that Peri Coleman was a self-proclaimed independent scientist? With your leave, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Dr CLOSE: On the morning of 19 October, on ABC radio the minister said:

It's in Peri Coleman's interest to be extremely worried because she is the self-proclaimed independent scientist.

When challenged by presenter David Bevan, the minister repeated the claim saying, 'She claims she's an independent scientist.'

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:45): When it comes to the very unfortunate situation at St Kilda with the die-off of the mangroves, I must, as a minister, rely on the scientific evidence, advice and input from my agencies and the advice that those agencies seek from external sources. That is what I have done and that is what the Minister for Energy and Mining has done throughout the process and, as a consequence, we have been able to map out a much better understanding of the situation unfolding at St Kilda and hopefully get to a situation—that I believe we are at, at the moment—where that environment is thankfully stabilised.

I make no apology for relying on the robust peer-reviewed science that is provided by experts within the Environment Protection Authority, within the Department for Energy and Mining and within the Department for Environment and Water. We have to do that as a government, as a cabinet and as ministers. The reliance on experts and expert science is one of the great reasons why South Australia has performed so robustly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is absolutely imperative that we continue to rely on robust peer-reviewed science, and that's exactly what I will do, along with my colleagues, as we seek to manage that precious and fragile environment at St Kilda.