Beach Camping

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:57): Excellent eyesight, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water. What does the minister think about Yorke Peninsula Council's proposal to return land under the care, control and management of council at Cape Elizabeth to unalienated Crown land, and when can we expect action on other unalienated Crown land beaches like Wauraltee? With your leave and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: On 19 October last year, I asked the minister a similar question about action in response to the side-effects arising from the rising popularity of beach camping, and was informed that the minister intended to give further information before too long.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:57): I am grateful for the question. South Australia is one of the only states that allows much beach driving at all; we don't tend to notice how unique we are with that, but I can tell you the other states do because they love coming over here and driving on our beaches. While that is a lot of fun, and on many occasions causes no real troubles at all—particularly when they are observing the speed limit set by my good friend the Minister for Police—there are some places which are getting thrashed and/or some places where the environment is simply too vulnerable, such as where there are hooded plovers trying to nest in a little hollow of sand.

Since the Natural Resources Committee, under the leadership of the member for Heysen, produced its report a few years ago, what we have been working through is ways in which we can make sure that the beaches are being better cared for, while at the same time not depriving South Australians of the enjoyment of being able to be out on the beach.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: Hear, hear! It's very important.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: Exactly, we've got to find a balance. This is actually government—again, it's finding these balances and striking the right one. The Cape Elizabeth area, which the member for Narungga refers to, is in the category of having been thrashed, partly by overnight camping. It is not helped by the complexity of the land being, essentially, managed by council but not owned by council.

What we are working on, and coming out very soon, is to limit overnight camping as a first step. Prior to declaring that that will be the case, we are sitting down with the council and with other groups representing those who particularly like going there, but I think we are getting to a point where unfettered overnight camping is simply facilitating a very bad outcome for the environment there.

Over summer, we were far more assiduous in the national parks to make sure that where you weren't supposed to drive on the beaches we were actually getting compliance with that. Through education, rather than through issuing of fines—actually putting up the signs, having the rangers remind people that although you can often drive on a beach you can't always drive on a beach and in these national parks it has never been okay, even if it has been custom and practice. That has been quite successful.

We are now working through those beaches that are in a different category, such as around Cape Elizabeth, where we need to work with the council. There are a number of beaches where we are looking to say maybe at this time of year, hooded plovers, you can't drive on it; maybe in this area we are going to cut off just this bit of beach and say that you won't be able to drive anymore. Importantly, what we are doing is working in each case closely with the local communities, because if you have a backlash from a local community that doesn't accept that this is a reasonable approach you then put the whole issue backwards.

I think everyone in this house—and I know, as a bird lover, the Leader of the Opposition—recognises that we have to find a way of not driving over birds, particularly nesting birds and rare birds; not going through dunes in a way that means those dunes are not beautiful any more, not fun to look at or walk on anymore, but at the same time preserves that idea of being out in the wild spaces and enjoying ourselves. That is what we are planning. We will be, of course, talking to you as the local member before any such decision is finally made.