Parliamentary Committees

Natural Resources Committee: Inquiry into Biochar

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (11:47): I move:

That the fifth report of the committee, entitled Inquiry into Biochar, be noted.

On 27 June 2022, the Natural Resources Committee resolved to undertake an inquiry into biological charcoal, or biochar, to address the increasing interest in biochar's production and use in South Australia and around the country. The committee received 25 submissions and conducted nine hearings from 16 June 2022 to 6 July 2023. The committee undertook three separate site visits to current and potential biochar producers in South Australia. Additionally, the committee staff attended an Adelaide biochar summit and the Australian biochar industry 2030 roadmap launch in Canberra. The Australian and New Zealand Biochar Industry Group (ANZBIG) hosted both events.

The committee heard from representatives of state government departments, local governments and related government bodies; individuals and not-for-profit organisations; industry associations and groups; private companies and institutions, including consulting firms, producers and suppliers; and academia.

Biochar is a form of charcoal with high carbon content produced by burning biomass in an environment devoid of or with extremely low amounts of oxygen and has applications in the agriculture, livestock and water sectors.

I want to thank all those who gave their time to assist the committee with this inquiry. I commend the members of the committee for their contributions to this report: Sarah Andrews MP, the member for Gibson; Mr David Basham MP, the member for Finniss; the Hon. Ben Hood MLC; Ms Catherine Hutchesson MP, the member for Waite; the Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC; and the Hon. Russell Wortley MLC. I would also like to thank previous committee member the Hon. Nicola Centofanti MLC. All members have worked cooperatively on this report.

I would also like to thank all the committee staff who worked so hard on the report, in particular the researchers and secretariat, who brought so much knowledge and information together to distil down into a report on what is a quite complex subject matter, something I encourage anyone with an interest in biochar, agriculture or other things we could be doing in regional South Australia to have a read of.

I would also like to thank the member for Heysen. I remember we caught up with you down at Macclesfield one day. You came out and saw what the committee was doing and heard from some of your constituents who were big advocates of biochar. It is early days, but I know that in the area I represent on Kangaroo Island there is a proposal for a biochar project there that, if it goes ahead, it is claimed will be the biggest in the world. But, like a lot of things, things work at one scale and need to be proven up to see if it can work on a much bigger scale.

Once again, to all the committee members, all the witnesses, everyone who provided input into this inquiry and to the staff for their very valuable work that they put in, thank you so much. I commend the report to the house.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (11:50): I thank the member for Mawson for bringing the motion to the house and for the work of the committee on its inquiry into biochar. It is a committee that is dear to me. I know the capacity of that committee to do important work in the state and particularly in the regions and in the interests of understanding how best to manage, preserve and enhance our natural resources.

I appreciate the reference in particular to the good work of Maccy Biochar. I was really glad that the committee could come to Maccy to see the work that Maccy Biochar has been doing. It is a small group of passionate folks who are interested to promote what biochar can do, to learn themselves about how to best produce biochar and to provide a setting that might serve as a demonstration for things that might be done at a greater scale on the biochar front.

Maccy Biochar is broadening out now, offering to come to people in the area around Macclesfield and to take woody material and turn it into raw biochar and then to mix that with other organic fertiliser and so on. They are focused on the main purpose of biochar being its capacity to contribute to help fight climate change locally, and then, by learning more about how soils work, to improve soil quality at the same time.

There are a whole range of initiatives in which biochar is being blended with other soil nutrients to improve productivity. We are learning all the time that there is so much to soil and to the productivity capacity that can be enhanced, and this is one of those additional benefits. I am glad the committee has undertaken this work with a focus on biochar, and particularly that that has been able to take in the good work of those good folks at Maccy Biochar.

Just one matter that is timely: such has been the contribution of Maccy Biochar in this area that they have been the recipients recently of an award and some further support to be able to get on with continuing their work. I commend the motion and commend Maccy Biochar in particular.

Motion carried.