CONSERVATION RESOURCES

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:27): I direct my question about government cooperation with non-government organisations on conservation initiatives to the Minister for Environment and Conservation. Will the minister inform the council of the latest endeavours to improve knowledge sharing and cooperation between government and non-government sectors?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:27): I am pleased to be able to announce in the chamber today a new arrangement that will boost enormously the conservation focused research efforts of this state's higher education sector. As members would be aware, it can be an enormous waste of resources when several groups work on their own rather than pooling resources. With some of the best minds in the world living right here in South Australia, it makes perfect sense to pool resources.

The Hon. B.V. Finnigan interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Especially on this side of the chamber. This is especially so when it comes to preserving our precious environment. This new memorandum of understanding I am announcing today is an important path to developing alliances between government and the higher education sector as outlined in South Australia's Strategic Plan. The partners in this new agreement are Flinders University, the Department for Environment and Heritage and the board of the botanic gardens and state herbarium.

Not only will this MOU foster creativity and innovation in research and teaching about conservation issues but it will also support the government's No Species Loss Strategy by strengthening research into methods of conserving South Australia's precious native animals and plants. Under the MOU, the institutions will share resources and facilities, work together to seek funding for cooperative research projects and jointly supervise postgraduate research students. The greater sharing of information will also mean they can more actively consult each other on relevant projects or activities and undertake joint sponsorship and promotion of significant scholarly events and exhibitions.

This MOU is about bringing together the best brains for the benefit of all South Australians, and I am pleased to say that it will result in stronger relations between these learning institutions and our own departmental employees. DEH employees who contribute to teaching or research programs at the university will be eligible to hold full or adjunct academic status in recognition of their valuable knowledge.

Some examples of the collaborative research in education that will be strengthened under the memorandum of understanding include:

research about conserving the ecology of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth led by Professor Peter Fairweather, Dr Sabine Dittmann and Dr Simon Benger from Flinders University and supported by DEH and Adelaide University, SARDI and SA Water;

palaeontologic research and teaching at the Naracoorte Caves National Park, led by Associate Professor Rod Wells and Dr Liz Reed from Flinders University;

research about using fire to conserve biodiversity, led by Dr Meredith Henderson from DEH and Dr Don Driscoll, formerly of Flinders University;

research into conserving endangered pygmy blue-tongued lizards, led by Professor Michael Bull from Flinders University, supported by DEH and the SA Museum; and

research about safeguarding native birds against predators, disease and parasites led by Dr Sonia Kleindorfer from Flinders University and supported by DEH, Nature Foundation SA and the South Australian Museum.

There are many others that I could acknowledge. It is a great initiative, and I am very proud to announce it today.