Parliamentary Committees

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: KANGAROO ISLAND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BOARD

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:55): I move:

That the 34^th report of the committee, on Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board levy proposal 2009-10, be noted.

The Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board levy proposal took several months longer to reach the committee than usual, arriving on 4 September 2009. This delay occurred because of the vigorous community debate surrounding the new water policy proposed by the natural resources management board for the island.

Committee members met with the Kangaroo Island community and natural resources management board members on a trip to the island on 21 July 2009. After the levy proposal was received, the committee also met with the board's presiding member Janice Kelly and general manager Jeanette Gellard at Parliament House on 10 September 2009.

The committee was again impressed by the consultation efforts undertaken by the Kangaroo Island NRM board. Although the effectiveness of the consultation process can be difficult to gauge, there did not appear to be any concerns with the proposed 6 per cent levy increase, which is slightly above CPI. The committee considers that increases to levies should generally be restricted to CPI so as not to impose an unreasonable burden on the community. However, in this instance the proposed division 1 levy was only marginally above the 5.1 per cent CPI figure, with the increase resulting from additional assessments rather than increases to the average levy.

As previously mentioned, by far the most contentious issue was the new water policy for the island, which prompted two verbal presentations and two written submissions to the committee. It was clear that a policy needed to be put in place, and developing a policy had previously been recommended by this committee. It was also easy for us as committee members to understand why landholders would be concerned about the policy, which was developed based on Mount Lofty Ranges catchment data rather than local data, which unfortunately was absent. In addition, and of particular concern to landholders, was the fact that the new policy had the potential to severely curtail landholder dam-building activities on parts of the island where the DWLBC considers water resources to be over-allocated.

It is inevitable that recalibration of the water policy will have to occur as accurate local data becomes available. The committee is strongly of the view that the process of data collection should be made a priority by the board, so that accurate and sustainable water use planning can be undertaken on the island. This will give some degree of certainty to landholders and other interested parties and enable a more stable investment and planning environment to develop.

Members heard from a number of witnesses that there remained a significant duplication of resources, with potential efficiency gains to be made from rationalising or improved sharing of administrative resources on the island. Members trust that in due course these issues will be given proper consideration by the relevant departments.

All in all, members were again impressed by the performance of the Kangaroo Island NRM board, especially its considered and thorough approach to community consultation. I wish to thank those who gave their time to assist the committee during its consideration of the 2009-10 levy proposed by the Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board. Discussions between members of the committee, board members and staff, together with local landholders and other interested parties, took place during the committee's visit to Kangaroo Island on 21 July 2009.

Finally, I take the opportunity to acknowledge the members of the committee: Mr John Rau, Presiding Member, the Hon. Graham Gunn MP, the Hon. Stephanie Key MP, the Hon. Caroline Schaefer MLC, the Hon. Lea Stevens MP, and the Hon. David Winderlich MLC. They have worked cooperatively throughout the process. I also thank the staff of the committee for their professional work. I commend the report to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.