FRANKLIN HARBOUR DISTRICT COUNCIL

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government questions about proposed changes from coastal zone to coastal conservation zone within the District Council of Franklin Harbour.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: The Minister for Urban Development and Planning would be aware of the proposed zoning changes that will affect landowners in Cowell and other areas on the Eyre Peninsula. The new member for Flinders, Mr Peter Treloar MP, is already working hard on behalf of his constituents on Eyre Peninsula. Together, we have discussed a number of questions that landowners want answered. My understanding is that information landholders have requested has been less than forthcoming to date. My questions are:

1. Is it correct that the proposal will not be proceeding and that the area in question will remain as coastal zone under the old conditions that applied?

2. If this is correct, can the minister advise how long this will remain in place?

3. If this is incorrect and the minister intends to continue consultation with local councils, when would he expect a new coastal conservation zone to be established?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:14): Some of the councils on Eyre Peninsula have been going through an exercise of looking at their coastal zoning, following the Eyre Peninsula Strategic Plan of several years ago now. Some of those councils had placed zones on an interim list so that they could be further considered. A number of issues have been raised by the local community.

The honourable member referred to the new member for Flinders, who has already spoken to me about those matters, and I indicated to him that I was well aware of some of the concerns. A number of councils must have been affected. Some of the issues that have been raised relate to the fact that some of the proposed zoning boundaries appear to be based on some aerial photography rather than particular ground truthing. In some cases, I am told, they have extended west of the main highway between Port Augusta and Port Lincoln.

So, because of some of these problems, I have asked the department to review some of that interim listing, given the issues that have been raised by constituents have lapsed, which means that they no longer have the effect. I think Franklin Harbor might well be one that has lapsed recently, so, that would mean that that development plan proposal would no longer have effect.

As I said, one would expect that it is really up to councils to continue looking at this issue. I would like to see some resolution in relation to zoning along that coast that gets the balance right between recognising existing landholders' rights and providing some protection against inappropriate development. That has particularly been an issue along some parts of the western coast of Eyre Peninsula.

I think the coastal zone exercise with out-of-council areas and also the one within Ceduna council are two that have been completed, I believe, following the successful resolution of some of the issues with landowners. In relation to most of these other council areas, as I said, several have lapsed, including the Franklin Harbor one, I believe. So, it will really then be up to the councils, if they wish, to re-initiate the process following further consultation, but that is a matter essentially for them.