LOCUST PLAGUE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:40): My question is to the Minister for State/Local Government Relations. Will he explain to the house what support the government is providing to local councils to combat the locust plague in regional South Australia?

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for Gambling) (14:40): The Labor government has taken very seriously its responsibility to work with local government and landholders in fighting the worst locust plague in 40 years. When the scale of the looming pestilence became known early last year, the Premier convened a special meeting of the Emergency Management Committee. Cabinet subsequently approved special expenditure of $12.8 million to spearhead control efforts across the state.

Of course, it is not possible to kill or eliminate every locust, but it was critical to control the problem as much as possible. At stake was potentially the biggest grain crop ever to be grown in South Australia, representing more than $2 billion in agricultural production. The intensive response effort in South Australia resulted in spraying more than 465,000 hectares or 70 per cent of the national total. Since the completion of the highly successful spring campaign, Biosecurity SA has continued to closely monitor locust activity.

I am advised that in December last year isolated patches of migrating adult locust swarms were observed and eggs were laid in the broader Barossa Valley region, as well as in isolated areas of the Riverland/Mallee and Murraylands. The eggs in these regions have now hatched, resulting in a second generation of locust hoppers in late January and early February. They are far smaller in scale than the spring locust hatchings but can still be high in density over small areas.

A limited summer ground-spraying program has been implemented in the Barossa and Riverland to assist local government with the control of second-generation locust hoppers on local government land, such as parks, reserves and roadsides. This involved Biosecurity SA providing chemicals from existing stock, technical support and financial support of up to $10,000 per local government area. This money was made available to councils in affected regions to hire spray contractors to control locust hoppers that are considered beyond local government's capacity to manage.

I am advised that the Barossa component commenced on Thursday 3 February and was completed on Thursday 17 February. The local government areas involved were Goyder, Clare and Gilbert valleys, Light Regional Council, Barossa Council and the Town of Gawler. I understand that the Riverland component commenced on Monday 7 February for Renmark Paringa, Berri Barmera, Loxton Waikerie and the Rural City of Murray Bridge. That was completed by Thursday 17 February.

I am advised that Coorong council commenced on 11 February and is expected to finish by 23 February. Offers of assistance were also made to Mid Murray and Karoonda East Murray councils, which I understand did not take them up. A one-off aerial assault during the week of 14 to 18 February using existing chemical stocks was conducted in a remote area north of Morgan and east of Burra to mop up some significant second-generation summer locust bands that posed a serious migration threat to the Barossa and Riverland/Mallee.

My colleague in the other place, the Minister for Agriculture, is monitoring the situation across the state and will consider a targeted autumn control program if that becomes necessary. The government's response to the locust threat has been appreciated across regional South Australia. The last time the state faced a major locust plague was in 2000, when the then Liberal government allocated $6 million. That was less than half the amount this government has committed and will spend on protecting South Australian agriculture.