CEDUNA

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:42): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development a question about Ceduna.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Infrastructure to allow regional economic activity to occur is one of the cornerstones of regional development, and creating these building blocks can often be a cooperative effort. Can the minister inform the chamber about recent developments to progress the creation of a fishing harbour at Ceduna?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:43): I thank the honourable member for this important question. The honourable member is correct, that large projects often require more than one player to commit to help bring them to fruition. One such project, which I am really happy to tell the chamber about today, is the District Council of Ceduna's multimillion dollar fishing harbour development proposed near the existing port of Thevenard.

The Ceduna council has made application for assistance to develop this infrastructure for the fishing industry, which has long been placed in these very clean waters on the West Coast. It is a very beautiful coastline, too. The Great Australian Bight commercial fishing industry operating from Ceduna currently uses the port of Thevenard—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Have you been there, Gail?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I have been there. However, the fishing vessels, as those who have visited the port of Thevenard would recall, are not the only ships using the port. The port is used for bulk grain and fertiliser shipments, as well as increasingly being used by the mining sector. These activities mean the port, which is not set up for commercial fishing, becomes extremely congested at times.

As Thevenard is Flinders Ports' second largest port for tonnes exported, ships taking export products take priority for those berths. This means that fishing vessels which use the port for a range of activities—including fish unloading, refuelling, obtaining supplies, crew changeovers, and maintenance—are not able to stay berthed for as long as they might need to be. Fishing vessels have to work around export ships using the port and this has led to overcrowding at the port and, at times, some fishing vessels have to wait to berth.

Having a purpose-built facility will enable the fishing fleet to operate securely from the port, knowing that it will meet their specific needs. As a solution to overcrowding, the District Council of Ceduna is proposing to build a new commercial fishing unloading facility as an expanded spur to the existing Thevenard slipway.

I am pleased to be able to announce the state government's commitment of almost $1.5 million ($1.497 million) from the Regional Development Infrastructure Fund (RDIF) to the Ceduna council as part of its nearly $9 million project proposal for this new fishing harbour. While committing over $1.7 million, the council has submitted an application to the federal government under round two of the $1.1 billion Regional Development Australia Fund for the bulk of the funding required to complete the project. The Ceduna council considers the creation of this new safe harbour for the fishing fleet to be a solution to port overcrowding, and the project is obviously of strategic economic importance to the region.

When completed, the port is expected to enable the fishing and aquaculture industries to operate viably and grow as the mining and grains industries expand. The contribution by the state government is to assist with the cost of dredging works needed to create the new harbour. Should the council's application to the federal Regional Development Australia Fund be successful, it expects that the substantive project could be progressed so that the necessary development approvals and commercial agreements with other port operators, such as tug companies, are reached. Construction could begin in the third quarter of 2012, with a completion date of June 2013.

The RDIF has played a really important role in the implementation of South Australia's strategic plan by helping to meet targets for regional jobs, investments and export earnings. Applicants may seek up to 50 per cent of relevant infrastructure costs for developments which support economic development.