COORONG AND LOWER LAKES

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:46): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Will the minister inform the house about the government's effort to restore the Coorong to health?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:47): I thank the honourable member for his most important question and for his ongoing interest in these matters. I am pleased to advise that after years of inadequate flows the work to restore the Coorong to health is progressing at full steam. What needs to be understood, however, is that getting the Coorong back into shape is not as simple as restoring flows. Whilst increased environmental flows are crucial, salinity has done a lot of damage to flora and fauna as well and this cannot be fixed by restoring flows alone. As a result, a number of complementary projects have been run with regard to supporting aquatic life and vegetation across the river, its flood plains, the Lower Lakes and the Coorong, and I am advised that the former minister for the environment has spoken about these issues in the other place.

Today, I am pleased to speak about a new project to restore the sea grass Ruppia tuberosa in the South Lagoon of the Coorong which has recently commenced. Ruppia tuberosa was once wide spread across the Coorong, providing an important food source for migratory water birds, including ducks. It also provides an important habitat for invertebrates and fish. As a result of low flows and salinity, the proliferation of Ruppia tuberosa decreased, with the biggest losses occurring in the South Lagoon. Ruppia has been described as a keystone species for the Coorong, so getting it back to recent historical levels is of some importance.

As a result, the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth program has commenced the Ruppia Translocation Project aimed at restoring meadows of seagrass. The project involves taking dry sediment containing Ruppia seeds from Lake Cantara (located a short distance away within the Coorong National Park) and sowing that sediment into mudflats on the eastern side of the Coorong's South Lagoon. It is anticipated that this will help increase Ruppia populations in the northern part of the South Lagoon during winter when migratory birds come to visit and feed and it should provide a habitat for fish and invertebrates.

Conducting the project now will take best advantage of our drier season, a critical stage in the growth and proliferation of Ruppia. The project is being conducted in conjunction with Associate Professor David Paton from the University of Adelaide. Associate Professor Paton has been involved in extensive monitoring and research work on Ruppia in the Coorong and he will be working with rangers from my department, as well as the traditional owners the Ngarrindjeri people. It is pleasing to see so many people coming together to work on these programs. It is these sorts of partnerships that will be vital to ensuring that the ecology of the Coorong improves but also remains for many years to come.