WILDERNESS PROTECTION (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 19 February 2013.)

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (16:31): I rise to make some remarks in relation to this bill. At the outset, I would like to thank the minister and his officers for providing a briefing. I would also like to thank his office for providing a written response to questions which were raised during the briefing, which I will put at the end of my speech and request that those be read into the record.

The Wilderness Protection Act of 1992 exists to provide protection for wilderness protection areas and wilderness protection zones, large areas which have been set aside because they have significant intact habitat. The smallest of these is the offshore islands near Elliston, known as the Investigator Group Wilderness Protection Area at 440 hectares, the largest being Yellabinna, north of Ceduna, at over half a million hectares.

According to the annual report, there are 14 wilderness protection areas which together with one awaiting confirmation to be proclaimed—the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area—makes 15. They are all in regional areas and many are quite remote including the Riverland, Kangaroo Island, Far North East, Eyre Peninsula, Mallee and Far West. The need to amend the act has arisen because it does not allow for co-management with Indigenous traditional owners.

Co-management is currently a feature of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 and this bill inserts those provisions. I understand from the briefing that the Yellabinna and Nullarbor wilderness protection areas are the only ones which are anticipated to proceed in the short term with co-management. Other issues in the bill are to allow current leases to be recognised and to amend the prohibition section to require licences to be granted prior to undertaking a range of activities. The bill, I understand, has been agreed to by the Wilderness Advisory Committee and is supported by the conservation sector.

Minister Caica indicated in his second reading speech of 31 October in the House of Assembly that a number of conservation parks and national parks are awaiting becoming wilderness protection areas following the passing of this legislation, so my first question to the minister is whether he can advise which of those parks are under consideration as indicated. The two questions which arose in the briefing related to fees and what has been proposed. The final question is: what is the status of the Wildlife Conservation Fund? With those remarks, I will support the bill.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (16:34): I thank the Hon. Michelle Lensink for her contribution to the debate on this amendment bill. The purpose of the bill is to provide for amendments to the Wilderness Protection Act 1992 to improve the ongoing protection of wilderness in South Australia. Proclamation of the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area will be one of the most significant achievements for wilderness protection in this state. Its proclamation will bring the area of land forming wilderness protection areas in South Australia to 1.8 million hectares.

This significant achievement has highlighted some practical matters that are not adequately addressed by the current act. Principal amongst these is the current lack of provision for co-management of wilderness protection areas. An unintended consequence of the recent and proposed conversion of a number of conservation and national parks to wilderness protection areas is that they can no longer be considered for co-management by virtue of the Wilderness Protection Act 1992. This is directly relevant in the case of the Nullarbor and the legitimate co-management aspirations of the Far West Coast native title claimants.

To rectify this issue and facilitate co-management of wilderness protection areas, the bill proposes to incorporate the co-management provisions of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 into the Wilderness Protection Act 1992, with consequential amendments to tailor the provisions to the Wilderness Protection Act. In doing so, the bill represents a significant contribution to reconciliation and to resolving native title claims in this state. The bill also recognises there may be some circumstances where it is appropriate and necessary to preserve existing leases or licences to occupy land on proclamation of a wilderness protection area.

This is the case for the proposed Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area, which has some existing telecommunications facilities that need to be preserved on a tiny proportion of the land. Generally speaking, areas that are selected to be protected by the act are free of such issues because they are selected for their intact wilderness values. They are to all intents and purposes already managed for wilderness. However, this leasing amendment is necessary due to the unique circumstances of the Nullarbor. The bill has been carefully drafted to enable infrastructure to continue to be leased or licensed where appropriate and consistent with the objects of the act, but to ensure future commercial development within wilderness protection areas is avoided.

Another proposed change transfers the requirement to obtain a licence or permit to carry out commercial activities on wilderness protection areas from the regulations into the act itself. It makes clear that all commercial activities are prohibited in wilderness protection areas unless a licence to carry them out is first obtained from the Director of National Parks and Wildlife. This amendment was recommended by parliamentary counsel to clarify the powers and oversight of the Director of National Parks and Wildlife in relation to the grant of licences for commercial activities.

With regard to entry fees, the bill proposes that the administration of entrance, camping and other fees for activities in wilderness protection areas and zones be brought into line with the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. At present, the Wilderness Protection Act 1992 only allows these fees to be set by regulation and they must be separately accounted for. Given that fees collected last financial year were in the order of $4,000, the cost of administering that fund separately outweighs usually the amount of fees that are collected quite considerably.

The amendments will allow fees to be set by the Director of National Parks and Wildlife and payable into the General Reserves Trust Fund. Given the low revenue currently collected in relation to wilderness protection areas, the change in revenue as a result of the bill is expected to be negligible. The changes in the bill are merely intended to introduce cost savings through administrative efficiencies by ensuring consistency in the administration of wilderness protection areas, and parks and reserves under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. The changes to the act will facilitate the improved administration of existing and future wilderness protection areas. The amendments do in many respects bring the Wilderness Protection Act into line with the National Parks and Wildlife Act, leading to administrative efficiencies. However, they still preserve the intent of the Wilderness Protection Act, which requires a special degree of protection for wilderness areas to protect their values in perpetuity.

I extend my appreciation to the Wilderness Advisory Committee, which provided independent advice on the bill to the former minister for sustainability, environment and conservation, the Hon. Paul Caica, and to the Wilderness Society and Environmental Defenders Office for their considered comments and support of the bill. I also extend my appreciation to the Far West Coast native title claimants and their legal representative, South Australian Native Title Services, for supporting the co-management provisions of this bill. I also acknowledge the commitment given by the member for Colton to the Far West Coast native title claimants that he would seek parliament's support for amending the legislation before the government proclaims the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The CHAIR: With the indulgence of the committee, the Hon. Ms Vincent wishes to make a contribution to clause 1.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I wish to speak briefly in support of the Wilderness Protection (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill. I particularly acknowledge the briefing on the bill arranged by Abbie Spencer in the minister's office and the briefing delivered to one of my staff last week by departmental staffer Jason Irving.

I think it is a great thing that areas of wilderness have been proclaimed, including the huge tract of land under the Nullabor Wilderness Protection Act, all adding up to more than 1.8 million hectares of land across the state. It has now been identified that we need to amend parts of the Wilderness Protection Act 1972 to ensure we protect and enable adequate management of these wilderness areas, similar to the protections and administrative rights already in place from 2004 amendments to the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

As I understand it, this bill enables three main amendments: for co-management so Indigenous rights are acknowledged; to ensure that current infrastructure, fire access track and telecommunications arrangements on the Nullarbor, for example, are maintained; and that the use of wilderness areas for camping and other activities also can be maintained. I believe these are very important amendments and I commend the bill to the chamber.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: In her second reading speech the Hon. Ms Lensink asked some questions of me, one being whether any other parks are being considered for proclamation. My advice is no. I covered her second question about fees in my closing remarks. Finally she asked a question about the status of the Wildlife Conservation Fund. My advice is that in practice the fund is used for DEWNR's research co-funding and grants scheme, supporting conservation and research projects in South Australia.

The assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses of the Wildlife Conservation Fund are included in DEWNR's audited financial statements. This fund is separate to and applied for different purposes than the general reserves trust, which is applied to the operation of the South Australian parks and reserves system.

Clause passed.

Remaining clauses (2 to 7), schedules and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (16:44): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.