Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Recovery Project

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:46): On the topic of water, will the Minister for Water and the Murray River update the council on the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Recovery Project and important work being undertaken by the local community?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:46): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. On Monday 15 September I had the very great pleasure of travelling down to Milang at Lake Alexandrina to celebrate some important milestones in the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Recovery Project. The $137 million CLLMM project is part of—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Federal money.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, yes, it is. I am coming to that, thank you, Hon. Mr Brokenshire. He knows all about it, Mr President, as he does many of these things in the Lower Lakes. He is on top of things down there, as usual.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Absolutely, and I’d freehold the shacks while I was there.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Brokenshire, the minister is on his feet.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Clearly, Mr President, he did not do that when he was a minister in the Liberal government but, of course—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: I wasn’t the minister.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Here they go again, Mr President. I did not say ‘the minister’ but ‘a minister’ in the Liberal government that made that decision.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, will you take a seat?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Sorry, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: I think the minister has every right to expect silence when he is giving an answer in this chamber. The answer is important and I ask all members here to give the respect that I would expect for any one of you. The honourable minister.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President. As I was saying, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire was a minister in the Liberal government that made that decision, so it would be very interesting to go back and check the record to see how vociferous he was at the time about those shacks that the Liberal government decided not to freehold, but we will leave that for another day.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: We had to get the sewerage in there first. We didn’t even have that. You had it running into the lake.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: There are all sorts of excuses to be made, but we will ignore those, too.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: And the Hon. Mr Dawkins is making more excuses for the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, but I don’t think he needs to do that either. The $137 million CLLMM Recovery Project is part of the South Australian government’s $610 million Murray Futures program funded by the Australian government. The state government has been leading the implementation of the recovery project in very close partnership with the regional community. We are talking about a region that is listed as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. It is a region of extraordinary beauty and environmental significance.

I am certain we can all recall how just a few short years ago the region was significantly threatened by the severe drought we suffered between 2006 and 2010. This drought caused water levels in the lakes to drop to record lows. This resulted in salinity levels of over 20,000 EC in Lake Albert at the height of the drought, as I said yesterday. The situation was dire and posed a significant threat to the region’s biodiversity and economic future. I am very pleased to say that things are looking significantly better thanks to a concerted effort on the part of all levels of government, non-government and community organisations and the local Ngarrindjeri people.

Effective long-term management of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth region remains a priority for the government. We have been working very closely with the federal government and the Eastern States to ensure that South Australia receives a fair and equitable share of water coming downstream. We have put in place numerous strategies to strengthen South Australia's water security and reduce our reliance on the river. We have collaborated closely with irrigators to ensure that we all work in a manner that supports the health of the river into the future.

As a result, I am advised that as at 5 September 2014 salinity levels in Lake Albert were approximately 2,270 EC, and that is a huge improvement compared with the levels at the height of the drought. In addition to water levels and quality, the drought left the region in a very bad state. Essential vegetation that the local wildlife relies on was destroyed or severely damaged, and this was affecting the region's biodiversity. Instead of reacting with despair, or looking for blame, or accusations levelled at others, the local community rolled up their sleeves collectively and got to work. The fact that we have seen such a fast recovery in the region's flora and fauna is a testament to this community's resilience.

The event I attended at the Milang Lakes Hub on 15 September was to celebrate the execution of the 2014-15 Community Revegetation Grant Agreement with the Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association and the continuation of the Lakes Hubs. Both these initiatives are examples of amazing organisations that have gathered and supported the local community to restore their local environment.

This latest grant represents the fifth year that the state and Australian governments have funded the Goolwa to Wellington LAP to undertake restoration and revegetation activities. Over the course of the funding agreement, the GWLAP has achieved a huge amount. By the end of this financial year, with the help of their dedicated volunteers they will have planted more than 1.2 million local native plants at sites throughout the region.

The new grant is for almost $2 million and will help build on these great achievements. It will be used to finalise plantings in the large 370-hectare estate of native vegetation that has been planted as part of this project. It will allow the Goolwa to Wellington LAP volunteers to propagate and plant a further 230,000 plants around the lakes. This will also involve six community nurseries (part of the Community Nurseries Network), who will propagate and grow over 130 different species of trees and plants for the programs.

The planting activity will involve over 35 community groups and planting activities at 54 carefully selected community reveg sites. The grant will also support a range of activities, including community engagement, site maintenance, training, rabbit and weed control, and monitoring of native plant sites. This will build the capacity of the community and landowners to manage their environment into the future, and this is particularly important for the long-term maintenance of the restored areas in light of the recovery project winding up in 2016.

It was a great pleasure to visit one of the communities' key revegetation sites this week. Over this last winter, volunteers had set an impressive 70,000 plants at this site, and volunteers boast of the 88 per cent survival rate of these plants, which is actually incredibly high. The Lakes Hubs in Milang and Meningie have also played an important role in the recovery project since 2008.

The state government has funded the Milang and District Committee Association to coordinate the Lakes Hubs since 2011. The Lakes Hubs were established to provide support and information to local communities that will assist in the long-term management and maintenance of the Coorong, the Lower Lakes and the Murray Mouth sites. They build the capacity and resilience of the local community through partnerships and involvement, education and knowledge sharing, and it is now been confirmed that the Lakes Hubs will continue to offer this important community service for the next two years.

The Milang and District Community Association has done an outstanding job securing a further two years of funding of up to $638,000 to operate the Lakes Hubs. I would like to congratulate the association on this fantastic achievement. With this investment, the hubs can continue to support community engagement and involvement in the recovery project through their local community activism until June 2016.