Granite Island Penguin Colony

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:50): l seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing questions to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation on the topic of Victor Harbor's declining little penguin population.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: I have recently received correspondence from accommodation providers in Victor Harbor about implications that they believe are very grave for their industry with regard to the decline in the little penguin population and its impact on tourism. They write:

The volunteers who run the Granite Island penguin rescue centre desperately need your help…There are very few wild penguins left…

The letter goes on to say:

Dorothy Longden runs the Granite Island rescue centre and she has breeding couples so that if they could get a second pool and a breeding licence, she could maintain and possibly increase the numbers of penguins that safely are protected in the centre.

The Adelaide Zoo has 20 penguins, but only one baby penguin produced this season. If the Granite Island penguins are not allowed to breed and expand, then there will be nowhere to see penguins in SA. They will be extinct and all the tourists will go to Phillip Island or Rockingham in WA, where their Department of Environment and Conservation protect their penguins and don't ignore the problem.

Overseas tourists flock to the island to see the penguins and go home disappointed. The café has closed down, the lawns are dead and the whole island needs urgent attention.

My questions to the minister are:

1. Given that the Granite Island rescue centre is willing to breed more penguins if they can get a second pool and a breeding licence, will the minister investigate this option?

2. Does the government accept that the serious decline of the little penguin population on Granite Island is having a great impact on tourism?

3. Has there been any communication with either the minister, the department or the tourism sector?

4. How committed is the government to ensuring that Granite Island's little penguin population does not die out, and what action is currently being taken to address this?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:52): I thank the honourable member for her most important question; however, I do advise that I have given all this information to the chamber previously. I understand that the honourable member is raising an issue that has been raised with her by a constituent, but this information is on the record. However, I will go through it all again.

I have said in this place a number of times now that little penguins are not listed as threatened under state or federal legislation, nor is the species listed as vulnerable. I understand that there are approximately 90 little penguin colonies in South Australia, and the sizes of these colonies fluctuate from year to year in response to a number of environmental influences. There may be declines in some areas and increases in others. For example, recent management of land-based threats at Phillip Island in Victoria, similar to that being undertaken here in South Australia, has resulted in significant population increases of little penguins.

Recent declines near Victor Harbor and Kangaroo Island cannot be explained simply by changing seasonal conditions, but linking the decline primarily to long-nosed fur seals, as some have indicated, is not supported by available data. Even to the very obvious, of seeing little penguin colonies sitting side-by-side with sea lion and fur seal colonies on some of our remote islands, tends to indicate that that, in fact, is not the key issue.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Brokenshire will have a chance to ask his question in a minute.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: David Attenborough in the back row is giving us some expert advice on this, and I thank him most sincerely for it. I suggest he go off and produce a TV program and sees how successful he is. I ask the chamber to note that the common name of New Zealand fur seal—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, do not buy into his interjections please.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I should not feed the animals, Mr President, you are quite right. Sir, I note that the common name of New Zealand fur seal has proven to be misleading. On expert advice the common name has changed to long-nosed fur seal. I also seem to recall some advice—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Indeed, we are all animals; at base, we are all animals. I have received—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Hon. Michelle Lensink is showing her erudition and her extensive reading. I congratulate her. I have advice that in fact the name New Zealand fur seal is a relatively new name. They used to be called South Australian fur seals, but the name was changed to New Zealand fur seal and now scientists are suggesting that their name be changed to long-nosed fur seals to overcome the impression created by some people that in fact they are not indigenous to South Australia, in which case they are.

I am advised that the monitoring of little penguins in October 2013 and again in 2014 suggests that some populations may now be destabilising; however, continued monitoring will be necessary to confirm this trend. It is easy to understand that when a popular native animal such as a little penguin appears to be in trouble, people want to have quick solutions—of course they do; there is a real attachment these gorgeous little creatures—but targeting another species such as the long-nosed fur seal, for example, is not the answer.

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Possible causes for the colonies shrinking include: predation by introduced species such as dogs, foxes, cats and rats; habitat loss; disturbance by people visiting the colonies; parasites; natural predators such as sharks or goannas; fluctuations in the availability of bait fish; and even seawater flooding of nest sites during storms. It may also be that the penguins are simply migrating to more remote locations where they are not being constantly disturbed by humans.

It is true that—and the Hon. Ms Tammy Franks raised the issue of long-nosed fur seals—fur seals do sometimes eat seabirds, many varieties, including penguins, but I am advised that they form only a minor part of a seal’s diet. Most of a fur seal’s diet is made up of redbait and lantern fish, small bait fish that have no commercial fishery in South Australia, I am advised. They also eat arrow squid and leatherjackets.

I understand that long-nosed fur seals are native to South Australia, and I have covered that bit. Little penguin colonies across our state are subjected to a range of threats on land and at sea. I am advised that a range of little penguin colonies in our state have stable populations.

Recent commissioned reports recommend that current management practices and programs at little penguin colonies where declines have been noted should continue to focus on threat abatement activities on land, including effective land predator control, the revegetation of nesting habitats (including provision of artificial nests) and the protection of nesting/burrowing habitat from coastal developments to maintain spatial extent of existing colonies.

I am advised that a range of these recommendations are currently being implemented. For example, revegetation and other improvements to nesting habitat and baiting of introduced black rats are ongoing. Nesting burrows at locations on Kangaroo Island have also had camera traps established at their entrances to determine the frequency of visits by potential land-based predators, for example cats and rats.

A number of government agencies, departmental staff and volunteers are working together to investigate the extent of localised declines in little penguin colonies and factors which may be contributing to these declines. Research projects are being undertaken to gain a better understanding of the drivers of penguin colony dynamics and to determine what can be done practically to address these local declines.

The South Australian Research and Development Institute is undertaking an assessment of the impacts of seal populations on the seafood industry in South Australia. This research on diet, foraging behaviour and distribution of feeding effort will include an assessment of potential impacts on fisheries and aquaculture, as well as marine ecotourism industries, including, of course, little penguins and giant cuttlefish.

The South Australian Research and Development Institute has also been awarded a research grant from British Petroleum to study the status, distribution and abundance of iconic species and apex predators in the Great Australian Bight. This project includes surveys of little penguin colonies, including on Pearson and Olive Islands.

Monitoring of the colonies on Kangaroo Island and Victor Harbor continues, and monitoring of other stable colonies across the state has been undertaken for comparison. I understand that a recent finding has been that the large breeding colony of little penguins on Troubridge Island, north of Kangaroo Island in Gulf St Vincent, has a strong and stable population.

I understand that it is sometimes tempting to grasp at short term solutions for all local problems, but it is really not a rational way to approach a complex environmental issue that has been the subject of human interference for close to 200 years. We need to consider the complex marine systems and their interactions based on the science that we have before us and the lessons from other jurisdictions. The government is very well aware of the complexity of the issue and is working with stakeholders to arrive at long term, sustainable solutions.

I understand that suggestions have been made that the penguin centre facility on Granite Island should be allowed to conduct a little penguin breed and release program. That looks like an obvious solution on paper, but I am advised that the centre is only capable of holding a maximum of 10 little penguins. The penguin centre does not have the appropriate facilities for breeding little penguins, and does not meet quarantine or biosecurity standards to enable the centre to release any little penguins into the wild, as any provider must do.

Even if the centre could meet these standards, the number of little penguins that could be bred at the facility and released would not have a significant impact upon the little penguin population at Granite island, I am advised. The centre is still, however, an important resource for educating the public about the little penguin species and has been licensed to hold and display little penguins that are not fit for release for this purpose.

The centre also plays a valuable role in acting as an intermediary in the local penguin rescue, ensuring any little penguins rescued in the area are transferred to appropriate facilities. Given that the status of little penguins across the state appears to be stable, a broader penguin breeding and release program is an option that has not been pursued to date.