Environment Protection Authority Air Quality Policy

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (14:34): My question does relate to the minister's original answer from some little while ago now. The minister referred to new monitoring stations for fine particles (PM2.5), and that is welcome. My questions are:

1. Is the government considering monitoring for fine particle pollution along major arterial roads, particularly those roads that are earmarked for higher density development?

2. In years gone by, the EPA has gone down to Mount Gambier and monitored fine particles that largely result from the wood-burning stove operations. Will that monitoring be undertaken again this winter?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:34): I thank the honourable member for his very excellent supplementary. As I said, the EPA is, at least at some stations that I am aware of, not only monitoring for PM2.5 but also monitoring for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide (NOx and SOx, as I said). Where those stations are physically located I couldn't say. I do not have that information before me, but I would imagine our scientific EPA advisers would be making decisions about those placements so that they get the best possible readings in the areas of most concern to us, presumably.

Two of them down on Lefevre are around areas with local industry, a working port and very many serious heavy transport routes to take into consideration. Those are the sorts of premises where I would expect them to be placed. But they also need to have a comprehensive review across the Greater Adelaide region and the rest of the state, and so there would be representative locations in the major cities, but I don't know which ones they are.

I will undertake to undertake a search through our records and come back to the honourable member with the locations of those stations. I will also ask the question for him about whether the station is located in a permanent place in Mount Gambier or whether we go down and do it on a yearly basis. I will get those answers and bring them back.