Co-management Workshop

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Will the minister inform the chamber about the recent co-management workshop and the state government's plan to strengthen the co-management model?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:07): The honourable member is again right on the money. He obviously has sources wide and varied across the state to find out what is happening around the place and where I am up to.

On Wednesday 17 February, I had the very great pleasure of opening the second co-management workshop at Adelaide Zoo. This is the second time such a workshop has been held, involving representatives from all co-management boards and advisory committees, following the inaugural workshop in 2014 to mark the 10^th anniversary of co-management in South Australia. The co-management model in South Australia is an internationally recognised partnership between the state government and Aboriginal groups, designed to foster shared management of land.

It was first established in 2004 and now incorporates 12 co-managed parks across the state. Co-management recognises Aboriginal people as the original custodians of our land and acknowledges the importance of the customs and knowledge they have passed down through generations. Bringing together representatives of all co-management boards and advisory committees to discuss and exchange experiences and ideas helps to strengthen the co-management model. In the words of Mr Clem Lawrie, the deputy chair of the Nullarbor Parks Advisory Committee:

It was a fantastic opportunity for different Traditional Owners to get together to discuss our vision for the future of our land in partnership with the government and community. What became apparent was how much land across South Australia we now manage in cooperation. This made me really happy.

It is also important to celebrate and share the experience and benefits of co-management with the wider public. As the traditional owners themselves expressed after the workshop, it is vital that we work together to showcase co-management, to change perceptions, to raise awareness and to ultimately benefit all parties by increasing knowledge of these activities. This is why, at the inaugural workshop in 2014, I am advised, we undertook to produce a booklet about co-management, explaining its benefits. That booklet, Strong Country, Strong People, was launched at the recent workshop.

The booklet combines people's stories of what co-management means to their communities with fantastically beautiful images of the people and landscapes of those co-managed areas. It is a wonderful celebration of co-management in our state. I would like to congratulate everybody involved in producing this impressive and useful resource which will be a great educational document for the wider community and I think particularly also for our schools.

In addition to each board and committee presenting on their experiences of co-management, the two-day workshop included sessions on improving communication between stakeholder groups, governance issues and ways in which Aboriginal communities can be involved in nature-based tourism opportunities, and the future of co-management and what it looks like. All participants agreed that it was important now to undertake wider community consultation and again a broader community support for a transition to Aboriginal-owned co-managed parks.

The state government is grateful for the robust partnerships that have developed over the last decade through co-management as it evolves. These have enabled us to take tangible steps towards reconciliation and involve Aboriginal communities with the government's priority of building the social and economic capacity and resilience of our regional communities. I would like to thank all those participants for their involvement in the workshop, especially those who have travelled some long distances to be there, and above all I would like to thank those involved in the co-management of our parks for their dedication to the success of our unique co-management model that enriches the lives of every South Australian.