Natural Resources Committee: Annual Report 2015-16

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (17:05): I move:

That the report of the committee, entitled Annual Report 2015-16, be noted.

The 2015-16 year was another busy one for the Natural Resources Committee. The membership of the committee was similar to the previous year with all members of the 53^rd Parliament First Session continuing into the second session. However, Mr Chris Picton MP resigned on 8 February 2016 and this vacancy was filled by Ms Annabel Digance on 9 February 2016; however, Ms Digance subsequently resigned her membership on 7 June 2016 after being appointed to another committee. At the end of the reporting period and as of today the vacancy remains unfilled. The committee's staff is unchanged and, as I referred to in my remarks to the previous report, we are well served by our research office, Ms Barbara Coddington and executive officer Mr Patrick Dupont.

Over the reporting period the committee undertook 28 formal meetings, totalling more than 64 hours and took evidence from some 64 witnesses. Ten reports were tabled: the Inquiry into Unconventional Gas (Fracking) Interim Report; the Annual Report 2014-15; the Regional Report for March 2014 to April 2016; and seven reports on NRM levy proposals for 2016-17.

Meetings were held with the Minister for Sustainably, Environment and Conservation, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and also with the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the House of Assembly. The committee has annual statutory responsibilities to consider NRM levy proposals. Over this reporting period many of the proposed NRM levy increases were greater than in previous years resulting in increased witnesses seeking to raise concerns with the committee, and 26 witnesses presented with regard to the levy increases including the members for MacKillop, Hammond, Chaffey, Finniss and Bragg and the former South Australian premier the Hon. Rob Kerin in his position as chairman of Primary Producers SA.

The committee takes its NRM levy oversight responsibility seriously and members spent considerable time deliberating on how best to respond to concerns raised regarding the proposed levy increases. Those matters were certainly canvassed in this house previously so I will not go into that any further, other than to say that there was a majority decision of the committee to support those levy increases. However, the member for Flinders, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire and I did not support that.

The committee endeavours to visit all eight NRM regions over the course of a four-year parliamentary term in order to meet with NRM managers and community members and to observe the work done by the regional NRM boards and also the staff of DEWNR. During the reporting period, the committee visited the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges and Northern and Yorke regions as part of its Pinery fireground fact-finding visit. We also undertook a four-day extended visit to the AWNRM region, as referred to at some length in the previous report today.

In addition to attending to its statutory responsibilities, the committee generally aims to undertake one or more inquiries. The committee continued its inquiry into unconventional gas fracking, hearing from 32 witnesses plus making fact-finding visits to the region including Roma, Dalby and Chinchilla in Queensland, and also to Robe in the South-East and Moomba in the Cooper Basin. The committee also continued to gather evidence for its sustainable fishery management inquiry from four witnesses, and received a briefing from Biosecurity SA regarding the South Australian infestation of Russian wheat aphids (we heard from two witnesses on that topic).

This reporting period saw the committee piloting the use of videoconferencing for its hearings. In total, six witnesses gave evidence to the committee via Skype. One witness was heard via teleconference and the remaining 57 witnesses presented to the committee in person. The access to this videoconference technology has been an excellent way to increase the range of expertise available to the committee. In particular, we have heard from at least two witnesses on the fracking inquiry from the United States on opposite sides of the argument, so to speak, by that method.

I acknowledge the valuable contribution of committee members during the reporting period. I think the committee has always had a record of working together very well, and I thank the members, as previously mentioned, for their contributions to the work that makes up this report. Once again, I thank the members of staff and commend the report to the council.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (17:12): I rise to support the Hon. John Dawkins' overview of the annual report of the Natural Resources Committee. I commend the chair, the Hon. Steph Key, and all my colleagues on the committee. It is the most hardworking committee, I believe, of any of the standing committees of the parliament, without doubt. We do get our hands dirty and we do spend a lot of time, with limited resources, getting out where we possibly can to do the work of the parliament when it comes to the Natural Resources Committee.

I commend the great work of both Mr Patrick Dupont and Ms Barbara Coddington. I just want to say that the Hon. John Dawkins is absolutely correct: three of us were opposed to the massive increases in natural resources management, which is going to hurt the government, make no doubt about it. Come next election, it will be one of the big election issues. There is nowhere I go across the state where people are not complaining.

I think the minister for the environment should take note of what the committee has said in its report about the concerns they have with these exorbitant cost shifting rises in each individual property owner's accounts as a result of the Treasury clawing back $6 million into general revenue and the department then copying them and clawing back about $6 million: 300 full-time equivalents at $22,000 per full-time equivalent for so-called corporate services.

This is an important committee. You can see that the work is being done, and I commend the report to the house.

Motion carried.