Port Gawler Conservation Park

Adjourned debate on motion of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation:

That this council requests His Excellency the Governor to make a proclamation under section 29(3) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 abolishing the Port Gawler Conservation Park.

(Continued from 1 June 2017.)

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (11:12): I rise to support this motion for the abolition of the Port Gawler Conservation Park, which is to enable it to be part of much greater things. The Labor Party made a promise to create an international bird sanctuary in the 2014 campaign, and they have proceeded with those plans. The first I heard of this matter was a debate that was organised by the Conservation Council, at which I participated as the then shadow minister for the environment, and the Premier spoke on behalf of the Labor government, either early in 2014 or late 2013.

That was the first time I had heard of this particular proposal that a bird sanctuary be created to support the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, which is a migratory pathway that a range of shore birds use to travel from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere for breeding purposes. It is a key feeding and roosting site for those birds that use the flyway each year. They fly a very significant distance from places as far away as Siberia and Alaska. The flyway is used by more than five million birds a year, 27,000 of which call this particular sanctuary home.

There are, naturally, a number of threatened species that use the site. The new national park will encompass the Port Gawler Conservation Park, so this motion is required to extinguish that conservation park. The Environment, Resources and Development Committee made a site visit to that part of the world in 2014, following the election. There were representatives from Birdlife Australia who showed us a number of birds.

The new area will encompass some 60 kilometres from the Barker Inlet and St Kilda foreshore through to Thompson Beach in the north. There has been a range of activities and proposals for that particular area to utilise the new sanctuary, provide tourism opportunities and interpretive centres. Those sorts of things are being proposed for the area. I think it is a really important initiative that will, hopefully, assist in attracting some tourism dollars to support that area.

For those who are not familiar with the area, if you are driving up Port Wakefield Road, it is on your left. There is a whole range of the old salt pans that used to be under the Ridley Corporation. I understand from the briefings we had that there are issues, now that that company has vacated, in managing the salinity because there are varying levels of salinity, depending on the area, and they used to keep it at a certain level.

Clearly, different biota will grow in different parts of the flats, depending on the salinity levels, and birds feed on different biotas. Those matters are going to need quite some effort to ensure that we do our best to support the particular species that use that area. I wish the department all the best in its efforts on that and commend the motion to the council.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (11:17): I rise also to support this motion. The motion has essentially already been laid out to allow for the area to be added to the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park which is called—I am going to attempt it—Winaityinaityi Pangkara.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Not bad.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: Not bad? I am reliably informed by the Hon. Mr Hunter that that was a not bad attempt. So, essentially to add that area to that park under section 29(3) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. It is a lot easier for me to say that with my law degree. The Port Gawler Conservation Park was, of course, constituted in the 1970s—I think in 1971. It protects over 400 hectares of mangroves, samphire and coastal dune systems and the species they support. For avid readers of Hansard, samphire is essentially a plant that grows in rocky outcrop systems.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Very tasty.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: It can be eaten, as the Hon. Mr Hunter points out, if you are very interested. I know the Hon. Mr Hunter would also be interested that it was named after the patron saint of fishermen because all the original plants grew in and around the salt-sprayed regions along the seacoast, and the fishermen would occasionally stop and eat samphire as they travelled around the world.

To get back to the park, the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary is an internationally significant area for endemic and migratory shorebirds, traversing approximately 60 kilometres of the coastline on the eastern shores of Gulf St Vincent. It has been formally recognised with a certificate of participation in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, a network of international entities committed to the preservation of migratory bird species. The Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara—has been created as a core protected area within the bird sanctuary. The Port Gawler Conservation Park rests adjacent to this and is central within other land under consideration for addition to this new national park.

As was pointed out by the Hon. Ms Lensink, this is all occurring as a result of a government promise back in 2014. We enjoy fulfilling our promises, particularly when it involves creating larger and more diverse spaces, and this will certainly fulfil that. The proposed change in status of this land is consistent with the characteristics and values of the land and will contribute to the recognition of this area as an important part of the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary. I spoke last week about marine life, this time it is birds; I am covering everything. Both the bird sanctuary and the national park have received broad support across the community, local government and the native title claimant group, providing hope and positive aspirations for all of northern Adelaide and its communities.

The existing Port Gawler Conservation Park does not permit any mining access. The land will be subject to that same restriction, on being added, of course, to this national park. Once the Port Gawler Conservation Park has been abolished, it can be reconstituted by proclamation as an addition to the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—I am going to try again—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Winaityinaityi.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: Winaityinaityi Pangkara.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Pangkara.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: Pangkara. The Hon. Mr Hunter is coaching me well—pursuant to section 28(1) of the act. The Governor will proclaim the abolition of the Port Gawler Conservation Park, and the proclamation of the land as an addition to the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park–Winaityinaityi Pangkara on the same day. I commend this motion to the council.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (11:21): I rise to close the debate. I am very grateful for the indications of support from those who have commented on the proposition before us. I am astounded by the erudition—although I probably should not have been—in the contributions of the Hon. Michelle Lensink and the Hon. Mr Hanson. They have done all the work for me, really, in summing-up, so I will just say that, as is obvious, the purpose is to allow for the area to be added to the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park–Winaityinaityi Pangkara under section 29(3)(a) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act.

The proposed change in status of the land is consistent with the characteristics and values of the land and will contribute to the recognition of this area as an important part of the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary, and therefore I am very pleased to commend the motion to the council.

Motion carried.