Kangaroo Island Natural Resources

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:18): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Will the minister inform the chamber about what work is being done to sustainably manage Kangaroo Island's natural resources?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Last week, I had the great pleasure of visiting KI again for the launch of the new Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Plan. Kangaroo Island may be a relatively small and somewhat isolated place to visit, but Kangaroo Island boasts experiences that are indeed world class and encourage people to take that trip across the ferry or indeed the 20-minute flight to get there.

In fact, whilst we were in the departure lounge on the way back we ran into some tourists from Mexico, who were disturbed at the time, of course, by news reports coming in about an earthquake in Mexico City. We inquired of them what they were seeing in Australia and they said, 'Sydney, Melbourne and Kangaroo Island.' They were their three stops of choice. So the fame of KI is spreading very far indeed.

I had the opportunity, of course, to see some of the spectacular nature-based tourism activities on offer on the island and some fine examples of South Australian entrepreneurs utilising the many benefits of our natural resources and bringing them together and making a fantastic product, either for tourism or for consumption through some of our spectacular Kangaroo Island gin or other products that they produce. They are amazing local products from pristine, natural surrounds, with eco-friendly designs to create high-end visitor experiences that can be enjoyed, of course, by residents on the island but also by visitors, including the Wilderness Trail, which I have spoken of previously in this place.

There is the Emu Bay fossil site, which is not yet publicly open but, ultimately, at some stage, we will be making the most of it. There is the KI Spirits microdistillery and the Kangaroo Island Brewery, just to name a few. Kangaroo Island's national parks help to position the island as a premier nature-based tourism destination. The island's national parks contribute 20 per cent of South Australia's nature-based tourism dollars to the state's economy, I am advised.

Kangaroo Island is a landscape of incredible significance. The new Kangaroo Island Wilderness Walking Trail is a 61-kilometre long track that takes five days to get through if you do it all in one go. The weaving trail takes visitors through botanically unique areas of rugged, remote and spectacular coastline. The trail provides an internationally competitive multi-day walking experience along the south-west coast of Kangaroo Island and has already been listed as one of the world's top new travel destinations in 2017 by the leading international travel authority Lonely Planet, highlighting the trail to millions of potential travellers around the world.

The state government has committed over $5 million for this world-class, nature-based tourism showcase for our state. The trail will bring economic benefit to the state generally, not just to KI, along with opportunities for the private sector to invest in accommodation or new tourism products on the island. I am advised that over 2,500 walkers have booked to walk the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail; of these about 1,200 have completed the trail. Responses from the first walkers of the trail have exceeded all expectations. It is anticipated that 3,300 walkers will use the trail in 2017-18.

Kangaroo Island's beautiful rugged landscape has been a sanctuary for a wide variety of wildlife for millions of years, and the Emu Bay fossil site is arguably one of the most exceptional Cambrian fossil sites in the world. The site is dated to be about 520 million years old, between the slightly older Chengijang deposits of southern China and the slightly younger Burgess Shale site in Canada, both of which are already world-famous.

I was very lucky to have palaeontologist Diego Garcia-Bellido from Adelaide Uni show me some of the amazing archaeological finds from the Emu Bay site up close. I found a few fossils myself by chiselling open some of the shale and they were so interesting that the palaeontologist took them from me and said, 'No, you can't keep those; they are too valuable and I have to have a closer look at them.' It is jut incredible; almost any rock of shale that you pick up and break in half will have a fossil in it of some sort. Over 50 species are now known from the Emu Bay shale site and I am pretty sure that this will be a world-famous site before too long.

It is largely, of course, because of the incredible state of preservation of the Cambrian fossils, many of which are ancient marine arthropods: animals with an exoskeleton and jointed legs represented by living insects, arachnids and crustaceans. The preservation is so exceptional that the contents of the guts of these fossils can sometimes be discerned, eyes can be discerned, and soft body parts, etc., which is very rare indeed.

Researchers from the South Australian Museum and other institutions have undertaken biannual field trips to excavate since that time, with 2017 representing the 10^th anniversary of field activities. There are a number of palaeontologists on the island to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of this dig. Sites like these and the beautiful natural expanse that surrounds the Wilderness Trail are very important natural assets for the state and for Kangaroo Island. The effective and efficient sustainable ecological management of Kangaroo Island's world-class natural resources is of paramount importance.

The new Kangaroo Island Natural Resource Management Plan is integral to achieving this. There has been a lot of time and effort put into the development of this 10-year plan. Care has been taken to involve and consult with the Kangaroo Island community throughout the entire process, and this includes landholders, residents, community groups, local non-government organisations, businesses and industry and local and state government agencies.

The projects developed with the community that form the basis of the plan of course need funding. The board spoke to the community in depth about the balance between the levy collected and the projects delivered, and settled on an increase to the levy, which parliament obviously understands and supports. This levy goes a long way to keeping Kangaroo Island clean and green by funding pest plant and animal control, as well as careful and sustainable management of soil and water. It is this work that ensures Kangaroo Island remains a natural and agricultural paradise.

This has been a very local plan. It was developed by the board with input from the islanders, and I trust that this plan will reflect their vision and their goals to maintain the security of their natural resources in terms of the community's desires for the distant future, at least the next 10 years, but certainly quite distant as far as most plans of this sort go for—usually a two to three-year vision, but this one is longer than most.

The articulated vision for the KI NRM region is for Kangaroo Island to retain its distinctive nature while at the same time ensuring that its thriving community and vibrant economy are underpinned by a healthy, resilient environment that is collectively managed for the benefit of all and for economic prosperity for islanders.

Over the next 10 years the achievement of this vision will require cooperation and collaboration between all the stakeholders who helped shape it. This reflects the integrated nature of the environment, society and the economy. We cannot separate our natural resources from our community and our wellbeing, our health and, of course, our industries.

The plan is based on the best available science, expert and local knowledge and presents clear direction on what is needed to achieve the sustainable management and development of the island's natural resources. But we live in a changing world, and we know that challenges will be coming at us, particularly in the area of climate change, which will mean that we need to be flexible and adaptive when we take forward our management plans.

This is an approach that the island, through its NRM plan, has embraced, knowing that new problems will be thrown up, that changes will be made, because of environmental conditions to farming and varieties that are farmed, not just the timing of bringing in crops, etc. Unanticipated circumstances will arise, and the plan is flexible enough to allow for an adaptive management approach over the next decade.

So, climate change will be an issue that the islanders have recognised and have built into this plan, and I congratulate the Kangaroo Island Council and the Kangaroo Island NRM Board for leading the implementation and consultation of this regional climate change adaptation plan they have produced, and to build the further awareness in the community and understanding on this critical issue and meshing it with the natural resource management plan.

One of the state government's priorities is to build the social and economic capacity and resilience of regional communities, with programs such as the nature-based and cultural tourism. The Nature Like Nowhere Else nature-based tourism strategy and action plan sets out the government's course for increasing jobs for South Australians and improving the visitor experience, expenditure and regional dispersal.

Kangaroo Island is a special place: spectacular coastlines and bush landscapes, home to 45 species of plants unique to the island—more than are found in any other region in South Australia—and a number of endemic and animal species or subspecies, such as the Kangaroo Island short-beaked echidna.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: This is nearly as long as your speech in Clare the other day.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I am very pleased that the Hon. John Dawkins was paying so much attention, but he does love the speeches on natural resource management, and I am very grateful for his attention.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, just continue with your answer.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, sir. It is also the last refuge of the endangered glossy black cockatoo, which is making a comeback, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Kangaroo Island community, the KI NRM Board and DEWNR staff, who support the board with delivery of this program.

It is important to understand that more than 200,000 people visit the island every year, contributing about $134 million to the regional economy in 2014-15 and directly employing approximately 500 people, with a further 900 jobs indirectly supported. So, it is vitally important that government works with the local community to make sure that this great attraction, this nature-based attraction, is there for the longer term: it underpins the success of the whole island economy. At the same time, primary production contributed about $57 million to the regional economy in 2014-15 and provided another 400 or so jobs.

The many benefits of the beautiful, natural landscape, combined with a strong tourism economy, have attracted new businesses to the island, such as Kangaroo Island Brewery and KIS (Kangaroo Island Spirits), both fantastic examples of how sustainably managed natural resources benefit Kangaroo Island. The brewery has just announced a new ale called Shale Ale, which has been filtered through 520 million-year-old trilobites from the Emu Bay site. So, the Shale Ale that you buy from the KI brewery has been filtered through 520 million-year-old rocks and fossils, and that is a fantastic selling point.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order: the minister just abuses question time. He has been going for over 11 minutes on this answer.

The PRESIDENT: Can the honourable minister please come to the conclusion of his answer?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: As usual, I would have been finished had not the interjector been on his feet. He doesn’t want to hear about these fantastic entrepreneurs on Kangaroo Island, who are going out and taking advantage of the hard work of the NRM and the state government in delivering these opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop a product unique to Kangaroo Island, a fantastic selling point. World-class hospitality offerings are being developed on KI, but of course the opposition has no interest in that; they don't actually want to think about the future, they just look backwards. That's the way they are.

For example, there is the fantastic local member for Mawson who, singlehandedly, secured direct Qantas flights to Kangaroo Island—

An honourable member: Singlehandedly?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Singlehandedly; Leon Bignell, the member for Mawson. He cares about Kangaroo Island, unlike the Liberals opposite. He goes out of his way to make sure that the island has a sustainable, long-term future and he is the one who delivered Qantas flights all the way through to KI. You can now book, in the UK, all the way through from London to KI. As the fame of Kangaroo Island spreads around the world, so will the fame of the member for Mawson, Leon Bignell, for delivering these not direct flights, but flights all the way through. Of course, the new Kangaroo Island airport will also be a testament to the honourable member's assiduous attempts to get funding for projects on Kangaroo Island. That will continue.

In addition to the economic benefits to the community on KI, we are just starting to understand, in scientific terms, how important it is for people to spend time in nature. We need to continue to work together to maintain and improve the condition of the region's natural resources for the benefit of the whole community, residents and visitors alike, and we need to ensure that future development activities are appropriate and sustainable. That was one of the key messages brought home to me by members of the local community.

They love to see development on the island because it creates jobs and economic potential for their island and their community, but they don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. They want to keep, for the long term, the wonderful natural assets they have on the island. They don't want development at any cost, because development must go hand in hand with the natural beauty that Kangaroo Island offers. After all, that is what people come to Kangaroo Island for; that is what these visitors from Mexico were telling us, that they came to KI specifically. They went to just Sydney and Melbourne and Kangaroo Island as part of their trip, and that is because KI is a place like nowhere else in the world.

We need to work together to maintain and improve the condition of the region's natural resources for the benefit of the whole community, as I said. Again, I would like to congratulate the Kangaroo Island community, the KI NRM board, and the DEWNR staff based on Kangaroo Island who support the board in their hard work in producing this plan.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I think it is very important to say thank you to people who have put in the hard yards and who have developed this plan on behalf of their community.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I think it is entirely appropriate.

The PRESIDENT: Will the honourable minister take his seat.

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: You abuse question time.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Stephens, the minister may have finished and given an opportunity to the Hon. Mr Parnell—

The Hon. T.J. Stephens: Why don't you pull him into gear? What sort of a job are you doing?

The PRESIDENT: Because the minister will answer the question—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Be careful. You are being televised, and I don't want you to scare all the kids watching this program at the moment. Just sit down and allow the minister to conclude his answer.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I thank the community of Kangaroo Island for working with us on the development of this plan.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!