Natural Resources Committee: Annual Report 2016-17

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (17:12): I move:

That the report of the committee, entitled Annual Report 2016-17, be noted.

The year 2016-17 has been another busy one for the Natural Resources Committee, and the membership of the NRC was similar to the previous year. However, the Hon. Mr Kandelaars MLC resigned effective 27 February 2017, and I was pleased and honoured to join this committee on 28 February 2017, replacing the Hon. Mr Kandelaars. The Hon. Paul Caica MP took up the vacancy left by Ms Annabel Digance MP in June 2016.

The committee's staff was unchanged since the previous reporting period with research officer, Ms Barbara Coddington, and executive officer, Mr Patrick Dupont, providing continuity of support to the committee. Ms Coddington has since resigned from the committee, which is a loss for the committee, but I am pleased to be able to report that Ms Coddington has taken up a position in the parliamentary library, so her expertise is not completely lost to the parliament.

Over the reporting period, the committee undertook 14 formal meetings, totalling 35 hours and 15 minutes and took evidence from 38 witnesses. Seven reports were tabled: the Pinery Fire Regional Fact-Finding Trip report, the Annual Report for 2015-16, the Inquiry into Unconventional Gas (Fracking) in the South East of South Australia: Final Report and three reports on NRM levy proposals for 2017-18.

While I am talking about committee reports, I need to take the opportunity to note that the tabling of many reports has been a consistent feature of this committee. I recently ran through a list of the reports that this committee has tabled in the parliament and it turns out that, over the last 10 years, this committee has tabled 108 reports—an average of almost 11 reports per year.

I have to say that I am impressed by the committee's strong record of report production, which is a credit to the committee's Presiding Member, the Hon. Steph Key MP, and all committee members past and present and, of course, to the committee staff, past and present, also. Many of the committee's tabled reports have involved a considerable amount of work and I am confident the reports have made a significant contribution to debate and policy development on a range of issues.

The committee endeavours to visit all eight NRM regions over the course of the 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 staff of the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. During the reporting period, the committee visited the Northern and Yorke NRM region, the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin NRM region, and a combined visit to the Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island saw members visiting the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges SAMDB and the KI NRM regions over two days.

It has always been the philosophy of the committee to include local members and any other interested members in the site visits. This practice has been of enormous benefit for the committee and I am reliably informed that committee site visits to the regions often benefit local members and their communities by helping to get a range of issues investigated and considered more closely than might otherwise be the case.

As part of its regular visits to the regions, the committee always appreciates the very generous hospitality offered by local communities. It is the committee's experience that local government, as the grassroots tier of government, can always be relied upon to welcome the committee and to provide us with access to local expertise and excellent venues in which to take evidence and conduct meetings.

The regional NRM boards and DEWNR support staff whom we have occasion to visit and meet with in the regions are also tremendously helpful and always go the extra mile to ensure the committee's visits are not only productive but highly stimulating. Of course, local volunteers such as those individuals who work with the NRM boards, local government and community groups are also immensely deserving of praise and are a fantastic resource for the local communities and for this committee and we thank them.

For the 2016-17 period, the committee finalised its inquiry into unconventional gas fracking, hearing from its last two witnesses and tabling its final report in November 2016. The committee also continued to gather evidence for a sustainable marine scalefish fishery management in South Australia report, its prawns report, and the committee received briefings on the SA water storages, the Brown Hill and Keswick Creek stormwater project, the Smith Bay wharf proposal and a marine parks update.

I commend the members of the committee over the reporting period, Presiding Member the Hon. Steph Key MP, the Hon. Mr Brokenshire MLC, the Hon. Mr Dawkins MLC, Mr John Gee MP, former MLC the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars, Mr Peter Treloar MP, and Mr Paul Caica MP, for their contributions. All members have worked cooperatively throughout the reporting period. Finally, I thank the parliamentary staff, Patrick Dupont, Barbara Coddington and now Meredith Brown and the Hansard staff who assist us. I commend the report to the Legislative Council.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (17:18): I rise very briefly to endorse the remarks of the Hon. Mr Gazzola and I am very pleased that both he and the Hon. Paul Caica have been able to join the committee in that period. They have certainly been more regular attenders than some from the Labor Party, although I do not include the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars in those remarks because we are all aware of his commitment to the committee despite his wife's ill health.

I think the Hon. Mr Gazzola has outlined the wide range of work the committee has undertaken in the reporting year. I think it is worthwhile, though, mentioning a couple of the things that we did either end of the year.

One of the first things was to conclude what I thought was a very important fact-finding report on the Pinery fire, and I was keen for the committee to do that in as short a period as possible after the fire, so that was worthwhile. At the other end of the year, one of the last things we did was visit the Gluepot Reserve, something that I had been hoping to do for some time. There is an enormous number of volunteers in the Riverland, particularly the legendary Mr Bill Santos, whose construction group does enormous work at that excellent facility which is run totally by volunteers through the organisation Birdlife Australia.

Like the Hon. Mr Gazzola, I wish to thank Patrick Dupont the secretary; Dr Meredith Brown, who has now taken over as research officer; and, as previously mentioned, Barbara Coddington, who did fabulous work for the committee, particularly on the fracking inquiry and who is now situated here in the parliamentary library. With those remarks, I endorse this report to the council.

Motion carried.