Environment, Resources and Development Committee: Report 2018-19

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins:

That the report of the Fifty-Fourth Parliament, 3 May 2018 to 30 June 2019, of the committee be noted.

(Continued from 13 November 2019.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (20:42): I rise to support the motion to note the third report of the Environment, Resources and Development Committee (ERDC) of the Fifty-Fourth Parliament. I am pleased to sit on this committee and contribute to the management of environment, resources and development in our state.

When moving this motion, the Hon. Mr Dawkins explained that our committee spends much of its time on changes to planning rules and processes. This committee has looked at discrete micro changes affecting relatively few people, but sometimes it affects those people in big and serious ways. The committee has looked at systemic issues, such as how heritage is managed in this state, and government policies for planning and development statewide.

Planning and development impacts our lives significantly and in ways I do not think we appreciate as a community—or, at least, not until something happens that we do not like. Planning and development is both visible and invisible. It is the rules telling us what we can and cannot build, and where. It is a system of rules and guidelines that protect our health and safety while also determining fence heights and setbacks.

Planning and development is the combination of physical and definite infrastructure, buildings and spaces around us: things that we see, touch and use. It is also an invisible force, strongly influencing how we live, function and engage with our surroundings.

This committee performs an important role in an important social policy area. On behalf of this parliament and our state's citizens, we scrutinise planning and development, which affects all our lives in multiple ways. Outside this role, one of the most exciting things this committee instigated during this reporting period falls within our resources remit. How we use and re-use our limited resources is one of the most serious global issues and has a profound impact on international matters. This does not just affect South Australia, but I believe that actions of individual communities like ours will lead to better use of the world's resources.

Lots of small changes will contribute to the global solution we need. As such, the ERDC embarked on an inquiry of the recycling industry in South Australia. We are currently listening to the community and visiting sites to gather as much information as we can. I look forward to when this committee can bring together our information and insights about how recycling works, or perhaps how it may not work, and how we can do better in South Australia.

I think tackling an issue like this is some of the most pressing and necessary work this committee can do, that is, working on a problem that faces our generation and that has a profound impact on future generations and those beyond our state borders. I look forward to working with other committee members on this challenging issue and uncovering what reforms we might be able to make in this state. I am eager to see what the ERDC can deliver for the people of South Australia.

In closing, I thank the staff who have provided administrative support to the committee over this reporting period: Ms Lisa Baxter, Ms Lauren Williams and Ms Joanne Fleer. I also thank Dr Merry Brown, the research officer for the committee. Lastly, I thank committee members for our frank and robust discussions: Mr Nick McBride MP, member for MacKillop; Mr Michael Brown MP, member for Playford; Mr Adrian Pederick MP, member for Hammond who, as the Presiding Member, keeps the ship sailing forward as we work through these complex issues; the Hon. John Dawkins MLC; and, for his particularly enlightening contributions and depth of knowledge not only in this area but others, the Hon. Mark Parnell MLC. I endorse this report.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (20:48): I thank the Hon. Tung Ngo and other members of the committee who have contributed to the work of the ERD Committee. I commend the motion to the council.

Motion carried.