Fruit Fly

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development regarding fruit fly. Can the minister please confirm that she is confident that her department has been able to maintain sufficient staffing levels to support fruit fly eradication efforts in the Riverland, which includes inspecting fruit trees, organically baiting and releasing sterile flies?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for her question and I am delighted to update the chamber on the state government's response to fruit fly in the Riverland. As I think I have mentioned before, my first regional visit as the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development was to the Riverland to meet with key stakeholders involved in the fruit fly response.

The South Australian government remains committed to maintaining South Australia's status as the only mainland state which is free of fruit fly, and continues to apply a significant effort to eradicate the pest from multiple outbreak sites in the South Australian Riverland. Our operational teams are applying fruit fly bait and are collecting fallen fruit from affected sites as well as releasing millions of sterile flies every week to combat the pest.

The affected industries have invested significantly in playing their part in the eradication effort and the government is committed to continuing efforts to return those businesses to enjoying the benefits of the pest-free area. Now of course for the stakeholders involved it is important that they are able to work with government in a collaborative and constructive way. That is one of the reasons I was so surprised to hear the comments from the member for Chaffey recently on radio that did nothing more than whip up, one might even say, hysteria and panic amongst the industry with his errant claims about workforce.

The member for Chaffey this week said on ABC Riverland radio that PIRSA currently had 'less than 40 staff on the ground at the moment'. I am advised, and indeed over the past two weeks, there has never been fewer than 50 staff on the ground responding to these outbreaks and there has never been fewer than 60 responding in total to the outbreak when you include other staff who are assisting in the coordinated response.

It is most unhelpful that the member for Chaffey is spreading misinformation. I am advised that we usually have around 70 staff on the ground—some have been away sick recently of course with COVID, affected as many industries are. I am also advised that an additional 11 staff have been inducted just this week.

The member for Chaffey went on with some other claims also, but I am sure we might get to those. So just in summary, the state government is committed to ensuring that as a state we maintain our fruit fly status, and we will continue to have staff on the ground in various roles.