Replacement Fruit Trees Partnership Program

123 The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) ().8 September 2022).

1. What is the time line for the partnership program between the Department of Primary Industries and Regions and the Loxton Waikerie council that will provide local residents with an opportunity to remove and replace fruit trees?

2. What is the total cost of the program?

3. What is the state government contribution to the program?

4. What is the Loxton Waikerie council contribution to the program?

5. What are the terms of reference for the program?

6. Who will be responsible for completing the report on all monitoring and evaluation outcomes of the program?

7. When is the report expected to be completed?

8. When is the report due to the minister?

9. Will the outcomes and a copy of the report be made public?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries):

South Australia is currently managing fifteen outbreaks of fruit fly in the Riverland.

There have been an abnormally high number of fruit fly detections in the SA Riverland over recent years with twenty outbreaks having been declared since 2018. The vast majority of the detections associated with these outbreaks have been made in non-commercial orchards—largely in small groves of trees attached to peri-urban house blocks.

The South Australian government has initiated a pilot fruit tree replacement program at Waikerie so we can improve community education on the need to manage the risk of fruit fly in non-commercial orchards while also reducing the number of at-risk and unmanaged trees that are forming a biosecurity risk.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) is partnering with the Loxton Waikerie council to develop and implement the pilot project and rolling out an accompanying education program to improve the management of non-commercial fruit trees.

PIRSA is developing detailed plans for the program with the Loxton Waikerie council and intends to commence direct engagement with local residents during September 2022 with a view towards identifying those residents who would like to nominate to have their trees replaced so that work can be well underway before the end of the year.

The total cost of the program will be highly dependent on the number of residents who nominate to have trees replaced.