Kangaroo Island Weed Equipment Subsidy

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. T.T. NGO: Will the minister—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Sit down, the Hon. Mr Ngo. The Hon. Mr Hunter, you are not helping. The Hon. Ms Girolamo, you are not helping. The Hon. Mr Ngo, I would really like to hear—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: The honourable leader has been doing it all question time, sir.

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Government, I don't need your help. The Hon. Mr Ngo, ask your question, please.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: Will the minister update the chamber about the recent announcement relating to the Kangaroo Island weed subsidy and how it will benefit local landowners?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:15): I thank the honourable member for his ongoing interest in Kangaroo Island, and I know that interest is shared by other members in this place as well. The Malinauskas Labor government is committed to supporting our regional communities and ensuring that we can respond—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: —to ongoing challenges and opportunities, where they arise.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the honourable Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: After the 2019-20 bushfires on Kangaroo Island, funding for a range of programs—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Leader of the Government and the Hon. Ms Girolamo! Please continue. Let's go; come on.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I am sorry to hear that those opposite are not interested in what is happening on Kangaroo Island. After the 2019-20 bushfires on Kangaroo Island, funding for a range of programs was made available through both state and commonwealth disaster funding arrangements. This resulted in the $3.8 million to the Biosecurity Rebuild Project and $2.67 million for the Kangaroo Island Feral Pig Eradication Project, which have shown to be extremely successful programs that have benefited the community and the environment.

Kangaroo Island is a unique and precious part of South Australia, with stringent biosecurity restrictions in place to ensure that we can protect this pristine local environment. As minister, I have been fortunate to visit Kangaroo Island several times over the past 12 months to speak with industry about supporting initiatives that will continue to help the island recover from devastating bushfires.

During my visits to the island, organisations such as Agriculture Kangaroo Island (AgKI) have always made time to speak about some of this important work that is required post-bushfire and they often emphasise the importance of ensuring the government continues to support biosecurity efforts on the island. I would like to particularly thank Jamie Heinrich and Tim Buck for their ongoing work in helping the island recover.

The Weeds After Fire component of the Biosecurity Rebuild Project assists landowners to manage weed threats and build resilience against weeds in the future. The project does this in a number of ways, including by assisting landholders to identify new weeds on their properties through free site visits and workshops, by having contractors and government staff control weeds on their properties, and through the provision of training and equipment subsidies. Some of the weeds identified by the Kangaroo Island weeds advisory group as a priority to be destroyed and managed include: Cape tulip, watsonia, bluebell creeper, Montpellier broom, Cape Leeuwin and tree lucerne.

I was delighted that $110,000 in funding for a second weed equipment subsidy has been made available to the Weeds After Fire component of the Biosecurity Rebuild Project until 30 April 2023. After the fires in 2020, PIRSA provided the first weed control equipment subsidy to assist farmers build capacity to control one-leaf Cape tulip (Moraea flaccida) on their properties. When this was initiated, 26 landowners accessed the subsidy to purchase equipment. The additional funding for the second equipment subsidy will continue to create resilience and ongoing capacity for landowners to control problematic weeds on their properties.

I strongly encourage both new and existing Kangaroo Island landowners to apply for the grants, if eligible, and take up this opportunity to utilise the subsidy. The subsidy is currently open and applications close on 30 April this year. Landowners who are battling against problematic weeds are each able to secure up to $5,500 to help with the cost of equipment to manage those weeds. I am advised that in order to qualify, landowners must have evidence on their properties of pasture weeds, fire-responsive weeds or declared weeds.

Weed management is an extremely important issue on the island and that's why programs like this are so valuable. I look forward to being able to further update you on the outcome of weed management on Kangaroo Island once we have seen the results of this subsidy in action.