Pastoral Board

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): Supplementary: does the minister concede, though, that people with experience with pastoral leases does not necessarily equal people with practical experiences on managing pastoral land?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:25): My understanding is that there is the scope, out of those five of the six positions, to include the experience that is being referred to. Just for a little bit more background also for all members' information, it was prior to the last state election that the Malinauskas now government committed to a number of initiatives to support landholders across South Australia to care for land sustainably, and that included an additional $1 million for the pastoral unit, according to my advice, to accelerate lease extensions, and $6 million for heritage agreements.

Among them was a commitment to amend the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act 1989 to allow for carbon farming and conservation on pastoral leases. There are minor amendments that are seeking to resolve an inconsistency between two sections of the act that caused legal uncertainty over the Pastoral Board's ability to approve non-pastoral uses. It is clear that there needs to be a wide range of experience on the board and my advice is that that is certainly allowed for in the act.