Fire Towers

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:34): My question is to the Minister for—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I want to hear the question, please.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Sit down, the Hon. Mr Wortley. Order! You are wasting question time. The Hon. Mr Wortley, ask your question.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: My question is to the Minister for Forest Industries. Will the minister update the council about the work currently being undertaken to upgrade fire towers in the South-East?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:34): I thank the honourable member for his question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Forest industries are a significant contributor to the state's economy. I understand they employ both directly and indirectly over 21,000 people around our state, with a large section of that employment being in the South-East of the state. The industries have a value of over $1.4 billion to our economy. That is one reason why, prior to the last election, the Malinauskas Labor government committed $2 million to replace existing fire towers in the South-East with new technology to ensure assets that are worth millions of dollars are being protected from their biggest threat, which is, of course, fire.

In total, eight pre-existing fire towers are being upgraded with new technology, and one existing fire tower at Penola North is being replaced at the conclusion of this year's fire season due to its age and condition. I am advised that the new technology, which is an Australian first, is an artificial intelligence powered bushfire detection and monitoring system and will result in a fully integrated, active bushfire detection platform using satellite technology, ultra HD 360-degree panoramic cameras and AI aimed at improving the early detection of fires.

As of last week, six of the eight fire towers have been upgraded with the new technology and are live and operational. They are, Comaum, which I had the opportunity to visit and watch in action late last year, Mount Benson, The Bluff, Furner, Mount Burr and Carpenter Rocks. Of course, as we all know, early detection is the key and that is why this upgraded technology is so important. In the event of a bushfire in this region, safeguarding the regions' 130,000 hectare forest estate, along with the people and communities who support the industry, is vital.

We know that members opposite do not take the forest industry seriously. Last sitting week, they asked whether I had written to the federal agriculture minister in support of the Australian Forest and Wood Innovation Research Centre being based in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: As minister, I had done that back in early December. Applications to the federal department closed on 6 December. It would have been good to have bipartisan support on this matter, but it turns out that the shadow minister and the Hon. Ben Hood had not bothered to put in a letter of support by close of applications. In fact, they only signed a letter of support for the project the same day as they asked questions of me here in parliament, some nine weeks after applications had closed.

This is how serious and how important they think the industry is. It really does reinforce that the Liberal opposition does not care about forest industries. All they care about is trying for little 'gotcha' moments and attempting cheap little headlines.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: However, the Malinauskas Labor government is committed to getting the job done and rolling out all of our election commitments rather than playing little games like those opposite. As we know, fire does not recognise boundaries so this project will not only benefit the forest industry in the region but all landowners, primary producers and South-East communities.

I want to thank all members of the Green Triangle Fire Alliance for their hard work and dedication to ensure that this project is delivered in the shortest time frame possible by ensuring that assets are protected. They have done a wonderful job, and I look forward to updating this place further once the work is complete.