Wild Dog Control and Dingo Protection

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): I seek leave to provide a brief explanation before trying to ask a question of the Minister for Primary Industries on wild dog control and dingo protection in South Australia.

The PRESIDENT: I will try to give you leave. Is leave granted?

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: In response to correspondence sent to the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Ros Spence, by myself as shadow agriculture minister, Minister Spence affirmed Victorian Labor's position to remove the dingo unprotection order in the north-west areas of the state, citing requiring a better balance between conserving Victoria's dingoes and the need for farmers to protect vulnerable livestock. My question to the minister is: will she and her Labor government rule out going down the same path as Victoria when it comes to greater protection for dingoes?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:26): I thank the honourable member for her question. The Malinauskas Labor government is keen to act, based on the evidence that is provided—the scientific evidence, which of course must be robust. I think I may have outlined in this place before, certainly in other forums I have, that the report that was put together and released in recent months, to my understanding according to my briefings, has not yet been peer reviewed. I think it is most regrettable, therefore, that the Victorian government has taken the actions they have, if indeed they have based those actions on that report as a predominant source of information.

There are a number of dingo and wild dog experts across the country. The report that was, as I understand it, a significant part of the Victorian government's position, whilst adding to the body of research, in my view the research needs to be taken as a whole, while there is no evidence to suggest that we should be protecting wild dogs in South Australia any more than we already are, because of course there are already two different approaches, north and south of the dog fence.