Mesonet Weather Stations

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:35): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Primary Industries on the topic of Mesonet weather stations.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: During the last several weeks, many farmers have contacted me with their concerns about the impending shutdown of the Mesonet weather stations and what that might mean for their businesses going forward. Many primary producers are currently on their knees due to a range of issues, including drought, frost and market forces, and many do not have the income to support the annual subscription fee. The Mesonet infrastructure was built to provide real-time hazardous inversion data to help prevent spray drift damage and also to provide high-quality weather data in agricultural regions in the gaps between Bureau of Meteorology stations.

It is also important to note that the Mesonet infrastructure also provides information for fire safety at time of harvest. The rollout of the Mesonet infrastructure was strongly supported by the former Marshall Liberal government, as we understood the benefits of the service not just to the farming community but to the wider regions. My questions to the minister are:

1. Given the communication by Mesonet suggesting their impending shutdown prior to Christmas, what is the minister doing to ensure this service can continue to exist throughout not just this coming summer period but into the future?

2. Is the minister and her government considering funding the Mesonet subscription going forward, given its importance in not just farming practices but in fire safety for wider regional communities?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:37): I thank the honourable member for her question. In South Australia the Conditions Over the Landscape (known as COtL) Mesonet provides a network of over 110 automatic weather stations across the Mid North, Mallee, Riverland, Limestone Coast, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale.

The Mesonet automatic weather stations network was designed to give chemical spray operators accurate local weather information to inform decisions about timing of spray operations and reduce the risk of spray drift. As of 2021, COtL operates and manages all the South Australian Mesonet automatic weather stations. The COtL Mesonet network has been supported through funding from two state governments—both the previous Liberal government and the current Labor government—with contributions going towards the capital investment component of the project.

Funding has not been provided for the ongoing operational costs. Initially, free subscriptions were available, but I am advised that the intent was always communicated, including by the former government, that ongoing operational costs would need to be through a subscription or other mechanism that enabled the company to be self-sustaining.

To help cover costs of ongoing maintenance, I am advised that COtL has implemented a user-pays subscription-based model, as was originally envisaged. COtL have informed me that they have concerns about the sustainability of their current business model. I have requested that PIRSA work with COtL to determine what assistance they may require to address their internal business needs to help achieve long-term business sustainability and potentially therefore to enable the ongoing operation of the Mesonet automatic weather station network.

On Monday 18 November, Mr Damon Grace, director of COtL, provided a media release advising that in the current operating environment their revenues are not covering operational expenses, and hence the Mesonet services may not be able to continue. The media release further advised that COtL are in high-level discussions to avoid a shutdown of the Mesonet at the end of this year. I have had discussions also with particular sector groups and peak bodies in regard to this matter, and the discussions with COtL are ongoing.