Regional Shark Mitigation Strategy

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the regional shark mitigation strategy, which was announced last weekend?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for his question. Over the last 18 months, three South Australians lost their lives in fatal shark attacks. It has been a devastating reminder of the potential for danger that does exist in our waters. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the victims and their families, and I am sure that I speak for all in this chamber when I extend sincere condolences to them.

As South Australians, and indeed as Australians, we share our beaches and our oceans with a wide range of wild and marine life, and sharks are an important part of the marine ecosystem. Our beaches are some of the best in the world. It is important that we coexist with sharks, and where realistic and possible that we do also mitigate the risks for beachgoers. This has occurred over many years through a range of measures that have included aerial patrols of metropolitan beaches and the south coast, education programs, drones, and a shark sighting log.

Unfortunately, of course, there is no 100 per cent effective solution to prevent shark attacks, and solutions that are used in other parts of the country and the world are not necessarily suitable for South Australia's unique coastline. South Australia's metropolitan beaches are well served with aerial patrols and the physical presence of Surf Life Saving South Australia, who do an incredible job in helping to keep us safe, not just from sharks but also in terms of preventing drownings and other water safety incidents.

We are very lucky in South Australia to have a huge number of regional beaches, some of the most incredible natural wonders in the world. They are beautiful, isolated, secluded, and often sparsely populated, which can be amazing for a wonderful day at the beach and a wonderful experience, but can also be very dangerous when things go wrong.

Coverage of South Australia's regional beaches in terms of mitigation for shark attacks is extremely difficult with coastline stretching further than the coastlines of Victoria and New South Wales combined. They are often rugged and difficult to access or to accurately describe in terms of location, with a selection of popular beaches, particularly surf beaches, stretched over huge distances, often away from population bases and services. The challenges are numerous but it was evident that there was some more that we could do and should do to protect regional communities who often rely on tourism to their beautiful beaches to keep local economies ticking over.

I was very pleased on Sunday, alongside Minister Cregan, to announce a half a million dollar funding package for Surf Life Saving SA to work with regional communities and councils to provide a suite of measures that will help to mitigate some risks in those regional areas, including coastal risk assessments, signage, trauma kits, drones, drone operator training and, importantly, educational program support for regional schools. These are practical measures that can make a difference in not only detecting shark activity but responding to incidents should they occur.

Trauma kits as used in other states will be a useful addition and might just make a difference in the event of a shark attack where some level of first aid in those early stages is so vital, particularly if it occurs a long distance from the nearest hospital. It is anticipated that this program will provide tangible outcomes, improve public safety, community confidence and emergency response capability, and implement a sustainable and scalable model by building local capacity with training conducted by qualified personnel. The additional funding will also see use of the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter to expand to the regions to provide coverage of community aquatic events.

Surf Life Saving SA are of course deeply respected in the South Australian community for their work in keeping us safe on our beaches, and I think there is no better organisation to tackle this work on behalf of our regional communities and metropolitan communities alike. I want to thank their chief executive officer, Damien Marangon, and his team for their contribution in putting this package together and assisting in rolling it out to communities right across the state. They will be working closely with local councils, as well as other stakeholders and members of the community, in ensuring that this program can get the best outcomes possible.