Adelaide Beach Management Review

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General in relation to his previous role as the minister responsible for overseeing the Adelaide Beach Management Review.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: The Adelaide Beach Management Review was tasked by yourself to oversee a process for the identification of a sustainable solution to manage Adelaide's beaches. According to the Adelaide Beach Management Review Independent Advisory Panel Chair, Mr Mark Searle, there was insufficient information to determine the viability of the proposed dredging methodologies, particularly with regard to appropriate sand sources and environmental impacts to enable fair comparison with the pipeline methodology. He recommended that further investigations are required to determine the viability of the proposed dredging methodologies, including broader environmental impacts. My questions to the Attorney are:

1. Given the independent panel's recommendation, what investigations were performed prior to you signing off on the dredging trial that began on 3 October last year, and what were the outcomes of those investigations?

2. Was the Attorney aware of, or was he given any advice by the Department for Environment and Water on, the location of the inlet pipes for the SARDI and the private barramundi breeding facility prior to signing off on the dredging trial?

3. Has the minister been briefed anytime since the start of the dredging trial on any environmental impacts on the surrounding area and, if so, can he share the contents of those briefings with the chamber?

4. Did the government review similar dredging trials and their outcomes in other jurisdictions prior to commencing the trial?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:56): I thank the honourable member for her question. As the honourable member indicated, there have been dredging trials that have taken place. Those trials involve dredging sand from multiple sites and depositing it on West Beach to test the technical, environmental and operational feasibility of the practice of dredging. The results of those trials are currently being analysed, and we look forward to that analysis coming forward. I do note that the EPA, the Environment Protection Authority, licensed the trials, and conditions were placed on how it was done.