Ballast Water

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:48): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development a question regarding the discharging of ballast water in coastal South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: I understand that vessels loading at Port Adelaide often take on ballast water to maintain stability. When those same vessels later travel to locations such as Ceduna to load cargo, they typically need to discharge the excess ballast water they are carrying. Such practices are common in the shipping industry and not limited to waters at Port Adelaide. My questions to the minister are:

1. Has the department given consideration to the biosecurity risk these practices present?

2. What, if any, mechanisms and protocols are in place to mitigate the risk of transferring ballast water affected by algal bloom, like that in Port Adelaide, to other coastal regional towns of South Australia?

3. Will the minister seek further advice about the biodiversity risks associated with such practices and report that advice back to this place?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am happy to take the detail of that on notice and bring back a response, but what I can say more broadly is that we have extremely high biosecurity standards and practices here in South Australia. I know that obviously the practices around ballast water have been established for a long time. I am happy to bring back further information in regard to those particular requirements.