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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-15 Daily Xml
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PROJECT DOLPHIN SAFE

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:45): On 3 October it was my honour to represent the Premier at the fundraising dinner for Project Dolphin Safe (PDS). The dinner, which was very well attended, is the principal fundraiser for this fantastic voluntary organisation. Event coordinator and Project Dolphin Safe secretary, Tiffany Cowling, and her team organised a great night and thanks must go to the wonderful group of sponsors—too many to name.

PDS is the lifeline for injured marine wildlife, and the great band of dedicated volunteers who serve this state in marine rescue are ably and passionately led by Aaron Machado. Since 2003, I have admired his total dedication to this cause and have been continually amazed by the great leaps in services and facilities this group now provides.

In November 2007, I attended the opening of the newly constructed Seabird Rescue Wetland Rehabilitation Facility. Built in 14 months, this 200,000 litre seawater wetland facility became possible through 18,000 volunteer working hours, $26,000 of funding through the ALMR and NRMB, fundraising functions worth about $30,000, and Aaron's own personal substantial contribution. So, for about $55,000, South Australia has a facility worth in excess of $500,000, all possible because of AGL and its commitment, initially through Martyn Pearce.

The facility at Torrens Island was opened by Jason Ferris and he and his wife were able to travel to Adelaide for this year's dinner. Jason's dad, Lance Ferris, was the inspiration for the project. In a devastating blow for all the pelicans and marine wildlife throughout the nation, Lance died suddenly only a few weeks before the official opening. Lance founded the Australian Seabird Rescue (ASR) over 16 years ago after finding a pelican entangled in 'active' fishing tackle. Sadly, active fishing tackle remains a great problem here in South Australia.

At that time, Lance borrowed a vessel to check the area where he found the bird and saw that almost half of the 70 birds in the resting site were entangled or hooked in some way by active fishing tackle. Overwhelmed by what he saw, he began what is now known nationwide as ASR. He rescued over 1,200 pelicans during this time and personally trained hundreds of volunteers across the nation to monitor, rescue, rehabilitate and release seabirds. The Pelican Man, as he became known, also spoke to tens of thousands of school students. He was also Aaron's inspiration and the impetus for the culmination of PDS's work here.

I know how grateful they were that Jason could come over to open the facility last November. They will be forever grateful that they had the privilege and pleasure to know Lance, and he lives on in their work here. On my many visits to Torrens Island over the years, I have seen some fantastic and miraculous recoveries. The expertise that has been built up is amazing. Aaron has assembled equipment from X-ray machines to operation tables, and I know how grateful he is for the continuing help and assistance from the Adelaide Zoo's vet staff. This sort of cooperation has been invaluable and seen many happy endings, none more remarkable or satisfying, I imagine, than the female broad shell tortoise that had two fishing hooks embedded deeply in her stomach and successfully had them removed after a 6½ hour operation.

During the fundraising dinner this year, a DVD was played showing highlights of PDS's years of service to the community. It reminded us of the initial clean-up in 2003 at Pelican Point and Mutton Cove. That removed 36 vehicles in various states of disrepair and decomposition with the help of a crane and A&J Haulage and Metal Corp who did the recycling. An additional 18 vehicles were also removed and, with the help of sponsors and 35 volunteers, other rubbish—including tyres, washing machines, fridges, motorbikes—was taken away, totalling 11.7 tonnes.

I am proud of the work of Project Dolphin Safe and I am sure all members here would benefit from a visit to the Torrens Island facility if they have not already been. I urge everyone here to support this amazing group wherever possible. I know they have been able to visit schools in my area when schools have had projects on marine wildlife and have been very grateful to Aaron for his many hours of community service. I know he could not do this work without his volunteers and he is very grateful to everyone who contributes time and money to the vital work which now looks after council areas throughout Adelaide and all marine wildlife.

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