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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-10-28 Daily Xml
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NATIVE GARDEN INITIATIVE

Ms CICCARELLO (Norwood) (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Conservation. What action is the government taking to build on the success of the Botanic Garden?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (14:38): The Botanic Garden is one of our state's great assets, visited by an extraordinary 1.5 million people each year and about 25,000 school students. Today, I had the opportunity to attend the Botanic Garden and the State Herbarium staff day. As representatives of the American Association of Museums commented, our gardens are one of the great gardens of the world and on the verge of a great leap forward to get even better. The Rann government is continuing to invest in our gardens to ensure their improvement.

I just want to touch on some of the recent initiatives, because they are impressive and there will be more of them. Earlier this year, the Premier opened the Santos Museum of Economic Botany following its renovation—

An honourable member: Economic botany?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Indeed. Those were the days at the beginning of the colony when it was understood that the whole of the economy of the colony was integrally linked with the—

An honourable member: What?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Integrally linked—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: 'Integrally'; it's an adverb.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —yes—to the health of our natural environment. We are only just rediscovering that now with the challenges of climate change that are bringing those two questions together. As I think Robert Kennedy Jr famously stated, the economy is indeed a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment.

The Hon. J.D. Lomax-Smith: That's a good line.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is a very good line, and I wish I could say it was mine but it was in fact Robert Kennedy Jr who came out to South Australia recently and was a fantastic speaker. On top of that fantastic institution, the Museum of Economic Botany, we had the seed conservation program run from the gardens, the first program in the world to meet its seed collection target for the millennium seed bank. This came on top of an earlier investment in the pavilion to house the giant Amazon waterlily, which has leaves 1.5 metres wide.

The Hon. J.D. Hill: It's huge.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is huge. The flower only opens in the evening, as well. We are in the process of adding a new western entry to the gardens—due to be open next year. As I advised the house a few weeks ago, the gardens will soon open a new native garden, a key part of our native garden initiative. This will showcase native gardens and demonstrates how we can use these plants in our own gardens. The native garden will be a forum for the Botanic Garden to hold a community day to celebrate native gardens. It will also include native flora arrangements and food, activities for children and family entertainment. It will be a great opportunity for families to have fun and learn more about our native plans.

Continuing this investment, today I am pleased to announce that the Botanic Garden is about to develop a sustainable landscape display garden in Botanic Park, along First Creek on Frome Road. This will involve the planting of 2,000 trees, shrubs and grasses. This new display will provide habitat for native birds and butterflies, bats and lizards, and will be an example of a garden that naturally thrives in South Australia's conditions. People will be able to enjoy it from a viewing platform and there will be seating and educational signage about the garden. The work will complement the projects taking place at the Adelaide Zoo in preparation for the arrival of the giant pandas and improve a somewhat neglected part of Botanic Park. Landscaping work for the project is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with planting to continue throughout this year's planting season.

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