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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-26 Daily Xml
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STATE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT REPORT

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (14:59): As a supplementary question: does the Premier not consider the increase in the number of vulnerable and endangered plants, animals and ecological communities (as reported) of critical importance, and what actions are being taken to address the danger to the state's biodiversity?

The SPEAKER: I do not think the question is supplementary: it is a completely separate question. It may be on the same topic but that does not make it a supplementary question. The question is still in order. I am just saying it is not a supplementary question, that is all.

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) (15:00): There is no doubt that we have an increase in the number of threatened species that have been identified between 2003 and 2008. I explained in my ministerial statement (if the member had been listening) that that was due to a number of factors, in particular the number of species that have been discovered. There has been an increase in the number of species that have been discovered—and a number of them have then been listed as being endangered—and, of course, changes in taxonomy which have changed the way in which species and sub-species have been categorised. Therefore, additional numbers have gone on the list.

It is true that, increasingly, we are finding a lot of pressure on our native wildlife. The joint effects of drought and climate change are substantial threats. The answer that, in part, this government has proposed includes not only existing measures such as our Native Vegetation Act which protects habitat and other measures to add substantial areas of additional public reserve to the public state but also crucially the nature links initiative by this government; that is, the five landscape scale parks which have been put in place to provide habitat for our rare and endangered plant and animal life.

The reason why it has to be landscape scale is to deal with these threats being caused by climate change. Increasingly, we are seeing more significant fire events and more threatening fire events, which have the capacity to wipe out entire ecosystems. Of course, we are seeing drought and changes in climatic conditions. We are also seeing the pressures that come to bear through further intensification of use of some areas.

The point of landscape scale reserves—the first of which we announced last Friday (the East Meets West Reserve)—is to ensure that plant and animal life has the capacity to roam over a greater area. That is a substantial new initiative. We are the only state in the commonwealth leading this program. Generally, it has been an initiative promoted by non-government organisations in other states. South Australia has a state government framework. We have been ably assisted by The Wilderness Society and other groups in the design of that plan and its implementation. It will involve cooperation between state government, non-government organisations and private landowners as we seek to create biodiversity corridors which guard against these threats to our native wildlife and our plant species.

We do take these threats seriously. There is increasing pressure on our natural wildlife and we have an answer in place, and we are well down the track of establishing those five nature link reserves.

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