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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-04-07 Daily Xml
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BAROSSA VALLEY AND MCLAREN VALE

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Urban Development and Planning and Minister for Food Marketing. Can the minister inform the house about the work he is doing to protect the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Food Marketing) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for this question. Everybody in the house would be aware of what an effort he has been making on behalf of his constituents in McLaren Vale, and might I say that his support for this work has been constant and greatly appreciated. Can I also thank the Premier for his tremendous work in relation to this matter. He has been a fierce advocate for the people in the Barossa and McLaren Vale areas.

Finally, but certainly not least, can I pay tribute to the member for Schubert, who has given me tremendous support in this project, and I look forward to him continuing to do so. I listened to him in parliament the other day when he was saying very nice things about what we are doing and I look forward to him continuing that support and speaking to his colleagues about it in due course.

What we are doing is this: we are attempting to first of all draw a line around the McLaren Vale region and say that within that line there will be no incursion by the urban sprawl that hitherto has been a problem for both northern and southern districts around Adelaide. In addition to that, we are looking at what sorts of development rules might apply within those zones. That does not mean that we are actually in any way trying to impede development within those zones; quite the contrary. What we are attempting to do is to make sure the development within the zones is appropriate for those zones. So, for example, I think it is reasonable to assume that the member for Mawson and his community will be asking us to include viticulture as one of the preferred activities within McLaren Vale. I am just guessing about that. I think the member for Schubert has indicated to me that he would not mind viticulture continuing in the Barossa Valley as well.

On Thursday last week, I went and met with representatives of the Onkaparinga council, and in particular the mayor, Lorraine Rosenberg, and we had a very constructive discussion about how the council might be involved with assisting the government in coming to some of the detailed elements of this, including where the boundary will be for this zone. I also had the opportunity of meeting some local community representatives in McLaren Vale who are very interested in this matter, and of course, as I said before, the member for Mawson has been doing a lot of work with the communities not only in McLaren Vale but also in the Barossa Valley, which have similar interests.

On Friday last week I was given the opportunity of speaking at the Regional Development Australia forum in the Barossa Valley at the Lehmann winery, and again the member for Schubert was there, one of the many luminaries at that meeting. That was a great opportunity to share some of the thoughts about ways of protecting the valley with that community, and they all appeared to be very keen on that. Indeed, afterwards I had a meeting with representatives from the Light regional and Barossa Valley councils—again a very productive meeting. They indicated they are very keen to get back to us with more information, and we are very keen to have those conversations with them.

I think it is really important that we are seeing in this process an opportunity for these communities not only to define the boundaries beyond which urban sprawl will not encroach into their very unique zones, but also to give some definition and future to the exact sort of development and character that those regions are going to have and, again, I think that is a very positive thing. This matter about the incursion of urban Adelaide into those two areas is something that will continue to be an issue until we have these boundaries settled, and we are looking at having a statutory boundary there, not simply some code which might quite easily be amended in due course. We want the parliament to actually fix those boundaries and we are quite keen to see that move forward.

We are looking forward to having a good response back from the two communities involved, and we are looking forward to seeing that shape up and legislation being introduced during this year. Can I say, again, that the Premier and the member for Mawson have been very enthusiastic advocates for this sort of approach, and I believe the member for Schubert as well. You do not always give praise to people who are not on your side but the way in which the member for Schubert speaks with pride of his constituents out there is very heartening. At that meeting the other day, you could tell the warmth that he was generating in the room as they moved amongst him and him amongst them.

I look forward to all members here supporting this very important initiative and we will be getting back to the house as soon as possible with further details.

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