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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-21 Daily Xml
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MARINE PARKS

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (15:38): Yet again, I find myself in this place calling seriously into question the marine parks process and the exclusion zone process. Interestingly enough, a member spoke to me today about the subject I am going to discuss—the doctoring and changing of records, minutes and website maps regarding the proposed zones. If this was not so serious, it would just about be funny.

A week or two ago the Chairman of the Kangaroo Island Marine Park Local Advisory Group (LAG), Mr Andy Gilfillan, made a number of statements in the local press claiming—and I think correctly—that Marine Park LAG minutes of meetings had been doctored, that maps had been amended, that things were in no way where they should be or should have been and that indeed things had gone awry. I have had my concerns about this for some time.

It was interesting to see that last week the government came back and claimed, 'No, they are not being doctored or they are not being amended,' and actually tried to pooh-pooh Mr Gilfillan. You seriously wonder whether this is a direction straight from the department. Is this, 'Direction No. 4: discredit the person who makes a statement. He is harbouring a grudge against the department. He is a publicity seeker'?

Mr Gilfillan is none of those. He is a hardworking gentleman who has done a fantastic job. So, is it then the direction from the department to undermine what he is saying, that what was in the paper is not really a basis for long-term decisions or not sufficient information on which to base a valid assessment? Once again, we have a department running riot.

They have then tried to discredit the evidence that has not been published by saying it leaves important questions unanswered, much of the evidence is inconclusive, the figures are open to interpretation, certain findings are contradictory, and some of the main conclusions have been questioned. Mr Gilfillan has asked all those things. Then you refuse to put things up on the website one day, you pull them down the next, then you put something else up. I can tell you, and I can tell the house, that I am very pleased that the upper house is moving for an inquiry into this matter because it is going to flush out a heap of nonsense. It is going to flush out absolute bastardry in the department of environment and absolute crookedness, in my view, in the marine parks group that have been putting this together under the department.

I think it is disgraceful, it is outrageous, and it should never have happened. The department and this marine parks group have a strategy of passive deflection. They go along with the mood of the meeting and tell you what will happen, then they ignore you for a couple of weeks and then they send you something which is the opposite of what you agreed, but, by the time you get it, it is too late to do anything about it, so they post their version on the website. Then they say they have consulted and there was no objection. For example, at one meeting it was agreed that one particular area would be left out and everyone was happy about it. Then they go to the next meeting and the area is included and they did not receive any objections. It is like something straight out of Yes Minister.

Theydid not disclose the key documentation but they came out quoting a letter by Mr Allan Holmes. The letter was the key piece of documentation, but magically no-one had received the letter. Yet they received everything else. There is a recognition that the Kangaroo Island situation is unique. Other places do not seem to have had the same kind of shenanigans but I think it is going to lead to that, and I think that is going to come out through the upper house inquiry.

I have to seriously question the green group. They are very suspect. The aims of the LAGs is to whittle down the choice to a couple of alternatives acceptable to the community but the greens vote for everything and that gives DENR the option to do what it wants. It is outrageous, absolutely outrageous. Then they go out and trash people like Andy Gilfillan, Michael Fooks, Bevan Patterson and others on the Kangaroo Island LAG who have put an enormous amount of effort and experience into it.

I do not know where this is going. The minister might think this marine parks thing has gone quiet, trust me. But I tell you it has not; it is going to come back and bite him and this government like something they would not believe. This departmental group has not had it right from the start and, as far as I am concerned, they have misrepresented the meeting outcomes from particularly this group and other groups, and I hope that other members rise to their feet and talk about this. It will almost need a judicial inquiry. It is going to come back and bite this government like they would not believe, trust me. It has not gone away. We are just waiting to see what they come out with next, and I can tell you it is not finished.

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