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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-12-01 Daily Xml
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FLINDERS ELECTORATE

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (16:05): It is my pleasure to deliver the last grievance for the year from the opposition side, at least; and, rather than speak about any issue in particular, I might just take the opportunity to summarise the year from my perspective and on behalf of those people who live in the seat of Flinders. Many of us here—most of us here, in fact—develop an incredible affinity with our electorates, and, as a result, we become very parochial.

I am not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that I am one of those members who love my electorate and my part of the world very much; and I notice in the gallery today a former member for Flinders, Mr Peter Blacker. He is often a visitor here, and he will know only too well the privilege of representing a seat like Flinders.

The thing about the Eyre Peninsula that I keep coming back to is the incredible richness and diversity of its natural landscape, its natural resources, the land that produces so much, the sea that produces so much and the primary products that come from that natural landscape. Our beaches and our national parks are beyond description, but the thing that really makes it a special part of the world, I believe, are the people themselves.

The people who live on the Eyre Peninsula in the seat of Flinders are capable; they are resilient people. They have inherent qualities that see them prosper despite any adversity they may come across. They have a can-do attitude, and a lot of them just get on with life and just do it. One of the issues that has been a constant for me, not just this year but in the whole time that I have been the member for Flinders, is the marine parks implementation process.

It continues to confound and confuse many of us who have been close to it and who have been involved with it. Commercial fishing, recreational fishing and, indeed, coastal communities, along with the tourism sector, all have concerns about where we are going to land on this one. To their credit, the communities on Eyre Peninsula have stayed involved with the process, and I have encouraged them to do that; and, to their credit, they have had incredible input into the discussion and the debate. I just hope that the minister responsible takes on board their proposals.

Many of our coastal communities are growing. I heard the other day that the township of Cowell is in fact the fastest growing coastal township in South Australia, and to drive into Cowell now you can sense that air of prosperity and busyness, which you also see in other towns. Streaky Bay, for example, is developing. Certainly, Ceduna is a busy place. Ceduna is thriving for a whole number of reasons: three reasonable to good grain harvests in a row; of course, the gypsum and salt mines continue to export out of the port; and, of course, Iluka, with its mineral sands operation north-west of the town, is also shipping out of the port of Thevenard.

The port of Thevenard remains constrained, and we are working hard towards gaining some investment to expand and deepen that port to make it adequate for the demands that are being made on it. While we are on things maritime, it was good news a couple of months ago for the tuna fishers in Port Lincoln to have an increase in their quota—some 32 per cent over the next three years. This is good news for Port Lincoln. It is good news not just for the tuna industry, which of course is the king of fishing in Port Lincoln, but for the pilchard industry, which feeds directly into the tuna industry. It is good news for Port Lincoln generally, because it means jobs and an opportunity to look forward and be confident about the investments you make in your business.

Mining exploration continues, albeit slowly. I get the sense that, sometime soon at least, one of the mining companies will begin to dig and export product. Port Spencer looks like it will go ahead, possibly by 2013, and we look forward to that as a multipurpose port.

Harvest is about halfway through, and it looks like being the third good harvest in a row for Eyre Peninsula. It will not be the bin-buster that it was last year, but it is certainly well above average in a lot of places. I wish all members in this place well over the Christmas break, and I know that they will continue to work for a bit longer yet. I also wish staff—both here and in the electorate offices—well.

Time expired.

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