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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-15 Daily Xml
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REGULATED AND SIGNIFICANT TREES

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (14:31): My question is to the Minister for Planning—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. R.B. SUCH: —otherwise known as the minister for trees. Can he inform the house about reforms to the significant tree controls?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for Fisher for his question and his ongoing interest in this very important subject. I note, in fact, that the honourable member for Fisher is one of the most active people in making representations about this matter.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Really?

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Yes.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Okay. The Regulated Trees Development Plan Amendment received final approval today and this followed an extensive consultation period.

Mr Marshall: You're not wrong!

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: They love you.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: They want consultation. We are having extensive consultation. Anyway, it was extensive. The government believes that it is important to strike the balance between the protection of trees and the need to remove some inappropriately located trees and inappropriate tree species. The new policies were brought into interim operation in November last year and complement changes already made in place for significant trees.

I can inform the house that the only changes in the final DPA have been changes to terminology to improve interpretation and strengthen the link to the legislation. These changes are in response to feedback received during the consultation period. A number of MPs from all sides of politics in this state have approached me with concerns about controls. It is important to note that there are as many members who believe that new controls remain too strict as there are members who believe the controls should be strengthened.

In light of this, I would like to announce today that the state government is convening a meeting of members—all of you are welcome—who have expressed a strong interest in tree legislation to examine the regulations and the supporting legislation. The government hopes that a cross-party forum will lead to a consensus on balancing competing interests in the community. People seeking more information about the Regulated Trees Development Plan Amendment can visit www.sa.gov.au.

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