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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-06-19 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committees

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: LEVY PROPOSALS 2013-14

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (11:03): I move:

That the 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd and 84th reports of the committee, concerning various Natural Resources Management Board levy proposals for 2013-14, be noted collectively.

One of the Natural Resources Committee's statutory obligations is to consider and make recommendations on any annual levy proposed by a natural resource management board where the levy increase exceeds the annual CPI rise. Of the seven proposed increases in the division 1 land-based levies for 2013-14, only two were higher than the 1.7 per cent CPI rate. All of the division 2 water levy proposals were equal to or lower than the CPI. This is an improvement on previous years when, in some cases, all seven boards together had sought to increase their levies by more than CPI.

Whilst members are sympathetic to the desire for the NRM boards to increase their funding bases, members believe that above CPI increases should be the exception rather than the norm. The Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board has sought a 5.1 per cent division 1 increase, while the Kangaroo Island board has sought a 3.8 per cent division 1 increase. In both cases, members were told that, due to an increased number of properties, the increase per rateable property was not expected to increase above CPI.

This year, the committee is determined not to object to all of the proposed NRM levy increases. The increase in funding that the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges NRM Board will receive will enable it to increase staff numbers at a time when most other state government agencies will be forced to reduce their staffing due to budget constraints. While the increase in levy property is only $1.00, this represents an overall increase in funding for the board of approximately $1 million. The AMLRNRM Board is lucky to have such a large and constantly growing rate base. The ability of the AMLRNRM Board to raise funds in its region contrasts starkly with the rest of the state's NRM boards. Now that that board has finished its process of levy equalisation, the committee looks forward to a levy increase next year that is much closer to CPI.

In the case of the Kangaroo Island NRM Board, committee members were impressed at the depth of knowledge shown by presiding member Richard Trethewey and the regional manager, Bill Haddrill, with regard to Kangaroo Island and its natural resources. In particular, members were impressed to hear that the feral goat numbers had been reduced to a same-sex population. This means that effectively, unless someone brings a goat of the opposite sex to the island and releases it, feral goats should be excluded from the island.

The committee was pleased that the Eyre Peninsula NRM Board proposed to keep its levy increases equal to 1.7 per cent CPI rate. When giving evidence to the committee in April, we heard from the NRM board's presiding member, Heather Baldock, that several board members will not seek re-election to the board when their terms expire later this year.

Committee members were made to understand that one of the reasons for this is that some board members felt that they had become 'punching bags' for disaffected community members. While we understand there is a lot of emotion around the issue of water supply, which is the subject of our inquiry, this does not excuse bad behaviour from community members. Board members who have volunteered their time trying to find positive solutions to environmental problems should be applauded for their efforts, not abused.

The committee was pleased to note that the Northern and Yorke NRM Board proposed to freeze its levies for 2013-14. Two years ago, we received feedback from the Hon. Caroline Schaefer, the board's presiding member, with regard to the complexity of updating business plans annually. As a former member of the Natural Resources Committee and current presiding member of the Northern and Yorke NRM Board, Caroline Schaefer is in a unique position to comment on the process of amending board business plans.

It was Caroline Schaefer's plain speaking in April 2011 in evidence to the committee that convinced members of the need to prepare a special report to parliament on NRM levy arrangements. This report was tabled in September 2012. Similarly, the Natural Resources Committee was pleased to hear that for the 2013-14 period, the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board is proposing to increase both its division 1 and division 2 levies by CPI. The committee was unhappy with the above-CPI increases in previous years, and warned last year that it would not entertain such increases in the future.

Despite that fact, the board included a proposed water levy for the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area in its business plan last year. The Water Allocation Plan was not adopted during 2012-13. The board has once again included the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges in its business plan for 2013-14. The committee hopes that in the next 12 months, the Minister for Environment and Conservation will be in a position to adopt this plan.

Members were impressed by the enormous contribution volunteers made to the NRM projects in the SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM region during 2012-13. Committee members heard that almost 3,000 volunteers are involved annually in the board-managed NRM projects. I might say that I think we have been overwhelmed by the work that volunteers generally do with NRM and associated projects, and this is a real highlight of the scheme. We thank them most strongly for that input.

The Arid Lands NRM Board is, for the first time ever, proposing to keep both its levies within the CPI. After visiting the region in late 2010, members gained a new appreciation for the unique logistical demands facing this remote area board, including difficulty sourcing and securing long-term funding and employment for staff. The committee was impressed with the work the Arid Lands NRM Board has done over the past year in continuing its work in eradicating athel pine and date palms and monitoring cane toads' progress towards South Australia. The South-East NRM Board restricted its levy increases to CPI. The committee was pleased to hear of the good work that the board has done in eradicating pest plants and animals.

We heard that nearly 1,400 properties covering more than 160,000 hectares and 15,000 kilometres of roadsides had been inspected over the last year: 657 feral deer and 57 feral goats were removed; 3,000 hectares of rabbit control was carried out on six priority areas; 125 hectares of priority blackberry sites were controlled; and over 45,000 fox baits and 7,500 kilograms of rabbit baits were sold to land managers and property owners. Members look forward to hearing more good news from the board next year.

The South-East NRM Board has constantly worked hard in achieving its aims and objectives in its regional plan, and its board and regional NRM group members have put enormous effort into guiding the efforts of volunteer organisations and staff. The South-East NRM Board is renowned for its high achievements in the area of water resource management and pest control. It has faced some enormous challenges in finding the right balance between improving land productivity and preserving wetlands from increased salinity and reduced rainfall. These challenges will continue as climate continues to change and local drainage schemes are put to the test.

I would like to commend the members of the committee: the member for Frome, the member for Torrens, the member for Little Para, the member for Mount Gambier, the member for Stuart, the Hon. Robert Brokenshire, the Hon. John Dawkins and the Hon. Russell Wortley. I would also like to make special mention of the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars who is still associated with our committee, thank goodness. Finally, I would like to thank the committee staff for their excellent work, and I commend these reports to the house.

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