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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-22 Daily Xml
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Marine Parks

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:09): My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. Could the minister identify the environmental threats posed by the state's fisheries to the marine park sanctuary zones?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (15:09): Those opposite have never understood this debate; they have never understood it from day one.

Mr Pederick: No, we started the debate.

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond is warned a first time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: No, I will tell you who started the debate: it was John Howard. He is the one that committed us to marine parks, and we have been dutifully implementing his—

An honourable member: And you know it.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That's right.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is warned a first time for making the obvious point.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: I just work here!

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is warned a second and final time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: There is a serious point here, and I know that this has been advanced repeatedly, and we have travelled the length and breadth of South Australia. The former minister, who is no longer here—it's worn him out, the member for Kaurna—and then the former minister, who is sitting here, the member for Colton, the former minister for the environment, we have been making the same points—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: And the former minister from the previous government, too.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —that's right.

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned a first time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We have all been dutifully implementing the John Howard agenda in relation to marine parks, but the sense of it is this: every single intervention in relation to the natural environment makes a contribution to its potential degradation.

It is not suggesting that it is the fishing industry on its own that makes that contribution. It is the fishing industry in combination with what happens onshore: the sorts of wastewater and stormwater run-off and agricultural activity. It's boating activity, whether it be recreational or fishing, how bait is left behind in fishing grounds, how ropes are left behind, how lines are left behind, how petrol that is discharged from boats associated with the area actually fouls the area, and how particular species are actually fished in a particular way which means that it changes the whole natural ecosystem within a particular area.

It is absolutely crucial that there be some places, some reference areas, where those things are entirely left alone, and that is all the sanctuary parks are within the broader marine park movement. In fact, most marine parks are capable of being fished in. There is only a very small proportion of the state's waters which are entirely protected from fishing or indeed any other activity except the most limited activities in relation to recreational pursuits.

It is the wrong question to ask what is the effect directly of fishing in relation to marine parks; it is fishing associated with a whole range of other particular insults which can degrade the natural environment of an area.

Mr Whetstone interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is warned a second and final time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I must say that I have seen many consultation processes across government in the last 12 years. I do not think I have seen a more comprehensive process than the one that has actually been undertaken in relation to—

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Finniss is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —the marine park process, and at its end it required men and women of goodwill to come together and actually reach a compromise. That was brokered by the former minister, the member for Colton, who brought together the groups—

Mr Pengilly interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —commercial interests—

The SPEAKER: The member for Finniss: if his lips move once more, he will be out.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The commercial interests—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: It's a Kangaroo Island thing to leave without being named.

Mr PISONI: Point of order, sir: I believe it is unparliamentary to bring to the attention of the house a member who is leaving the chamber.

The SPEAKER: Well, if you like, I can remedy that by expelling him under the sessional order. It's your choice.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Men and women of goodwill have come together to seek to broker a compromise in relation to this matter. The member for Colton played a central role in that, and there were hard decisions to be made, there were judgements to be made. The commercial sector, the recreational fishing sector and the environmental sector came together. Not everybody got what they wanted, but we, I think, have been left with a first-class system of marine parks.

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