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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-11-14 Daily Xml
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Aquaculture Industry

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:55): A memorable quote.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: She was a ripper.

Mr TRELOAR: I might use that myself one day. I rise today to speak about an unfortunate situation, I guess, about something that is unfolding at Anxious Bay near Elliston following the collapse of the Ocean Australia Abalone aquaculture venture. This particular venture goes back a long way, and it all began in 2007. The member for Colton may remember from his time in the ministry that this venture was about to embark. There was great excitement around this venture that promised jobs and opportunity for those in Elliston, where I think, at its height, it was probably employing about 30-odd people. They are people who live, work, have families and children going to school, and all those things in a small town are very important.

It began with Australian Bight Abalone and finished with Ocean Abalone Australia. I think there was probably another company in between but, 10 years on, the venture has failed. The latest company has gone broke and simply walked away from the venture. There are a number of reasons why ventures such as this fail. There were concerns raised at the time about the site itself. Obviously, Anxious Bay is particularly productive for the wild catch abalone sector and I guess those who were looking with interest at aquaculture thought that it could also be productive for an abalone farm.

There were certain concerns about the site. I have no doubt there were management issues along the way. In fact, most recently, when it all began to come apart, the Abalone Industry Association—most of the divers fish on the West Coast and around Kangaroo Island—raised issues with PIRSA back in March this year.

Aquaculture is an important sector. We have successful oysters, kingfish and mussels. Tuna is a slightly different situation. It is referred to as 'ranching' but, effectively, it is aquaculture. Land-based abalone also has proved successful, but something is problematic about wild catch abalone, particularly in this situation.

Ultimately, the licences were cancelled by PIRSA in July 2017 with the owners simply walking away and abandoning the site. What occurred after that was that—and I have always wanted to use this term in parliament—flotsam and jetsam began to arrive on the beaches and shoreline, not just adjacent to Elliston but up and down the entire West Coast and even adjacent islands. That was an indication that things were beginning to fall apart out there.

I am going to give credit where credit is due and congratulate the PIRSA Fisheries staff working out of Port Lincoln. They have made a concerted effort to clean up that flotsam and jetsam and keep the beach tidy. Certainly the locals were concerned, and they spoke to me and other members in this place about their concerns, but PIRSA staff have been keeping the beaches clean. The issue that remains is that there is infrastructure still out on the lease and some of it is down on the bottom now so it needs removing.

My question today to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries was around that. Ultimately, who is going to pay for its removal? I understand that a call for tenders has been made by the government. I also understand that there are court proceedings underway against some of the management of the previous operator. Should the government pursue the former directors for the cost of removal, and I am sure they will, my question is: if that money is not there, is it then for the South Australian taxpayer to foot the bill? We will wait and see how it unfolds.

The Hon. P. Caica interjecting:

Mr TRELOAR: I am just flagging it as an issue, member for Colton. What do you think? It would be disappointing if ultimately the taxpayer had to foot the bill and due diligence were not undertaken at the outset—due diligence around the site itself, the companies involved and the investors who were looking to put money into the scheme. It was a managed investment scheme, but these things are fraught with sad stories all over the place—not just here but also in relation to blue gum forests on Kangaroo Island and down in the South-East. There are many more examples of how managed investment schemes look attractive, and probably are to the investors at the outset, but ultimately end in tears.

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