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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-07-02 Daily Xml
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Great Southern Ocean Walk

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Can the minister please inform the house how the recently announced Great Southern Ocean Walk will benefit local communities and the South Australian tourism economy?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (15:03): It is great to be able to update the house, and particularly the member for Finniss, given he asked the question, on such a great piece of tourism and environmental infrastructure investment that was contained in the 2019-20 state budget—that is really the activation of the existing Heysen Trail.

The first component of that trail, which runs between Cape Jervis, comes close to Victor Harbor in the member for Finniss's electorate. It doesn't go into the town, but the plan is to create a multiday walk, activating the Heysen Trail and taking it into the town of Victor Harbor and to the destination point of Granite Island. The Granite Island conservation park is the destination we are keen to link up with there.

We believe that this can become one of the great walks of the world, extending from Cape Jervis, which is a place people often go to in order to get to Kangaroo Island. It is a tourism destination in its own right in a way. It is extending from there through a range of protected areas, a dramatic and incredible coastline along the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, passing through Deep Creek Conservation Park, visiting sites such as Blowhole Beach, the Tunkalilla Beach and then along that coastline through areas like Balquhidder and then into Newland Head Conservation Park, Waitpinga Beach, Parsons Beach—fantastic, beautiful landscapes which we can and should be sharing with the world.

We know that we can attract tourists to this area to enjoy those landscapes, to enjoy the views, to enjoy the great outdoors and to immerse themselves in the natural environment that we find along the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Those views aren't only of the mainland but are of course across that 13 kilometres of water to Kangaroo Island, which is very clear to see on a good day as well. We really think this can be a significant drawcard for domestic tourists and also international tourists. We look forward to working with local businesses and local councils as we bring this idea to life.

This was not an idea that was handed down by the state government. In fact, it was an idea that bubbled out of the local community. It was the Yankalilla council, local businesses and local environmental groups, such as the Friends of the Heysen Trail, coming together and saying, 'We've got something really great here. We've got this beautiful environment. We've got these views. Can we bring this to life as an activated section of the Heysen Trail and use it as a way to enhance the natural environment and to create businesses that can thrive as a result of drawing extra tourists to the area?'

The visitor economy is so important to South Australia, and it's particularly important to specific areas of South Australia. One of those areas is the Fleurieu and Southern Fleurieu Peninsula. We know that people love visiting that area, and we as a government want to create enabling infrastructure to draw people to our regions. This is exactly what we have here—the opportunity to spend around $6 million in enabling infrastructure to upgrade campgrounds, toilets, car parking, signage and digital technologies to share the stories of that landscape.

The opportunities are substantial, and over the next couple of years I will be working with those local community groups, those stakeholders—particularly the friends groups, the Friends of Deep Creek, the Friends of Newland Head, the Friends of Granite Island and the Friends of the Heysen Trail—as we bring this project to life and see a very significant investment in the Heysen Trail.

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