House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-10-19 Daily Xml

Contents

Beach Camping

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:38): I have a question for the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water. What is the government doing to address the side-effects of the rising popularity of beach camping? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: Over the October long weekend, as an example, hundreds of campers descended on Wauraltee Beach again and left quite a mess. The local action group has been working on a solution for two years, and there is a 2021 URPS report that proposes some solutions, but to date no resolution has been made and, with summer approaching, the problem is going to get larger.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:39): Yes, the question is well put, as is the explanation. Wauraltee Beach is a beautiful place to be; a lot of people feel the same way and it is causing quite a lot of damage and difficulty.

I am well aware of the issue and we are currently working through, as the member would be aware, questions about some restricted beach access. We have talked about having a trial of having some beaches closed off, partly at least for protecting hooded plovers but also generally seeing if we can better look after some beaches that are getting a bit thrashed. Part of that work is also looking at Wauraltee Beach, so I expect to be able to give some more information before too long.