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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-25 Daily Xml
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Black Electorate

Mr DIGHTON (Black) (15:37): Today I tabled a petition in this house relating to the concerns of residents about dust emissions from the Boral Linwood Quarry. The petition to this house reflects the concerns of members of my community in Marino, Hallett Cove, Kingston Park and Seacliff about levels of nuisance dust and community members have also raised concerns about the possible health impact of dust.

The petition calls for improved monitoring and enforcement, along with plant and quarry upgrades and improved communication by Boral. I want to pay tribute to the champion of this petition, Peter Melnyk. Peter lives in Marino and has been tireless in raising concerns about dust from the quarry and advocating for improvements. He has been responsible for the collection of the 550 signatures included in the petition. I have had a number of meetings with Peter throughout this year and I really appreciate his commitment to our community.

I would also like to recognise the efforts of Barbara Wake and Fran and Dennis Southern, who have been long-term community advocates, along with members of the 5049 coastal community residents' group. Working with these community members has been an important part of the work I have done as the member for Black, which has included letters and advocacy to the Minister for Energy and Mining; the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water; and the Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

I organised a meeting with the Minister for Mining, Peter, Fran, Dennis and Barb, along with some other residents, to discuss Boral Linwood. I initiated a community drop-in session with representatives from the Department for Energy and Mining, the EPA and SA Health. They were available to answer questions from members of the community who also raised concerns and provided feedback. The Department for Energy and Mining are using this information to assist with working with Boral on improvements, including community consultation improvements.

I have also met with Boral, and it is important that we recognise the importance of the quarry. I conducted a tour of the quarry earlier this year. The quarry is one of the most important sources of hard rock and it produces 1.2 million tonnes per annum. It has been providing aggregate for almost 130 years, and it is a critical and strategic resource in building and construction infrastructure across our metropolitan area. It is a significant employer, with 30 full-time staff, and it provides work for up to 80 contractors and transport workers.

The importance of the quarry to South Australia highlights why we need improvements to this quarry to help mitigate some of the impact of the quarry on the surrounding community. I look forward to continuing to advocate for my community and to work with the Minister for Energy and Mining to create a better community consultative framework so that improvements can be made which balance the concerns of the community with the strategic importance of the quarry.

I also want to pay tribute to the Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club and also, in particular, to honour the achievement of some club members. Seacliff is a wonderful club that makes an important contribution to our coastal community. I recently attended their open day and it was a wonderful opportunity to bring the club together to celebrate the start of the summer season activities and patrols. One of the things that always strikes me in my catch-ups with the club is the resilience they display, particularly in the face of the impact of the algal bloom, which not only is devastating our marine environment but has also had an impact on the club with a loss of members.

Today, I want to particularly highlight the very significant achievements of some particular members: firstly, Derek Bawden. Earlier this month, Derek was announced as the National Surf Life Saving Australia Surf Lifesaver of the Year for 2025. This is a remarkable achievement. This followed Derek winning the South Australian Surf Lifesaver of the Year. Of course, unsurprisingly, he was the Seacliff Surf Lifesaver of the Year, an award I was honoured to present to him in May of this year.

I want to highlight some of the reasons why Derek was a worthy winner: he logged 286 patrol hours; he is the vice-captain of Seacliff; he mentors new patrol captains; he takes on essential operational tasks, including training, equipment maintenance and event logistics; he has also supported Goolwa in response to dwindling patrol numbers, so he has supported an additional surf life saving club; and he was the only South Australian lifesaver deployed interstate as a swift water rescue technician during the New South Wales flood emergency following ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

I also want to quickly acknowledge the achievements of Taj Ward and Fletcher Luscombe, who won the national Surf Sport Team of the Year. The pair produced an extraordinary season, highlighted by a world record performance by 8.69 seconds in the open men's 12.5-metre line throw at the South Australian state titles, breaking their own previous record. Congratulations to Derek, Taj and Fletcher on their achievements at the Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club.

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