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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-03 Daily Xml
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KANGAROO ISLAND

The Hon. A.L. EVANS (14:42): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question about the proposed amendments to the Kangaroo Island Development Plan.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A.L. EVANS: I was concerned to note proposed amendments to the Kangaroo Island Development Plan which came before a public hearing recently on 12 March. Under the proposed amendments, places of worship will be considered not compliant with the plan across the vast majority of Kangaroo Island, including, as some examples, the commercial zone, the conservation zone, the deferred urban zone, the district town centre zone, the industry zone and the primary production zone. The amendments greatly increase the number of zones where religious buildings will be considered 'generally inappropriate and not acceptable', and I am using the wording of the plan.

When Captain Robert Morgan first landed on Kangaroo Island in 1836, he is believed to have conducted the first service of Christian worship in South Australia, at Nepean Bay. I have written to the council advising of my belief that Kangaroo Island should not now take a lead in restricting the ability of South Australians to worship freely, and asking them to reconsider their plans to restrict the development of places of worship on the island. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the minister aware of the Kangaroo Island proposal, and is he aware of any other council considering similar amendments?

2. Is the minister concerned that such a declaration of non-compliance may restrict freedom of worship on the island?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:44): I thank the honourable member for his question and, in answer to the first part of it, yes, I am aware there have been some concerns expressed, because I have received correspondence. The development plan amendment proposal, of course, is one that has been put by the Kangaroo Island council and it has developed that proposal. The advice I have is that public consultation on this development plan amendment finished on 3 March and a public hearing was held in relation to this matter on 12 March, and I am sure that a number of residents on Kangaroo Island who were concerned would have made their views felt.

The process from now on is that council will be required to consider all public and agency submissions received, as well as issues raised at that public meeting on 12 March, and the council will consider how it will respond to these issues.

The council may choose to amend its development plan amendment to address the submissions received or comments made—indeed, I hope it does. Council is then required to submit the development plan amendment to me for consideration. As with all submissions, I will carefully consider the development plan amendment, along with the submissions received and the concerns that the honourable member has expressed, before making a decision on the DPA.

In summary, the council has developed this development plan amendment and it is going through those statutory processes, and one expects that the council will give proper consideration to those issues that have been raised in that public consultation process. However, I can assure the honourable member that I will be looking very closely at the development plan amendment when it eventually comes across my desk to ensure that the concerns that have been expressed by the honourable member have been properly taken into consideration by the council.

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