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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-10-25 Daily Xml
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NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: DEEP CREEK

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (15:18): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation a question about the Natural Resources Committee report on Deep Creek.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER: The committee today tabled the minister's response to our report on Deep Creek, and to say that her response was disappointing and inadequate would be an understatement. In particular, I refer to parts of her reply to our recommendation 8 that 'ForestrySA removes portions of its Foggy Farm plantations to maintain permanent buffers in the hydrologically effective areas of between 20 and 100 metres either side of Foggy Farm tributaries as detailed in the evidence provided by Dr O'Loughlin.'

In part, the minister's response says things like, 'The government believes the committee is unjustified in weighing the anecdotal evidence to the level reported, as no scientific evidence has been presented to indicate that the Upper Deep Creek catchment could ever be determined as a perennial stream.'

She further says, 'This does not take into account that Foggy Farm was a heavily grazed property and considered to be degraded prior to purchase by Forestry SA' and other lengthy statements such as that. My questions are:

1. Does the minister consider the extensive report provided by Professor Emmett O'Loughlin, who is the founding director of the CRC for Groundwater Catchment Hydrology and an internationally recognised and respected hydrologist, which report was provided to her by the committee—does the minister consider that report to lack science and be purely anecdotal? If so, why and on what does she base that assumption?

2. What evidence does she have that the property was degraded prior to purchase by Forestry SA? If she has that evidence, was it ever provided to our committee?

3. Did the minister read the report or merely take the word of her agency, which was heavily criticised within the report by our committee?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:21): I thank the honourable member for her important questions. By way of background, Forestry SA owns and operates pine plantations totalling a couple of hundred hectares at least in the upper catchment area of Deep Creek. These plantations have been established progressively over the years and occupy quite a bit—just under 10 per cent—of the Deep Creek catchment area.

Plantation forestry is one of a number of factors that impact on catchment hydrology. Others include the location and number of dams and also the changes in the climatic and rainfall patterns. Farm dam numbers have increased in the catchment, and the aggregate volume—

The Hon. C.V. Schaefer: They have not.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The advice I have been given is that farm dam numbers have increased in the catchment, and the aggregate volume has approximately doubled since the forest was first established. That is the advice that I have been given, at least.

In addition, rainfall observed at a nearby weather recording station indicates a declining trend. I have been advised that, since 1980, only seven years had rainfall that either reached or exceeded the long term mean, and this is in contrast to the decade of the 1970s, when seven of the 10 years had rainfall in excess of the long term mean.

Concerns have been raised by several neighbouring land-holders that the forest has impacted negatively on local hydrology, with a decline in stream flows and native vegetation along water courses at Foggy Farm. The Natural Resources Committee of parliament has conducted an inquiry into Deep Creek and its tributaries, with particular reference to the impact of forestry activities and dams, water use and changing rainfall levels.

A joint submission by the Department of Primary Industries and Resources, Forestry SA, the Department for Environment and Heritage and the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (DWLBC) was made to the NRC. The NRC's Deep Creek report has made a number of findings regarding plantation forest development in Deep Creek, and a government response was recently tabled.

I am advised that the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation with the Mount Lofty water allocation planning process has already put in practice a number of actions proposed by the committee report, and a number of those are in place already. If I recall, the government has given support for eight out of the 10 recommendations, so it has been quite responsive.

I have also asked the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation to consider those recommendations and to provide me with further advice about the recommendations of the committee and their ongoing application. I understand that a range of different expert advice was provided to the committee. I have briefly looked at the report, and I have received a briefing on it as well. The expert departmental advice has been written up as a report, and we have supported eight of the 10 recommendations.

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