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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-10 Daily Xml
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LITTLE CORELLAS

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Minister for State/Local Government Relations on the topic of little corellas.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: At the moment, residents of Strathalbyn, which is in the Alexandrina Council area, and of Noarlunga in the Onkaparinga council, are experiencing the effects of large populations of little corellas in their areas. The effects that are being described to me by constituents include sleep disturbance; destruction of their trees, plants and human structures; and large amounts of bird defecation, all of which residents of these towns say are affecting their quality of life.

It has been reported that the population of little corellas in Strathalbyn is 10,000 strong, and constituents believe that the number is even higher than that. The Alexandrina Council Little Corella Management Plan 2010-11 seeks to:

Conduct strategic targeted control and management by Council in cooperation with community, but also seek greater support and involvement from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources...with the aim of improving the level of support and involvement in this issue.

However, it was reported in The Courier of 9 February that this support has been denied. My question to the minister is: given the recent signing of the State/Local Government Relations Agreement (South Australia) 2011, which the minister himself described as enhancing relations, will the minister mediate on this issue between the councils and DENR?

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for Gambling) (14:30): I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for her question. Again, the honourable member does not seem to understand the nature of the State/Local Government Relations Agreement, which is to set out the broad parameters of the relationship between state and local government.

It may well be that in the drafting of that agreement there was not a schedule covering little corellas. It may well be that there is not a little corella appendix to that agreement. That apparently is a major oversight and failure in the eyes of the members opposite.

It is extraordinary that the honourable member comes in here continually and speaks about local government programs as if I am responsible for everything that local government does in this state. As the honourable member indicated, this is a program that is overseen by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, so I will certainly refer that to my colleague in the other place and bring back a response in relation to the particular issues that the honourable member has raised.

I would suggest that is not a very productive way to approach the state/local government relations portfolio; to expect that basically it is an opportunity to have a pot shot at every single council in the state in relation to anything they are doing. That is not the role of the minister and nor should it be. It is not the role of the minister to administer every single decision of every single council. If it were, then you would hardly need councils.

So, it is a rather mistaken assumption for the honourable member to think that her job is to bring any example of a local government program or initiative into the chamber and expect that it is the responsibility of the Minister for State/Local Government Relations to take immediate action regarding an individual matter of this nature. As she has indicated, this is a program involving the environment department, so I will refer the detail to my colleague in the other place and bring back a response.

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