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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-06 Daily Xml
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INNES NATIONAL PARK

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:26): I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation questions on the subject of Innes National Park.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: The Innes National Park is one of the jewels in the crown of our coastal parks. It was rated in a regional tourism survey in 2003 as the most visited attraction on Yorke Peninsula, with some 140,000 visitors per annum. However, the mismanagement of the park by the environment department has caused a diminishing number of visitors to the park and, more recently, the closure of Rhino's Tavern and Innes Park Trading Post, which has been leased by the department.

For the benefit of members, Rhino's has provided guests with access to fuel, camping goods, restaurant meals and a social setting. However, due to actions by the department, including removal of rubbish bins from inside the park, removal of shower and toilet blocks and other amenities, increase in camping fees, the introduction of a ticket machine that does not accept notes and the department demanding payment on an outstanding lease after it had neglected to issue regular invoices for approximately a year, a large amount is owing.

The community has proposed purchasing Rhino's as a not-for-profit business—it has submitted an application to the department—and they understood that they had responded to all the queries the department requested. However, the department has declined the application without informing the applicants, and it has now closed. My questions for the minister are:

1. What communications have taken place with the applicants since?

2. How are these actions consistent with People and Parks, which was a budget measure first outlined in 2010, which flagged that there would be some $6 million raised from our parks, including Innes National Park?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:28): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions about Innes National Park and one of the businesses that was functioning on the park for a period of time. The honourable member makes the suggestion that Rhino's Tavern has closed down because of actions of the department. I reject that out of hand. To suggest that it is an outrageous presumption on the behalf of the department to demand payment on an outstanding bill for a lease is just crazy. Why would we not demand payment? If we did not ask for payment on a lease, you would be the first person in here asking why we did not. It is an obvious business decision that the tavern did not reinvest in its business, did not refurbish the premises. That is a reflection on their approach to doing a business in this area.

I am advised, however, that actions taken by the department in respect of bins and, indeed, showers were to avert vandalism and avert illegal dumping of rubbish. That has been my advice. Their showers were being misused by members by the public, and they were moved, as I understand it, to another part of the park where more family-orientated visitation occurs.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Have you been down there, Ian?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Not for a while, John.

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