Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-03-29 Daily Xml

Contents

Wyndgate Farm

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:18): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation a question about Wyndgate Farm.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Wyndgate Farm on Hindmarsh Island is a 1,174-hectare property covering 23 per cent of the island. It was purchased by the state Liberal government in 2001, with funds provided by the Howard Liberal government. The purchase and subsequent environmental management of Wyndgate aim to contribute to the preservation of the Coorong's unique and fragile environment.

My question to the minister is: why has DEWNR-owned Wyndgate Farm on Hindmarsh Island not yet been declared a conservation park despite assurances given to volunteer groups that this would happen some two years ago?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:19): I thank the honourable member, for once, for a really sensible question. She has obviously done her research on this fabulous property down on the Fleurieu. The answer is pretty simple: there are a lot of complications in terms of the different parcels of land that had been brought together.

There are a lot of issues with private ownership abutting public ownership, simple things like fencing, weed control and many other programs dealing with the land itself and Crown land, defining how we will facilitate this process of bringing it together. It is still on track. We are committed to it but we have encountered some problems in terms of some of these details and we are working through them assiduously and with quiet deliberation. We will get there, but we want to do it properly.