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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-08-08 Daily Xml
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Marine Parks

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:25): My question is to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Will the minister provide information about the ongoing success of South Australia's marine park network?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:25): What a fantastic question. I thank the honourable member for his very important and prescient question. Our government's creation of our marine parks network is one of the most important conservation programs ever undertaken in this state. It is also one of the most influential in terms of public support and also the impact on people interstate and overseas, with virtually no impact on the commonwealth, of course, which is stripping away currently all of the protections that our marine parks have at a commonwealth level.

I am advised that a public perception survey carried out in 2016 indicates that almost 90 per cent of South Australians support marine parks. It is very surprising, therefore, when you see honourable members, particularly the honourable member for Dunstan, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Steven Marshall, and his colleagues showing off about their party's record of attempting to scale back our marine parks and boasting about it, a position that is not only anti-jobs and anti-tourism and anti-science but also runs counter to the opinion of the vast majority of South Australians, who recognise the value of our marine park network to our economy, to the environment and to job creation, particularly in regional South Australia.

Far from the prophecies of doom and gloom that we have heard from the likes of the Hon. Michelle Lensink in this place, I have to say that scientists, local businesses, tourism ventures and the South Australian community are getting right behind our marine park network. They understand that it is not only important for preserving biodiversity into the future but it is also in our economic interest to do it. I would encourage the member for Dunstan and the Hon. Michelle Lensink to consider the booming shark viewing industry out at Port Lincoln, generating $13 million annually, currently employing around 80 people—

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: How is that environmentally friendly? Throwing carcasses in the water.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Hon. Michelle Lensink is interjecting across the chamber. They have no clue, Mr President. It is currently employing around 80 people and ready to build bigger boats and create more jobs, all underpinned by a marine park network.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I have watched the honourable member for Mawson get into a shark diving cage, but it is not something I was attracted to.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: It is a touchy subject for them, because we know they have been out there, trolling out in the community, telling porky pies about the impact of marine parks, and it is just the reverse, to the point now where we know the South Australian community loves their marine parks for all the benefits they bring our state. The Liberals are still out there singing their same old tune, saying they are going to damage our industry, damage our communities, and no-one has seen any evidence of these Liberal claims. In fact, we have the commonwealth Liberal government, again conservative parties—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: This is not a debate. It is a question the honourable minister is trying to answer, so allow the minister to finish his answer.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The conservative Liberal Party in this state and the conservative Liberal Party at the commonwealth government level have absolutely no interest in protecting our marine parks. In fact, you can see in their actions at the commonwealth level, where they are stripping back protections on our marine parks. This is exactly what the Liberal Party is about: destroying our environment, destroying our environmental protections, and for what? For a position that no-one in South Australia practically supports. There are similar stories, which I will return to shortly, about Whyalla's giant cuttlefish accumulation, an iconic and unique attraction protected by our marine park network that attracts national and international media coverage, guaranteeing continued growth of a local tourism industry.

Suffice to say, I would not be proudly reminding this place and South Australians of the many times my party has attempted to undermine marine parks in this state, as the Hon. Michelle Lensink seems to be doing or indeed as the honourable member for Dunstan is doing, proudly going out and saying, 'We are about to rip apart the protections that have been put in place for South Australian marine parks.' With the federal government, as I have said, recently announcing an intention to legislate an unprecedented reduction in sanctuary zones, which some are calling the largest roll back of conservation in history, I am proud that the South Australian government has stood up to the opposition's attempt to erode protections in our state.

The government has undertaken a number of initiatives to make our marine parks program a success. They include, as we have heard recently, supporting recreational fishers and their local communities; supporting education and tourism; implementing our comprehensive monitoring, evaluation and reporting program to assess the ongoing effectiveness of our work; and implementing compliance programs to make sure people understand what they can do in our marine parks and how they can enjoy them to the best potential.

As I said earlier, fishing is a very favourite pastime for many South Australians. As I also outlined earlier, $3.25 million over three financial years has been invested in increased opportunities for recreational fishing in our state. Our grant program has directly benefited recreational fishing right around the state's regional areas, particularly around our 19 marine parks. The program supported the construction of infrastructure, as we heard earlier, and improved fishing access.

I briefly touched on the artificial reef earlier. We have allocated $600,000 for an artificial reef trial to enhance South Australia's recreational fisheries' habitat and increase recreational fishing and tourism opportunities. I am advised that native shellfish reefs have been lost across more than 1,500 kilometres of South Australian coastline, which formed an expansive habitat for fish. The state government consulted very widely with the community before deciding on the location between Stansbury and Ardrossan near Rogues Point on Yorke Peninsula, with hundreds of people attending public forums and submitting their feedback online.

I am pleased the Australian government announced that the National Stronger Regions Fund will be investing a further $990,000 towards the construction of this shellfish reef. Funding was awarded to the Nature Conservancy in partnership with the state government and Yorke Peninsula council, in addition to funding from these organisations. With its combined funding of approximately $3 million, this project will be the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, I am advised.

Yorke Peninsula, of course, attracts about a million visitors each year. About half of these are visiting the region specifically to take part in recreational fishing. This shellfish reef project is a win for the local Yorke Peninsula community and for South Australia, of course, more broadly, as the reef will contribute to improved recreational fishing, tourism and employment opportunities, underpinned by a healthier marine environment.

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