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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-08-09 Daily Xml
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Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:02): I have a question for the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation. Can the minister outline the benefits that the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary and proclamation of the national park will have on tourism in this state?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (15:02): I thank the honourable member for his excellent question. Throughout the last financial year, 2016-17, we have continued our progress in a range of initiatives to encourage greater numbers of South Australians and tourists into our national parks across the state. We are raising the profile of the state as an excellent place to visit, especially for visitors seeking a nature-based tourism experience. A standout example is the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary, stretching about 60 kilometres north of Adelaide, along Gulf St Vincent, along the coastline from Barker Inlet to Parham.

The bird sanctuary will not only protect vital habitat, of course, for migratory shorebirds but also offers an exciting nature-based tourism experience. Visitors can immerse themselves in nature and enjoy walking trails and birdwatching opportunities only 30 minutes from the centre of the city. In October 2016, I announced the formation of the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara. The park will become South Australia's first new national park in more than a decade.

The park has been co-named with a Kaurna name that means 'a country for all birds' and is a demonstration of our commitment to working with Kaurna people to create a place that many can identify with. As well as being one of our newest national parks, the bird sanctuary is also one of our newest nature-based tourism sites. We are currently looking at opportunities to maximise the bird sanctuary experience. These include hosting professional birdwatching guided tours, creating bilingual brochures and visitor maps, creating electronic inventories so that people walking past with their mobile devices can have information pop up on their screens about what they might be seeing, and also, of course, adapting that to other languages.

The bird sanctuary complements South Australia's many other outstanding coastal experiences. It includes the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary right next door and our extensive marine park network. The development of a tourism proposal for the area is being guided by a leadership round table for the bird sanctuary and they have called themselves 'The Collective'. The Collective comprises a diverse group of people from across the state and local governments, representatives from the local Kaurna community and the Vietnamese farming communities as well as avid birdwatchers. Also involved in that group are local business leaders, environmental, social and not-for-profits and other groups that have an interest in the future of the region.

This collective has identified the need for local people to be involved in developing future opportunities for the bird sanctuary and by working together the state government and the local community will create a national park and a bird sanctuary that will maximise the benefits to nature, people and the local economy. I think I have mentioned in this place before, these bird sanctuaries have now become an accepted part of the international East Asian-Australasian Flyway, recognising the birds that fly up through South-East Asia, through China and then into Siberia, and, I am advised, also up to Alaska.

As it develops further, in the fullness of time, this will mean, I hope, more jobs in Adelaide's north, particularly those around tourism experiences, including jobs that might be sought by engaging with the local Aboriginal community's cultural experiences—it is an area that is very important for local community—and hopefully employing Indigenous people who can talk to tourists and visitors from interstate and overseas about the cultural significance of the site and their stories about the animals that live there.

I believe the bird sanctuary is a model in how government is working in a new and cooperative and innovative way with our communities to create a better place for people and a more sustained environment for the animals that live in it. I look forward to seeing the bird sanctuary and the local community transform the northern plains of Adelaide with their innovative approach to attracting tourists, as I say, from interstate and overseas, to something that is going to be very, very unique.

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