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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-11-17 Daily Xml
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Motions

Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park Management Plan

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. K.J. Maher:

That the Nuyts Archipelago Marine Park Management Plan Amendment 2020, declared to be authorised under the Marine Parks Act 2007 on 17 September 2020 and laid on the table of this council on 22 September 2020, be disallowed.

(Continued from 14 October 2020.)

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (23:23): I rise to speak on the disallowance motion relating to the marine park management plan. I am conscious of the hour so I will speak very briefly, only to state that the Greens are supportive of this disallowance. I understand that this disallowance has been advocated for by a number of the key environmental agencies, including the Conservation Council and the Wilderness Society and has been the subject of some long-term negotiations between political parties and key stakeholder groups.

In speaking in favour of the disallowance, I do want to recognise the work of my predecessor in this place, the Hon. Mark Parnell, who I understand had been actively involved in this process and who has been advocating for this disallowance so that it could open up the potential for a new regime. With that, I conclude my remarks.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (23:24): I rise to speak in support, not only of this disallowance motion but all four disallowance motions. At the outset, these disallowance motions are absolutely critical to enable the management plans for all marine parks in question to be remade following the consultation process that will commence forthwith. At the outset, I would like to acknowledge and thank the very hard work of a number of sectors for getting us to this point of a very important process.

They include Michelle Grady, National Director of The Pew Charitable Trusts (Australia); Kyri Toumazos in his capacity as Executive Officer of Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishermen's Association and representative for the commercial and recreational fishing sectors; Craig Wilkins, Chief Executive of the Conservation Council SA; Jonas Walford in his capacity as Director of Wildcatch Fisheries and President of the Abalone Industry Association of SA and representative for the commercial and recreational fishing sectors; Peter Owen, Director of the Wilderness Society SA; Harry Petropoulos, Independent Chair of Wildcatch Fisheries; and, of course, the sectors and movements they all represent.

I cannot emphasise enough my thanks and support to all the sectors involved in these negotiations for their commitment to the process and their unwavering determination over three years. It has been a great privilege to work with them and learn so much from them. It has been a long, challenging and extraordinarily complex process but also a great example of what can be achieved both through collaboration and listening to the experts. As it turns out, I think it is fair to say these two sectors are not diametrically opposed in their views; in fact, they have a lot in common. Both sectors have gained a lot more on knowledge than I think either expected as a result of these negotiated outcomes. They have gained a much deeper understanding of the issues concerning both sectors and how they impact each other.

These disallowance motions, as I said, are absolutely necessary to enable the management plans for the marine parks in question to be remade following a consultation process and further consideration of the outcome of that consultation process. I do want to place on the record that the good faith demonstrated by all political parties in this place is one to be commended. The Leader of the Opposition and the faith that he has shown is not lost on me in terms of waiting until this point before we deal with these disallowance motions, knowing that the sectors have been working extremely hard and have been driving this issue extremely hard to get us to this point.

It goes without saying that I am equally grateful to the Greens and Mark Parnell for his cooperation in that process. As I said, it has been one of good faith amongst all members of this place, including the Hon. John Darley. Everybody has waited patiently for the shared views of those sectors to finally be realised. Of course, there is a bit of a long way to go yet with the consultation process that has to follow this process that we are going through tonight but one that I remain optimistic will result in the best possible outcome for both sectors and the interests they represent and advocate for so passionately and so fearlessly.

I would like to thank the Minister for Environment and Water for his commitment on behalf of the Liberal government, and all the hard work of his staff and associated colleagues. I acknowledge that this was a big ask of the government, the opposition, the Greens and the crossbench. Anyone could have walked away months ago but nobody did, and here we are, and that is a testament to all sides of politics this evening.

I can assure honourable members that the sectors represented, the industry experts—the people I like to consult with from both sides—are extraordinarily grateful not just for the patience that this parliament has given but also the multipartisan approach and support of this place. With those words, I support not one but all four disallowance motions.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (23:29): I will make some brief remarks in relation to these four motions. South Australia's marine parks network has been a work in progress since the 1990s, spanning successive Liberal and Labor governments. I also acknowledge the interest, as expressed by the previous speaker, the Hon. Connie Bonaros, of other political parties as well. Indeed, the names that she read out are all pretty familiar to me from many of the debates that we have had over the years.

It has always been difficult to strike a fair balance between fishing rights and environmental protection. Following the last state election, key stakeholders came together to see if it was possible to further improve the network. An initial set of changes that made some adjustments to the network was put forward. However, further improvements were proposed by stakeholders, which the government now intends to put to public consultation, so the government will now consult on the proposed changes.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (23:30): Very quickly, I rise to put on record the gratitude we have for the shared view that has been reached by representatives of various sectors of the commercial and recreational fishing sectors and the conservation movement. Their shared position will be put out for public consultation, and a revised management plan will then be considered by government for gazettal for each of these zones.

Support for these motions is necessary in order to revoke the management plans for these zones gazetted in September 2020 to allow for their remaking following the public consultation process. I would like to commend the parties involved in the negotiations that have led to this outcome. The fishing sectors and the conservation sector have worked closely for some time now to ensure a fair and reasonable proposition for public consultation.

Finally, a big thankyou to the Hon. Connie Bonaros, who has driven this process unflinchingly and deserves much of the praise for reaching a settled position. When the Hon. Connie Bonaros is bringing parties together, it is best to get out of the way and let her do her work and reap the benefits of the results. Her efforts ensuring protections are retained to a degree that the conservation groups are comfortable with and the fishing sector is also comfortable with shows some very good leadership, so thank you to the Hon. Connie Bonaros. I will not speak on any of the other motions. I commend the motion to the chamber.

Motion carried.

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