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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-07-06 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Feral Pigs

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, regarding feral pig management.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Last year, there were multiple outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia, which is now considered endemic in that country. As I am sure the minister is aware, feral pigs are amplifiers of this highly contagious and destructive exotic animal disease. Feral pigs also compete for resources with livestock and native animals, foul waterholes, prey on newborn lambs and host and share a range of other dangerous diseases and parasites.

The minister's PIRSA website states that there is an increasing number of feral pigs entering South Australia, largely through our northern and eastern borders, with populations expanding by natural dispersal. My question to the minister is: can the minister please inform the chamber what her government is doing to control feral pig populations on mainland South Australia, excluding the very well talked about Kangaroo Island program?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:26): Thank you, Mr President. I thank the honourable member for her question. I don't think we can answer this question without referring at least in part to the highly successful eradication on Kangaroo Island.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Members may recall when I was previously speaking on this topic and outlining the fact that, at the latest count, there are now only two feral pigs left on Kangaroo Island, and they are boars. So the expectation is that they won't be able to reproduce.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Those opposite, despite asking a question, don't want to listen to the answer.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The reason that it's particularly relevant, if the Leader of the Opposition had even the slightest sincere interest in listening to the answer, is that the KI feral pig eradication project is a flagship demonstration of a best practice approach to feral animal eradication. The skills and equipment that have been utilised—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: —during that very successful project are being transferred—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Listen!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: —to other pest species and other regions.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Point of order: I specifically said, 'excluding Kangaroo Island'.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Is there any chance I could rule on the point of order, or are you all going to do it? There is no point of order. The minister is now moving to the relevance of that previous program to the substance of the question that was asked, and I know you are going to do that, minister.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Thank you, Mr President. I was doing exactly that, but those opposite weren't listening, so that's why they missed it.

The PRESIDENT: Just get on with it.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: What I had said was that the skills and equipment that have been utilised and further developed through that very successful program on KI are being transferred both to other pest species and to other regions. In terms of mainland South Australia, there are between 1,000 to 2,000 feral pigs on mainland South Australia, with most being found in the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board region, followed by the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board region.

It is true that Victoria has reported that feral pig numbers are increasing and moving, it is thought, at a fast pace towards the South Australian border. Several incursions of feral pigs in South Australia have been reported from the south-eastern border. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board is also investigating reports of feral pigs being brought over from Victoria and deliberately released, which is particularly concerning and disappointing.

I would hope that everyone in this place would agree that the large amount of damage that occurs, particularly to agricultural crops, from feral pigs is something that we should all be working on together to eradicate or minimise, rather than deliberately introducing them, potentially. On mainland South Australia, regional landscape boards spend a total of between $50,000 and $100,000 each year on feral pig control. For example, in 2021-22 the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board culled 856 pigs from the Diamantina catchment as part of the Coongie Wetland Wonders project.

We are really very pleased that there have been so many opportunities to learn from the Kangaroo Island project. Having a particular region, which of course in that case had the unique geographical features—it was an island—meant that there was far more opportunity to learn with fewer variables than there would have been if a similar project had been attempted on the mainland. That being said, I would also like to thank the landscape boards that are very active in this space in their ongoing fight against feral pigs in South Australia.

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