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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-06 Daily Xml
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Motions

Marine Parks

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:29): On behalf of the Hon. T.A. Franks, I move:

That the notice under the Marine Parks Act 2007 concerning Authorised Management Plan Amendments, made on 17 February 2022 and laid on the table of this council on 3 May 2022, be disallowed.

I rise to speak on this motion on behalf of my colleague the Hon. Tammy Franks, who is unfortunately unwell today and absent from the chamber. Marine parks and sanctuaries are a long-proven foundation for protecting our marine plants, animals and ecosystem processes. Australia's first marine park, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, is a much celebrated example globally. Much of the life in the waters off South Australia is unique. Some of our most popular tourism destinations in SA are coastal waters. Our waters are key to our lifestyles, be it tourism, recreation or fishing.

The Greens have long been champions for the great benefits that marine parks and sanctuaries can provide to communities. With so much to value and look after in South Australia's marine environment, scientists, stakeholders, local communities and successive state governments have worked since 1990 to put in place a network of marine parks and sanctuaries in our state's waters.

It has been a long and understandably often challenging but very important endeavour. As with all reforms, we learn and we adapt as we go. In recent years, three sectors—conservation, commercial fishing and recreational fishing—have come together to explore the potential of finding a common ground on a small handful of matters that need resolution going forward in order to ensure a more enduring protection outcome for South Australia's marine waters.

Early last year, the sectors presented recommendations to the former government for a small number of adjustments to the network, building on the work of those sectors and governments that did the hard yards over many decades, in particular the former Rann-Weatherill government, in order to get the network of 19 marine parks and 87 sanctuaries in place and operational 10 years ago.

Much of the work putting in place the recommended adjustments was done by the former Marshall government, but time ran out in the lead-up to the March state election. We know they prorogued the parliament, leaving some key elements yet to be completed. Therefore, the management plan amendments currently before the Legislative Council deliver some of the elements of that agreement but not all.

Those remaining elements include the delivery of compensation for net fishing licences in Upper Gulf St Vincent (focused on reducing fishing effort in the broader Upper Gulf St Vincent area around one of the most important sanctuaries in the network: the Clinton Wetland Sanctuary) in order to keep that unique sanctuary in place and sanctuary protections across the network, including the creation of new protections in the waters off Kangaroo Island.

The Greens believe it is important that the entire agreement be finalised and implemented as a package in its entirety before these management plan amendments pass the parliament. Therefore, we need to pause the passage of the regulations currently before the parliament in order to finalise the remaining elements.

We understand that all parties to the recommendations are committed to working with the new government to see this matter finalised and implemented as soon as possible, as they believe support across the political spectrum and sectors anchors the marine parks network and offers the best opportunity for sustained healthy waters in SA into the future.

We therefore anticipate that a final vote on this motion will not be required, as we expect the matter to be resolved in a timely fashion through the resumed sectoral discussions, the outcomes of which would then be put to the government. In the meantime, our motion today will ensure the extra time that is needed to allow the completion and delivery of a full package of changes together.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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