Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-09-28 Daily Xml

Contents

Environmental Regulation

The Hon. J.S. LEE (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:58): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development about environmental regulation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: As we know, the various states have different levels of environmental regulation. In South Australia the major ones are native vegetation and natural resource management. A major issue in South Australia at the moment regards the costs of water management being passed on to landholders and a lack of transparency of what they are paying for. The cost of regulation of water resources continues to be a major issue for regional development. My questions to the minister are:

1. What measures would the minister put in place to address the cost of water management for landowners in our regions?

2. What strategy would the Malinauskas government introduce to address the lack of transparency of what landowners are paying for?

3. Will the minister commit to rectifying the rising cost of land and water levies for landholders in the regions?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:59): The two acts to which the honourable member refers, the Native Vegetation Act and the NRM Act, are not acts that are committed to me. I'm happy to take her question and refer to the relevant minister in the other place.