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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-14 Daily Xml
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Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:28): My question is for the newly minted Minister for Infrastructure and Transport on the topic of boating concerns in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary.

The PRESIDENT: Did you seek leave?

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: I seek leave to make a brief explanation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Much-loved Port River dolphin Rocket was found dead in late September, with a large gash having severed her spine. The cause of the injury is not yet revealed—we expect a necropsy—but it is likely that it was, indeed, a boat strike accident. Anyone who is aware of marine safety in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is also aware that the Department for Infrastructure and Transport runs a portal to report marine safety concerns and that there are particular provisions, not just in the ADS but generally in our waterways, to protect whales and dolphins.

Reports in the media from the Department for Environment and Water in response to the death of Rocket claimed that no dolphin had died in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary for the last five years, something that the newly minted Minister for Environment and Water then repeated. This is not the case. In fact, there have been boat strike deaths of dolphins in the last five years. I also note that seven years ago the biggest baby boom of dolphins in some 11 years then saw, of the seven calves born, only three surviving, with boat strike and jetski-related injuries being the cause. My questions to the new minister are:

1. How many reports have been made in the last seven years with regard to marine safety concerns through her department's portal, what actions have been taken and will she undertake to provide full and transparent information so that other departments are not incorrectly informing the public about this serious safety concern?

2. Will she investigate the use of protective propeller guards on boats in the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, as many thousands have already signed a petition to do?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Autism) (15:30): I thank the honourable member for her question and sharing the sad news of Rocket's death. It has captured the attention of a lot of people because Rocket was a very well-known dolphin within the sanctuary. We know there are restricted speeds within the dolphin sanctuary—I am advised between four and seven knots—and we do hope that people abide by that, considering the wildlife that is living within that precious area of our sanctuary.

In regard to finding out further information, I am happy to look into that. I have already requested further information from the department in regard to this matter. I will work with the minister in the other place, the member for Adelaide, Lucy Hood, the new Minister for Environment. In regard to your question around guards and propellers, I am aware that it has been raised in the local community and that they are available to people, but in regard to whether they are mandatory, or making them mandatory, I am happy to look into how that would play out and get further information.

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