Courtesy of The Hon. T.A. Franks
Committee Stage
In committee.
(Continued from 31 July 2019.)
Clause 1.
The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: This is an unusual situation, and just to bring other members of the Council who have not been involved in the select committee into this bill up to speed, the select committee has now reported back. We have reinstated the bill onto the Notice Paper, so while we have already completed second reading speeches, at clause 1 I would like to do what would be the equivalent of a third reading speech to guide council members in their understanding rather than wait until the third reading to do so.
I would like to thank my colleagues who joined me as members of the aforementioned select committee: the Hon. Terry Stephens, the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos, and the Hon. Connie Bonaros. The committee held two sessions of hearings and received a number of submissions, with almost all of them being in firm favour of establishing the Coorong environmental trust. As such, I would also like to thank everyone who took the time to send in a submission, including: the Conservation Council of South Australia, the Coorong District Council, Coorong Wild Seafood, Geoff Gallasch, the Coorong Trust Proponents Association, Professor Luke Mosley, Alexandrina Council, the Southern Fishermen’s Association, and the River Lakes and Coorong Action Group.
For many involved in that process, this is an exciting moment. I think one of the clearest things to come through the select committee hearings and from those submissions was the magnitude of what the trust will be able to achieve and contribute for and towards the community of the Coorong and Lower Lakes. It was incredibly heartening to see the outpouring of community support and the eagerness of a wide range of stakeholders to see the trust established.
This is a relatively new way of doing things for us in South Australia, but it is abundantly clear that the Coorong and Lower Lakes are in dire straits right now. This is the time to try new things, to be bold and to finally listen to the communities that have been crying out for support for such a long time. As Faith Coleman said during her evidence before the select committee: