19 March 2025
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:38): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development on the topic of the removal of food production areas.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: The Malinauskas government has announced their plan to allow agricultural land to be developed by amending the environment and food production area. Several primary production advocates have publicly raised concerns about this proposal, including Grain Producers SA, Livestock SA and Primary Producers SA.
Grain Producers SA chief executive, Brad Perry, has said that the changes would take some of the best farmland in the state out of production. He told the ABC that, and I quote:
We can't be sacrificing prime cropping land with good rainfall and turning that into housing—that's land that will never go back into production after that.
The minister has previously told this place that she has a respectful relationship with primary production organisations such as Grain Producers SA, and that they meet regularly. My question, therefore, to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development is: did the minister consult with local food producers on the removal of cropping land before the plan was announced, and is the minister concerned that South Australia will be losing prime agricultural land?
The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:40): I thank the honourable member for his question. I think the important point to note here is that we need to have both prime agricultural land and food security, and that of course requires a strong agricultural sector. We also need to have housing for the population of Adelaide, which is growing. The Greater Adelaide Regional Plan attempts to meet all of the necessary requirements, both for now but, more importantly, for the future, for the next 30 years. It sets out the expected land supply for the next 30 years.
The impacts on the food production areas are less than 1 per cent of the agricultural land within the Greater Adelaide region. It also looks at land that is, according to my advice, adjacent to existing developments. I have had conversations with Primary Producers SA, with Grain Producers SA, and with Livestock SA, among others, about this matter as well as other matters to do with the importance of agriculture going forward.
I think it is also important to note that the opportunity to be able to thoughtfully design future development and provide certainty for the next 30 years is important to all sectors, including agriculture. So whilst I acknowledge the concerns that have been raised, I certainly reiterate that the amount of land that is affected is less than 1 per cent of the agricultural land within the Greater Adelaide area.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:42): Supplementary: did the minister have these discussions with stakeholders before the government made the announcement or did stakeholders simply read the news in the paper on Monday?
The PRESIDENT: Minister, you talked about your engagement with stakeholders.
The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:42): I have spoken with stakeholders very recently. The development of the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan has been part of a very long process. There has been a lot of consultation and that, of course, is under the auspices of my colleague the Minister for Planning in the other place.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:42): Supplementary: as part of the discussions that the minister referenced in her original answer, did she flag that an announcement would be made on Monday, or did these stakeholders simply read of the news in the paper? Did they get any advanced warning of what was coming down the line?
The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:43): I am not in the habit of saying exactly when I meet with stakeholders and exactly the nature of the discussions, but I think what I can say is that I provided as much information as early as possible.