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October 31, 2024 15 mins

Your weekly local news wrap for the Spencer Gulf and surrounds. 

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Myheart Space of Golf coming up, But all of essay
will come together tomorrow for the Southern Hemisphere's biggest parade. Hi,
I'm Jackie LYMB with iHeart Spencer Golf, your weekly local
news rap for the Spencer, Golf and surrounds. But first,
after several delays, it looks like more space exploration is
likely for the Air Peninsula. Environment Minister Tanya Plibasek has

(00:23):
now approved the Whaler's Way orbital Launch Complex. The decision
paves the way for Southern Launch to launch rockets from
the site. The project has faced a lot of scrutiny
from environmental groups and locals, including Australian Conservation Foundation's Nature
campaigner Darcy Carruthers, who says she can only hope the
delays were due to it being a tough decision.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
I hope it was a tough decision to make and
it's the wrong decision unfortunately that's come through after over
four years of this process. So the submission was made
in twenty twenty by Southern Launch for the orbital complex
down at Whaler's Way and the Minister and her department
have been tasked with either approving or rejecting this project

(01:06):
based on its impact to the environment down there, and
we're really disappointed, as are many local groups and local
people on the Air Peninsula that they've decided to approve
the destruction of almost twenty four hectares of threatened species
habitat to make way for this project.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Yeah, so in your fight against this, did you have
lots of people from the local area get involved as well?
I know that there are a lot of people in
Port Lincoln that aren't overly thrilled about this being there
in general, aside from the environmental impacts, you know, just
not wanting this to be really close to their home.
What sort of involvement did you have.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Yeah, So, ADF, the Australian Conservation Foundation has support been
supporting local groups, lots of local groups like BirdLife Australia
and South Australia Earth and the Air Peninsula EPA. There's
been so many passionate local groups and local people surfers
as well around the corner at Fishery Bay that have

(02:06):
been opposing this proposal for years now. So our job
has been to support them and do what we can
to raise the awareness about this issue and to back
them in any way we can. With our supporters getting
in contact with Southern Launch and the Minister herself to
say please reject this. This is not something that local

(02:28):
people want. It's terrible for local threatened species like the
endangered Air Peninsula Southern Emuren. But unfortunately the Minister and
her department haven't listened, and as you know, they've just
approved the project to go ahead, which will result in
some pretty significant bull dozing of bush as well as

(02:49):
noise pollution and even possibly things like debris falling from
the rocket launchers that are going to take place into
the ocean, like.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
You mentioned the Muren. But there's plenty of endangered birds
or native species at the very least in that area.
And if I'm right in saying last year in July,
I believe the Minister said that, you know, every measure
needs to be taken to protect these species. What's flipped
the switch, What's changed?

Speaker 2 (03:14):
That's a really good question. We would love to know
as well, because the Minister's words and actions just don't match.
And as you say, her own Threatened Species Scientific Committee
actually deemed all remaining habitat for the Air Peninsula Southern
e Uren as critical to its survival. And yet here

(03:35):
we are in a position where she has just approved
the destruction of nearly twenty four hectes of coastal scrubby
heathland that is, in her own scientific committee's words, critical
for the survival of this subspecies. So this decision really
beggars belief. It's incredibly disappointing when not seeing actions and

(03:59):
words met. This is a government that's promised zero new
extinctions and yet is approving destructive projects like this one
down at Whaler's Way. It just doesn't add up.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Had Tanya plib Sek denied this, that would have been final.
There would have been no further situation with this proposal. However,
now that she's said yes, it does go to the
State Minister for Planning, Nick Champion. So what will you
be saying to him and what sort of input will
you be having to the state government.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Now we will be backing in local groups and they're
asks of him to please reject this proposal. This is
not a sound proposal to be building rocket launchpads and
firewalls and bunkers on top of threatened species habitat. This
just can't be happening in twenty twenty four, and unfortunately

(04:49):
that should have been a clear no from the Federal
Environment Minister, and we're really hoping now that the South
Australian system will will will step up and reject the pray.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Our reporter Sam Talbot spoke to Lloyd Damp, the CEO
of Southern Launch, who is not just excited about getting
the site one step closer to fully functional, but says
it will have a net positive benefit for the environment.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
What we've done is we've followed a very scientific process
to assess the potential effects on Southern emurens and other
species across the broader site, and what the science has
been able to show is that the planned activities will
not have a detrimental effect on all of these different species.

(05:36):
As part of the federal approvals, there will be a
lot of oversight on the activities, on the operations on
the site. So it's a very good step forward with
that regulatory involvement, or that that that regulatory environment overseeing
the activities.

Speaker 4 (05:52):
Another concern that locals have is there they're worried about
noise emissions and debris falling into the water. Surfers concerned
about that one.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
Yeah, no, So look, it's rocket launches are a relatively
loud activity right as part of that, Yes, there is
a brief period of loud noise during which time, you know,
like all animals or even ourselves, you will get get
a startle effect that will then cause any animals in

(06:25):
a very near vicinity to move out of that area.
But there's decades of analysis that's been done around the
world that show that that immediate startle effect is temporary
and that the animal life comes back to the local area.
So there's been a lot of work that we've put
into understanding it and the potential effect on the local environment.

(06:50):
As we've said in the past, Fishery Bay will not
be closed by us or our activity, So you know,
good luck to the surfers out there. It's always beautiful
to see the waves coming in, so we're very happy
to keep supporting them and their activities.

Speaker 4 (07:09):
And just lastly, as part of the development, now you'll
be clearing twenty four hectares of bushland.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
Correct, So the entire site that we have underleases one
thousand and six hundred hectares, and so we'll be clearing
a very small portion of that, so twenty three point
four hectares to construct the facilities. As part of the
broader approvals for Whalers Way. Should it get approved at
the state level, there is what's called an offset program,

(07:36):
So this is where us as a company have to
go out and demonstrate to both the state and the
federal governments that we are securing additional land for heritage
that's currently not under heritage as we clear land at
Whaler's Way, So this in effect also increases the net
environmental benefit from the activities that we're doing downe on site.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
Lloyd expects to hear a decision about the side from
the state government in the coming days.

Speaker 5 (08:06):
iHeart Spencer Golfed. iHeart Spencer Golfed.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
The death of a twenty six year old Port Agusta
woman four days after a fall at her home is
now the subject of two probes. Detective Superintendent des Bray
says she was living in squalid conditions and there are
signs of criminal neglect.

Speaker 5 (08:27):
I can tell you that the victim had significant physical
and intellectual disabilities and had some serious underlying health issues,
but I'm not prepared to discuss those with you today.
The victim lived with her mum and required ongoing care
and was not under the NDIS, and we've been unable
to identify any current care plan.

Speaker 6 (08:47):
At this point, we don't know whether other people were
assisting in the care of the victim. I can tell
you on the twenty fourth that the ambulance of Poort
Agusta was called to the address after the victim had
suffered a fall and was unable to be recovered from
the floor and put back into a chair. When they arrived,

(09:07):
they found the victim was suffering a serious medical condition
and had open wounds and saws, and the house was
in squalid conditions. As a result, she was taken to
the Potocust Hospital in a serious condition where she received
ongoing care, but sadly, the following day her condition deteriorated

(09:28):
and she had to be flown to Adelaide in a
critical condition. On the twenty fifth, Portocuster CIV were advised
to the investigation by medical staff and they immediately commenced
an investigation in respect to criminal neglect and executed warrem's
on the house and searched the house with the aid
of their local crimes and investigators. On the twenty eighth

(09:50):
of October, Sadly, the victim died at the Royal Ladelaide
Hospital and Shortly after that, the death was declared a
major crime. I can say that there's significant indicator is
present in the investigation at this stage of criminal neglect,
but some clear at the stage whether that criminal neglect
caused the death or whether the death was caused by

(10:12):
serious underlying health issues. So as a result, we're now
conducting a major criminal and coronial investigation. So the criminal
investigation will both investigations will look at the cause and
circumstances of the death, and the coronal investigation will also
look at what could or should have been done to

(10:32):
prevent this death.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
We'll follow along with those investigations. And finally, today excitement
is building with just one more sleep until the twenty
twenty four National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant, and this year's final
float has now been unveiled and it holds a special
meaning for many across our region. I caught up with
pageant director Brian Gilbertson to find out more.

Speaker 7 (10:53):
Yes, so it's called Kamanka Maldriopindi. That means coming together.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
You see that way better than me.

Speaker 7 (11:00):
I've been practicing. I got the pronunciation from Michael O'Brien,
son of Lewis O'Brien and of course Lewis and I
go beco long way and so great to have him
advising on the float this year. And then through Michael
and Vena Raymond, then we had Harley Hall painting the
sides of the float with incredible Aboriginal images and storytelling.

(11:25):
And then Carrie Lindsay who's a pageant artist creating some
of the animals or all of the animals and the
top section of the float. And Paul Herzik who is
a Garner Man and created the design.

Speaker 3 (11:37):
For the float.

Speaker 7 (11:38):
So it was an incredible collaboration. You know, it represents
Garner Country, the flora and fauna, and of course Lewis's
main objective was to create a float that looked to
the future. We celebrate the past, the present and we
look to the future.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Is there going to be some Aboriginal people on the float?
Is there going to be any extras you know on
the sides of the floor as some have.

Speaker 7 (12:01):
There'll be people surrounding the float and on the float.
We launched it yesterday. It was fantastic because we had
some Apyland children down because they're coming to the pageant.
We've got a community site on Wakeful Street where we
offer up about three thousand positions with wristbands, and of
course our friends from up in the ap Wylands come
down quite often, so they're coming together. Has a principle

(12:22):
of bringing people together. This year, I think it's predominantly
Garner people who will be out there and Vena Raymond's
arranging that, and then I think into the future the
aim is to then also welcome other people onto the
float because it's about that incredible Aboriginal history of welcoming
people in the country.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
And the Garner people their land spread all the way
up to Port Broughton and crystal Brook, which of course
is in our region, will have multiple people from especially
those sorts of areas a few hours drive coming down
for the pageant. Yeah, so really it is bringing the
whole state together.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (12:57):
The pageant I think has that core outcome every year
where we just stopped pause for a moment, don't we.
There's people with all different sort of faces and body
shapes and different beliefs standing along that blue online every year,
and of course we're all being welcomed onto a country
that is held by the traditional owners of the Khana people.

(13:18):
So it is a great message it's an underlying message
of the pageant about community, which is sharing, which is giving,
which is standing on ground together and welcoming each other.
We love having the regions, the regions come in and
fill up the hotels in here in Adelaide on the weekend.
We know they're coming because the hotels are full on
pageant weekend and we welcome them all here. And of
course we do have the Comanc Mardria Pindi Float, but

(13:42):
we also have the PS Murray Explorer, which is also
a big shout out to the regions because there's all
of those difficulties with the river flooding and the people
in the country have had a bit of a difficult
time as the weather changes.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah, And yeah we've got either flooding
or we've we've got droughts which is the problem through
Spence Golf and Air Peninsula. So yeah, anything that can
bring some smiles during this tough time is always welcome.

Speaker 7 (14:09):
Yeah. Well, we've got a KPI for all the participants
in the pageant and that is to affect one person's
life for the better on the day. And it sounds
like a very simple KPI and it is because as
soon as they get that feeling of having achieved it,
it multiplies through the city. So I think it's going
to be quite electric this year as we create a
tsunami of togetherness. The theme for the actual pageant has

(14:31):
come together, and oddly enough, as synchronicity would have it,
when we talk to Lewis about a name, he came
up with the Kamanko Badria Pindi and of course that
means coming together and he didn't know what our theme
was at the time. So I think it is a
core message that all people should be aware of, and
one would like to think we can be an example
here in Adelaide that spreads further than that because there's

(14:52):
a lot of trouble going on around the world at
the minute.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
Well, we officially launch Christmas season in South Australia tomorrow,
super exciting, the ninety second National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant. All
the best with it, Brian, I'm sure it'll go amazingly.

Speaker 7 (15:05):
Thank you so much, and it's one more sleep, so
very exciting.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
And that's your weekly news wrap across the Spencer, Golf
and surrounds. Don't forget you can hear iHeart Spencer Golf
on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Jackie Loom. Join us again next week for more local,
trusted and free news.

Speaker 5 (15:23):
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