THE MONEY TROUT FISHING ATTRACTS.....
The Warren Reservoir was finally 'opened' to recreational fishing and kayaking on January 23 2018 in a low-key back-slapping event amongst Barossa Council luminaries and Ian Hunter, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation - the big question remains unresolved -- WILL THE WARREN BE STOCKED WITH TROUT?
BE e thought you’d like to see the ‘money’ Trout fishing attracts through the wallets of very well-healed fly-fishing aficionados who spend big dollars and inordinate amounts of time hunting down their prey.
Trout fishing is a bit like big-game hunting. Like big-game hunters, serious fresh-water anglers don’t care how much it costs, so long as they can land ‘the big one’ - a bit like big-game hunters bagging a lion. The benefit is that fresh-water angling is legal - and your prey isn’t going to eat you if things go wrong....
The Warren Reservoir was finally 'opened' to recreational fishing and kayaking on January 23 2018 in a low-key back-slapping event amongst Barossa Council luminaries and Ian Hunter, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation - the big question remains unresolved -- WILL THE WARREN BE STOCKED WITH TROUT?
BE e thought you’d like to see the ‘money’ Trout fishing attracts through the wallets of very well-healed fly-fishing aficionados who spend big dollars and inordinate amounts of time hunting down their prey.
Trout fishing is a bit like big-game hunting. Like big-game hunters, serious fresh-water anglers don’t care how much it costs, so long as they can land ‘the big one’ - a bit like big-game hunters bagging a lion. The benefit is that fresh-water angling is legal - and your prey isn’t going to eat you if things go wrong....
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To pursue their dreams Trout fishers are generally not the ‘thongs and stubbies’ type who dangle the line off a jetty or a tinny. Trout fishers recognise their prey is intelligent and canny and won’t just jump on any old line. Thus if their quarry is to be caught at all, trout fishers must be blessed with intelligence, must be strategic thinkers with exceptional planning abilities and must have sublime patience and skill. They must also be equipped with fishing rods and other exotic Trout-catching kit (maggots just won’t do, Old Sauce!), which like the guns and bullets of a big-game hunter, are obscenely expensive and must be craft-built if they are to be regarded as any good at all. Thus catching Trout is like playing chess with gold-plated chess pieces under water: Mentally and financially, it’s not for the average yobbo.
So let’s look at what the well-equipped Trout fisher (at the Warren!) will need: First, one needs one’s fishing rig -- the rods - and the ‘flies’ one carefully makes in one’s well-equipped home workshop. And not just any rod, Old Bean! Not the fibreglass thing in the tinny! No, nothing but the best! Like a “Fine Bamboo Oyster Rod” - special hand-cut fishing rods made from bamboo, the most expensive (with 24 carat gold engraving) beginning at almost $5000 and going up in price for every engraving/customisation you want to order. And making flies (lures) to catch Trout is secret men’s business - tips and techniques are closely guarded and priceless. Then you need the proper clobber - not the chequered flannelette shirt, nor the old jeans and Dunlop rubber boots. No, one must look the part in one’s ‘Burberry Brit qulit-and-puffer’ jacket and one’s Lanvin Flannel Rubber Cuff Trousers. You’ll also need waders to keep the family jewels dry, so let’s go for the Redington Sonic Pro Stocking Foot Waders with Redingrton Skagit River Wading Boots - and to keep the rain off, you’ll need the Simms G3 guide jacket (total: $3500). |
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To keep warm on the inside, how about a fine Seppeltsfield 375ml bottle of 1880 Vintage Tawny (Seppeltsfield isn’t allowed to call it ‘Port’ anymore, but that’s what it is). A snip at $7,400. Buy it at Seppeltsfield as you take lunch at the superb Fino restaurant, after staying at the nearby incomparable Louise suites where accommodation for 2 nights and a dinner at the award-winning in-house Appellation restaurant will set you back $1452 (wine extra). On second thoughts when at Seppeltsfield, splash out a further $950 for a dozen 1995 21 Year Old Para for later on (it can get cold at the Warren!). And for afternoon tea, call in at Henschke Winery and get the Hill of Grace 2005/2006 Museum Release combo - at just $1795. Leaving Seppeltsfield, visit Maggie Beer’s Farm and buy a couple of her mouth-watering patès then on to Nuriootpa for a stick or two of Nitschke Butchers’ best bum-burning wursts, then on again to Angaston and a selection from the range of nineteen distinctive cheeses at The Barossa Valley Cheese Shop in the main street. Call in at the Wiliamstown Bakery for that special handmade breadloaf for the cheeses - and for Jeeves, a bottle or two from Wiliamstown's Tearo Estate, Domain Wines or Linfield Wines would be just the gift.
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Of course fly-fishers need a vehicle to get to the Warren - and for the vast majority, that means something better than a beat-up ute. A four-wheel drive vehicle is de rigueur - and not the old Pajero. It’s got to glitter, and its got to be big - all the better for carrying home the cartons of Barossa wine one has picked up as part of one’s fishing expedition.
Thus Trout fishers to the Warren and the Barossa Valley wouldn’t be seen in anything less than the BENTLEY BENTAYGA, the name a wistful mixture of BENTley and ‘AIGA’, the name of the world’s largest transcontinental snowforest, the ‘Taiga’, north of Bentley’s birthplace in England (a bit like the Mount Crawford forests surrounding the Warren, Old Chap!)
At $420,600, the Bentley Bentayga is a five seat, five-door ultra-luxury SUV and is the most expensive SUV on sale in Australia today. There is a long list of superlatives to describe this vehicle, but for the purposes of this article, let’s just say it is simply the best SUV available in the world today, both mechanically and in its eye-watering fitout.
Now we would all agree that Bentley is no slouch when it comes to making vehicles to ‘fit’ the customers to which their marques are aimed - and no less so than with this SUV.
The customers they’ve set their eyes on? TROUT FISHERS!
Mulliner, Bentley’s after-market accessory maker (better described as a ‘bespoke’ coach-builder) has come up with the ultimate accessory - its handcrafted Fly Fishing Kit, described as ‘the ultimate master tackle station and refreshment case’ which fits in the boot - or should we call it the 'luxuriously carpeted rear carrying space'?
It’s made up of 4 rods housed in linen-stitched saddle leather holders which are concealed under the cargo cover and over the master burr-walnut Tackle Station specially made to house reels and all the other bits’n’bobs one needs to entice Trout onto one's lines. Waterproof containers store wet-weather gear while other leather cases stow landing nets. Alongside is the drinks cupboard - and it’s definitely not the foam Esky. It’s a saddle leather covered linen-stitched container with fine china and metal flasks - easily replaced of course with your Hill and Grace and Seppeltsfield Tawny bottles. There’s special covers for the floor and sill so Jeeves won’t get the car dirty when he guts your catch as well as an electronic dehumifier to stop any offensive smells (from the fish - and/or from Jeeves presumably) reaching your nostrils, which must be saved, of course, for the Hill and Grace.
Thus Trout fishers to the Warren and the Barossa Valley wouldn’t be seen in anything less than the BENTLEY BENTAYGA, the name a wistful mixture of BENTley and ‘AIGA’, the name of the world’s largest transcontinental snowforest, the ‘Taiga’, north of Bentley’s birthplace in England (a bit like the Mount Crawford forests surrounding the Warren, Old Chap!)
At $420,600, the Bentley Bentayga is a five seat, five-door ultra-luxury SUV and is the most expensive SUV on sale in Australia today. There is a long list of superlatives to describe this vehicle, but for the purposes of this article, let’s just say it is simply the best SUV available in the world today, both mechanically and in its eye-watering fitout.
Now we would all agree that Bentley is no slouch when it comes to making vehicles to ‘fit’ the customers to which their marques are aimed - and no less so than with this SUV.
The customers they’ve set their eyes on? TROUT FISHERS!
Mulliner, Bentley’s after-market accessory maker (better described as a ‘bespoke’ coach-builder) has come up with the ultimate accessory - its handcrafted Fly Fishing Kit, described as ‘the ultimate master tackle station and refreshment case’ which fits in the boot - or should we call it the 'luxuriously carpeted rear carrying space'?
It’s made up of 4 rods housed in linen-stitched saddle leather holders which are concealed under the cargo cover and over the master burr-walnut Tackle Station specially made to house reels and all the other bits’n’bobs one needs to entice Trout onto one's lines. Waterproof containers store wet-weather gear while other leather cases stow landing nets. Alongside is the drinks cupboard - and it’s definitely not the foam Esky. It’s a saddle leather covered linen-stitched container with fine china and metal flasks - easily replaced of course with your Hill and Grace and Seppeltsfield Tawny bottles. There’s special covers for the floor and sill so Jeeves won’t get the car dirty when he guts your catch as well as an electronic dehumifier to stop any offensive smells (from the fish - and/or from Jeeves presumably) reaching your nostrils, which must be saved, of course, for the Hill and Grace.
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All this kit is available to you for just a tad over $140,000 (that is, on top of the $420,600 paid for the car!).
Ohh...and to ensure you get back to the private jet in time for the next jolly jaunt, you’ll be needing that other indispensable accessory - the Breitling mechanical dash clock (with diamonds around the clock face) - for a further....wait for it ....$300,000!
But attracting their Lordships in their Bentleys is at risk because of the reticence of the State Government to allow Trout to be stocked in the Warren.
As Tourism Minister with a loudly professed desire to attract the big spenders to South Australia, Leon Bignell has the opportunity to correct that with the stoke of a pen when he returns from his Asian holiday. But will he? Only time will tell.....
Ohh...and to ensure you get back to the private jet in time for the next jolly jaunt, you’ll be needing that other indispensable accessory - the Breitling mechanical dash clock (with diamonds around the clock face) - for a further....wait for it ....$300,000!
But attracting their Lordships in their Bentleys is at risk because of the reticence of the State Government to allow Trout to be stocked in the Warren.
As Tourism Minister with a loudly professed desire to attract the big spenders to South Australia, Leon Bignell has the opportunity to correct that with the stoke of a pen when he returns from his Asian holiday. But will he? Only time will tell.....
MORE OBFUSCATION OVER TROUT
More obfuscation and delay has been proffered by the office of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Recreation and Sport, Leon Bignell, in our efforts to overcome the stone-walling and reticence of the State Government to announce when Trout will be stocked in Williamstown’s Warren Reservoir and other recreational reservoirs in the State.
More obfuscation and delay has been proffered by the office of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Recreation and Sport, Leon Bignell, in our efforts to overcome the stone-walling and reticence of the State Government to announce when Trout will be stocked in Williamstown’s Warren Reservoir and other recreational reservoirs in the State.
Those following this issue (see our stories below) will not be surprised that despite clear evidence from Victoria that Trout fishing generates tens and tens of millions of dollars in economic benefit to that State, our bureaucrats still bury their heads over the issue.
We put a series of questions to the Minister on July 18 over this issue and below is the response we received from his office 8 days later. As you will see from reading our earlier stories, there is nothing new in this statement, accredited to the bureaucracy: The State Government through PIRSA is currently assessing an application to stock trout in both the Warren and Bundaleer reservoirs. In assessing the application, PIRSA is guided by its ‘Policy for the Release of Aquatic Resources’. This policy establishes an ecologically sustainable development (ESD) risk-based assessment process to support evaluation and regulation of the release of aquatic resources into South Australian waters (under the Fisheries Management Act 2007) for the purpose of stocking. It is anticipated that the assessment of the application to stock trout in both reservoirs will be finalised later in 2016. |
Already applications to stock native species including Murray Cod, Golden Perch and Silver Perch in both Warren and Bundaleer reservoirs have been assessed and approved by PIRSA. The stocking process and coordination of the native fish release is being managed by RecFish SA with 24,000 juvenile fish already released.
With more than 277,000 recreational fishers in South Australia, the State Government is aware of the important boost the sector can provide to regional communities and tourism. This is why the current program being developed in liaison with RecFish SA to enable recreational fishing to occur in five offline reservoirs is underway.
As readers will see from the stories below, this is the same PIRSA POO offered up to us months ago!
WE CONTINUE TO ASK -- JUST WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH STOCKING TROUT IN RECREATIONAL RESERVOIRS AND STREAMS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA? It is now some 270 DAYS since the 'Application to Stock' Trout was made (see our 'count-up clock' below). As we have said before, this not an 'Application to Stock' Patagonian Toothfish or Piranha here!
As well, it needs to be noted that 'native' fish already released into the Warren may be what some misguided greenies prefer, but they are no more 'native' to the Warren than Trout is. They are certainly NOT the 'fish species of choice' of freshwater anglers and therefore will not bring serious fishers to the Barossa. Those seriously into freshwater angling - those with money to spend - chase Trout!
We again point to undeniable facts, proven in other Australian States and in regions overseas, that Trout is the ‘fighting fish of choice’ of freshwater anglers worldwide. We are advised very reliably that freshwater anglers consistently travel around regions - and the world - to experience new locations to fish for Trout.
Stocking Trout in the Warren would add a new exciting and lucrative tourist magnet to the Barossa, not only attracting tourists who would chase Trout in the Warren, but who would, given their demographic, be enthusiastic additional visitors the region’s wineries.
We have told the Minister’s media minder that the statement above takes the matter no further - and in any event we want a statement from the MINISTER, not his bureaucratic minions.
Bignell will be back in his office from the week commencing Monday August 1, when we will again pursue the matter with him.
With more than 277,000 recreational fishers in South Australia, the State Government is aware of the important boost the sector can provide to regional communities and tourism. This is why the current program being developed in liaison with RecFish SA to enable recreational fishing to occur in five offline reservoirs is underway.
As readers will see from the stories below, this is the same PIRSA POO offered up to us months ago!
WE CONTINUE TO ASK -- JUST WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH STOCKING TROUT IN RECREATIONAL RESERVOIRS AND STREAMS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA? It is now some 270 DAYS since the 'Application to Stock' Trout was made (see our 'count-up clock' below). As we have said before, this not an 'Application to Stock' Patagonian Toothfish or Piranha here!
As well, it needs to be noted that 'native' fish already released into the Warren may be what some misguided greenies prefer, but they are no more 'native' to the Warren than Trout is. They are certainly NOT the 'fish species of choice' of freshwater anglers and therefore will not bring serious fishers to the Barossa. Those seriously into freshwater angling - those with money to spend - chase Trout!
We again point to undeniable facts, proven in other Australian States and in regions overseas, that Trout is the ‘fighting fish of choice’ of freshwater anglers worldwide. We are advised very reliably that freshwater anglers consistently travel around regions - and the world - to experience new locations to fish for Trout.
Stocking Trout in the Warren would add a new exciting and lucrative tourist magnet to the Barossa, not only attracting tourists who would chase Trout in the Warren, but who would, given their demographic, be enthusiastic additional visitors the region’s wineries.
We have told the Minister’s media minder that the statement above takes the matter no further - and in any event we want a statement from the MINISTER, not his bureaucratic minions.
Bignell will be back in his office from the week commencing Monday August 1, when we will again pursue the matter with him.
VICTORIA MAKING MILLIONS WHILE SOUTH AUSTRALIA DITHERS
While South Australia continues to dither over the stocking of trout in the State’s newly announced recreational fishing reservoirs (including the Warren Reservoir in the Southern Barossa - see our stories on this issue below), the Victorian Government is racing ahead to stock trout in their lakes to accelerate the substantial economic benefits trout fishing brings to its country regions.
The Victorian Government’s enthusiasm results from credible external-consultant reports that trout fishing and inland fresh-water fishing activities are worth an estimated $170 million to the Victorian regional economy.
The Victorian Government’s enthusiasm results from credible external-consultant reports that trout fishing and inland fresh-water fishing activities are worth an estimated $170 million to the Victorian regional economy.
At left is a ‘screen grab’ from their latest fishing e-newsletter Fish eFacts (Issue 392), posted online on 7 July 2016 - which prominently notes that Victoria is chasing the ‘family fishing’ market, where, as part of its initiatives, children on school holidays have just participated in the release of 26,000 catchable-size Rainbow Trout across that State.
See the map below where Trout have been released in Victoria, this month, under the ‘Family Fishing Lakes’ initiative: Further, Agriculture Victoria lauds Trout fishing benefits to the State in its website - here’s just a snippet of what they’re saying:
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The Victorian trout fishery is a major social and economic contributor to regional communities with nearly half of all trout harvested in Australia being caught in Victoria. In addition to providing good sport fishing, many consider trout to be a choice table fish.
Meanwhile, in South Australia, the State’s fishing bureaucracy still refuses to respond to questions about exactly when a decision - ANY decision - about stocking trout in reservoirs like the Warren, near Williamstown, will be made. Nor will they respond to questions about whether they are factoring in the likely substantial economic benefit to the Southern Barossa which will result from stocking Trout in the Warren.
This, despite the fact that the SA Govt bureaucracy responsible for things fishy has had before it a formal ‘Application to Stock’ trout in the Warren since November last year. Yes folks, as you will see from our count-up clock below, that’s more than 260 days ago!
We continue to ask questions of the State Government Ministers who administer SA fisheries, in the absence of any response from their bureaucrats.
We asked the media minder of Ian Hunter, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, for the Minister’s views - but he pushed us off to Leon Bignell as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.
Bignell is also Minister for Tourism and Minister for Recreation and Sport so he has more than one official reason to kick the bums of the bureaucrats and make a positive decision to stock catchable-sized trout in the Warren Reservoir and the other recreational lakes in SA to capitalise on the summer tourism season ahead.
To be fair, we’ve only just put our questions to Bignell’s media minder - so we’re hoping for an answer soon.... We'll keep you posted!
See below our earlier stories on this matter....
- Trout are a favoured angling species that have the ability to attain catchable sizes in relatively small lakes, rivers and streams.
Meanwhile, in South Australia, the State’s fishing bureaucracy still refuses to respond to questions about exactly when a decision - ANY decision - about stocking trout in reservoirs like the Warren, near Williamstown, will be made. Nor will they respond to questions about whether they are factoring in the likely substantial economic benefit to the Southern Barossa which will result from stocking Trout in the Warren.
This, despite the fact that the SA Govt bureaucracy responsible for things fishy has had before it a formal ‘Application to Stock’ trout in the Warren since November last year. Yes folks, as you will see from our count-up clock below, that’s more than 260 days ago!
We continue to ask questions of the State Government Ministers who administer SA fisheries, in the absence of any response from their bureaucrats.
We asked the media minder of Ian Hunter, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, for the Minister’s views - but he pushed us off to Leon Bignell as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries.
Bignell is also Minister for Tourism and Minister for Recreation and Sport so he has more than one official reason to kick the bums of the bureaucrats and make a positive decision to stock catchable-sized trout in the Warren Reservoir and the other recreational lakes in SA to capitalise on the summer tourism season ahead.
To be fair, we’ve only just put our questions to Bignell’s media minder - so we’re hoping for an answer soon.... We'll keep you posted!
See below our earlier stories on this matter....
STOCKING THE WARREN WITH FISH BEGINS....BUT STILL NO WORD ON TROUT.....
It’s official! One of the most influential parties to the vexed question over the release of Trout into South Australia’s new recreational reservoirs has come out unequivocally to give an enthusiastic ‘YES!’ to the notion of stocking Trout in the Warren Reservoir near Williamstown. The strong affirmation came on May 30 as RECFISH SA released 1200 Silver Perch (Bidyanus bidyanus - yep, that’s their formal name!) into the Warren - an event which was to have been headed by SA’s Minister for Water, Ian Hunter, but who was inexplicably missing when the event got underway under showery conditions on the Warren’s banks. |
DESPITE THE RELEASE, WE'RE STILL WAITING!....
We're still waiting for PIRSA to come to a decision on when they will announce the stocking of trout in the Warren Reservoir, to boost economic activity in the South Eastern Barossa. In in the meantime ponder ...how many days does it take the bureaucrats to come to a decision? (Big Hint - see our clock below, counting up from the lodgement of the 'application to stock' made in November last year!) |
The positive response to the controversial question of stocking trout came from no less than the Director in Charge of RECFISH’s Freshwater Group, Ian Fitzgerald, who was quite firm in his affirmation - and who appeared to want to say more until a fellow RECFISH Director, David Ciaravolo, moved to pour cold water on his answers, shutting down Fitzgerald’s further responses to questioning.
Ciaravolo earlier faced questions of his own over the issue from Barossanewsonline.com, following continuing concerns amongst fresh-water anglers that those responsible for the matter at State Government level do NOT want Trout, as a non-indigenous fish, to be released into the recreational reservoirs. Interestingly, Bidyanus Bidyanus and the other native fish the Government seems to prefer are equally ‘non-indigenous’ to the Warren; ‘native’ they may be, but they are not ‘native’ to the Warren, where traditionally only other predators, European Carp and Redfin, are in residence. |
Despite the fact that RECFISH has applied to stock Trout (an application made more than 200 days ago - see our count-up clock above and our stories below) Mr Ciaravolo practiced ‘Ministerial-style’ evasion to direct answers on when the tick would be given to Trout stocking, by repeating that the matter was ‘in the hands of the Government’. YES, MINISTER!
Mr Fitzgerald on the other hand looked happy to expand, but being waved silent, he made an awkward exit, failing the trusty maxim from the handbook ‘How to handle the Media 101’ which says -- ‘when the camera’s rolling, ya gotta grin and bear it’..... See what you think in our story below! (our video runs 4 mins 30 secs approx - best viewed at its current size - give it a second or two to load).
Mr Fitzgerald on the other hand looked happy to expand, but being waved silent, he made an awkward exit, failing the trusty maxim from the handbook ‘How to handle the Media 101’ which says -- ‘when the camera’s rolling, ya gotta grin and bear it’..... See what you think in our story below! (our video runs 4 mins 30 secs approx - best viewed at its current size - give it a second or two to load).
PIRSA POO, OR CODswallop? YOU BE THE JUDGE!
Fresh-water anglers hoping for a release of Trout into the Barossa’s Warren Reservoir - and South Eastern Barossans hoping to benefit from the economic activity that release might bring - have been dished up a load of PIRSA POO (or might we say CODswallop?) amid growing fears that the Government’s army of paid greenies have a vine-like jaundiced grip on the approvals process - greenies who fundamentally don’t like anything scaly which does not have a ‘Made in Australia’ sticker on it.
If you’re new to this, see our story below (‘A bungle at Bundaleer - will it be repeated at the Warren?’ ) for an understanding of the issue - which, boiled down, sought from the confusion of bureaucrats involved a simple answer to this: “When will Trout be released into the Warren Reservoir?”
We put a series of questions to the Government in our first article - and in their first (four-paragraph) answer, PIRSA bureaucrats told us only the bleedin’ obvious. Boiled down, it said that RECFISH SA had submitted an application regarding the stocking of the Warren with Trout... "which is currently being assessed." (Yep, we knew that!) In an effort to confuse us, the bureaucrats drew a red herring across our trail by referring us to the PIRSA POLICY FOR RELEASE OF AQUATIC RESOURCES (!), a lengthy tome explaining the seeming impediments to a simple yes/no decision. Not to be deterred, we read that document and found on page 11 the Schematic representation of the approvals process (below).... Sooo.... we thought we’d ask FURTHER QUESTIONS of PIRSA, based on their admission that they have an application for the release of Trout in front of them..... |
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Well (at the date of this writing, 3 May), it’s taken 12 DAYS to get a second response (we can only assume the greenies in the process were busily preparing to give herpes to Carp in the River Murray) - and basically their response again has added nothing new to what we know already - with the exception that PIRSA received the application to stock Trout from RECFISH SA SIX MONTHS AGO (in November 2015).....and that....'the process is undergoing an ‘Ecologically Sustainable Development’ risk assessment - and that assessment is being progressed'. Sounds like something out of the ABC's program 'Utopia', doesn't it?
We rang PIRSA's PR department to ask again exactly when that process might be finalised - and where the process currently sits in the Schematic (above), but, in secrecy which makes defence decisions on the construction of new submarines look positively porous, we were told that the statement released to us today was ALL THEY WERE GOING TO SAY ON THE SUBJECT!
NOT GOOD ENOUGH PIRSA!
Fresh water anglers want to know when Trout will be released into the Warren and the people of the Southern Barossa want an assurance that Trout will be released ASAP into the Warren to accelerate economic activity to the region, beginning this coming Summer.
So we thought we’d create some PIRSA PRESSURE so that we can all see just how long it takes the bureaucrats to arrive at what by any measure is a simple decision. We’ve created the ‘doomsday clock’ at the top of this page - this one counting up from when the application to release Trout was made. This count-up will stay on our site until we get an answer.
We chose the 1st of November 2015 as the start-date for our clock, in the absence of PIRSA telling us exactly when in November it received the application (despite us asking for that).
We rang PIRSA's PR department to ask again exactly when that process might be finalised - and where the process currently sits in the Schematic (above), but, in secrecy which makes defence decisions on the construction of new submarines look positively porous, we were told that the statement released to us today was ALL THEY WERE GOING TO SAY ON THE SUBJECT!
NOT GOOD ENOUGH PIRSA!
Fresh water anglers want to know when Trout will be released into the Warren and the people of the Southern Barossa want an assurance that Trout will be released ASAP into the Warren to accelerate economic activity to the region, beginning this coming Summer.
So we thought we’d create some PIRSA PRESSURE so that we can all see just how long it takes the bureaucrats to arrive at what by any measure is a simple decision. We’ve created the ‘doomsday clock’ at the top of this page - this one counting up from when the application to release Trout was made. This count-up will stay on our site until we get an answer.
We chose the 1st of November 2015 as the start-date for our clock, in the absence of PIRSA telling us exactly when in November it received the application (despite us asking for that).
AND WE’RE NOT GIVING UP! We’ll be calling on the State Minister for all things Water and Green for HIS response to the outstanding tardiness of his bureaucrats.
We’re also further researching the value of trout as a fish for fresh-water anglers and the species’ economic value to rural communities. Stay tuned!
We’re also further researching the value of trout as a fish for fresh-water anglers and the species’ economic value to rural communities. Stay tuned!
We thought that the Trout issue was an ideal opportunity to introduce a new addition to barossanewsonline.com - THE GRAPES OF WRATH!
In our new series, Red and Whitey (and their friends Shirazza, Bubbly and Old Port, among others) will be taking a 'pithy look' (groan!) at issues affecting the Barossa. In their first appearance, Red and Whitey take a look at whether 'introduced species' like Trout would be allowed in the Barossa - and hope the Government greenies don't take too close a look at other species introduced to the Valley (species which have rightly earned a lot of money for all Barossans over the years)! Hmm....if PIRSA existed 175 years ago, would we have had a wine industry today? Based on the PIRSA POO we're getting over the Trout issue, most probably not! You be the judge. |
A bungle at Bundaleer - will it be repeated at the Warren?
It’s taken a long while, but at last some reservoirs across the State now deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ by SA Water are being opened up to recreational water use, including their use by anglers who are looking forward to testing their lines against fish to be ‘introduced’ to these water catchment reservoirs, now fast being re-named ‘lakes’.
The first to be declared ready for business is the Bundaleer Reservoir in the Southern Flinders Ranges, where Ian Hunter, Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation and Minister for Water and the River Murray, announced on April 13 that some $110,000 has been made available in State and Federal grants to provide infrastructure improvements to the Bundaleer pond - including $20,000 to stock Bundaleer with fish.
The Barossa's Warren Reservoir is next - but this is where it gets interesting.
Bundaleer is being stocked with so-called ‘native’ fish - but the fish which most anglers prefer to fish for in inland waters, Trout, has not NOT been released in the Bundaleer Reservoir. This is much to the dismay of fresh-water sporting fishers who say Trout is THE magnet to attracting fishers locally and from interstate and overseas. It's a 'sporting' fish, cunning and canny requiring tactics and skill to catch, is a fighter when on a lure - and once landed, make great eating - the very tourist attraction (with its resultant economic benefit) the Government is hoping to attract by ‘opening up’ the reservoirs to public use.
Angling experts we at barossanewsonline.com have spoken to say the Bundaleer error of judgement should not be allowed to be repeated in decisions on what fish should be introduced to the Warren Reservoir, being as it is closer to the ‘catchment’ of anglers looking forward to fishing in the Warren - but a Lake, without Trout, less attractive - dliuting the substantive economic benefits to accrue to the Southern Barossa area (including the south eastern gateway to the Barossa, Williamstown) that opening up the Reservoir is meant to engender.
It’s taken a long while, but at last some reservoirs across the State now deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ by SA Water are being opened up to recreational water use, including their use by anglers who are looking forward to testing their lines against fish to be ‘introduced’ to these water catchment reservoirs, now fast being re-named ‘lakes’.
The first to be declared ready for business is the Bundaleer Reservoir in the Southern Flinders Ranges, where Ian Hunter, Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation and Minister for Water and the River Murray, announced on April 13 that some $110,000 has been made available in State and Federal grants to provide infrastructure improvements to the Bundaleer pond - including $20,000 to stock Bundaleer with fish.
The Barossa's Warren Reservoir is next - but this is where it gets interesting.
Bundaleer is being stocked with so-called ‘native’ fish - but the fish which most anglers prefer to fish for in inland waters, Trout, has not NOT been released in the Bundaleer Reservoir. This is much to the dismay of fresh-water sporting fishers who say Trout is THE magnet to attracting fishers locally and from interstate and overseas. It's a 'sporting' fish, cunning and canny requiring tactics and skill to catch, is a fighter when on a lure - and once landed, make great eating - the very tourist attraction (with its resultant economic benefit) the Government is hoping to attract by ‘opening up’ the reservoirs to public use.
Angling experts we at barossanewsonline.com have spoken to say the Bundaleer error of judgement should not be allowed to be repeated in decisions on what fish should be introduced to the Warren Reservoir, being as it is closer to the ‘catchment’ of anglers looking forward to fishing in the Warren - but a Lake, without Trout, less attractive - dliuting the substantive economic benefits to accrue to the Southern Barossa area (including the south eastern gateway to the Barossa, Williamstown) that opening up the Reservoir is meant to engender.
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So will Trout be a 'recommended fish' for stocking in the Warren?
At this time, no-one knows - or is willing to say. Why? Bureaucracy, pure and simple. A shoal of bureaucratic sharks are circling in the decision-making pool, all swimming around the bait we’ve chucked overboard - WILL TROUT BE ALLOWED IN THE WARREN RESERVOIR OR NOT? Departments with names as long as a pirate’s hook all have their fins in a fluster over what fish will be approved and who takes responsibility for it. We put the question to SA Water, the Department for Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) who flicked us on to the Department for Primary Industry and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) -- but other small fish in the government pond have input too, including RECFISH SA, and the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Natural Resources Management Board. Ohh - and the Barossa Council has very minor input as well. |
We’ve asked all Departments and SA Govt entities to respond separately to our questions, which are:
What is the current state of play with 'fish stocking' decisions regarding the Warren?
Having spoken independently to each Government respondent (and asking for an independent answer from each), we understand they are boiling up a fish stew of an answer. Whether it be a tasty broth or unappetising porridge we are yet to see.
What is the current state of play with 'fish stocking' decisions regarding the Warren?
- Will Trout be allowed?
- If not, why not?
- If your experts are trending away from stocking Trout (even though a decision may not at this time be made), on what basis would they deny the stocking of Trout? What is their reasoning?
- Has the likely strong economic benefit to the south-eastern Barossa (which would result from the inclusion of Trout) been factored in?
- If not, why not?
- When will the formal announcement of 'fish stocking' of the Warren be announced? (Please do not take this as an excuse to 'fob off' these questions. Yes we want to know when the decision will be made, but we want to know whether Trout will be allowed, regardless of announcement timing).
- In the event that Trout will be allowed, who or what company will provide Trout stocks for release, and will that 'stocking' include a range of Trout sizes (from 'junior' to 'senior' sizes) so as to allow for the growth of Trout in the system while at the same time fore-shortening the time taken for the stocks to provide robust fishing for anglers, and thus accelerating the speed of economic benefit to the region?
Having spoken independently to each Government respondent (and asking for an independent answer from each), we understand they are boiling up a fish stew of an answer. Whether it be a tasty broth or unappetising porridge we are yet to see.
They’d better hurry - the people of the Southern Barossa want the Warren opened up to trout fishers as soon as possible - certainly by next summer, now just a few months away.
You’d reckon it would be a no-brainer, wouldn’t you?
We’ll keep you posted.
You’d reckon it would be a no-brainer, wouldn’t you?
We’ll keep you posted.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S PROMISE TO REFURBISH SA RAIL LINES DOESN’T GO FAR ENOUGH
Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull’s promises to use freshly minted rail lines from Whyalla’s steel works to refurbish the Tarcoola rail line (loudly applauded by the State Government) - should be seen for what it is - please vote for us in the soon-to-be-announced Federal Election.
The announcement, and its positive short-term effect on morale in the ‘Steel City’, is, nevertheless, to be welcomed -- but it must be recognised for what it is: a short-term ‘fix’ desperately propping up an industry which has so much to offer Australia.
Turnbull and Weatherill can’t see the bigger transport infrastructure opportunity the Whyalla steel works capacity offers -- the refurbishment and restructure of ALL rural rail lines across Australia.
If the state of the rural rail network in South Australia is anything to go by - then several hundreds of millions of dollars can be spent - and needs be spent - on the national (and State) rail networks. AND on the basis of the Prime Minister’s promise to Whyalla workers, this would mean millions more dollars being usefully invested to keep their fine city prosperous.
Sadly rail networks across the country are in various states of disrepair, no more witnessed than by our own investigations into the state of the Barossa Wine Train line, which led to people elsewhere in rural SA contacting us about the state of SA's rural rail lines generally - lines which by law, MUST be maintained to operational readiness by Genesee Wyoming Australia (GWA). (Check out our stories below about the responsibilities GWA has to SA’s rural rail lines - responsibilities that company has failed to meet.)
The announcement, and its positive short-term effect on morale in the ‘Steel City’, is, nevertheless, to be welcomed -- but it must be recognised for what it is: a short-term ‘fix’ desperately propping up an industry which has so much to offer Australia.
Turnbull and Weatherill can’t see the bigger transport infrastructure opportunity the Whyalla steel works capacity offers -- the refurbishment and restructure of ALL rural rail lines across Australia.
If the state of the rural rail network in South Australia is anything to go by - then several hundreds of millions of dollars can be spent - and needs be spent - on the national (and State) rail networks. AND on the basis of the Prime Minister’s promise to Whyalla workers, this would mean millions more dollars being usefully invested to keep their fine city prosperous.
Sadly rail networks across the country are in various states of disrepair, no more witnessed than by our own investigations into the state of the Barossa Wine Train line, which led to people elsewhere in rural SA contacting us about the state of SA's rural rail lines generally - lines which by law, MUST be maintained to operational readiness by Genesee Wyoming Australia (GWA). (Check out our stories below about the responsibilities GWA has to SA’s rural rail lines - responsibilities that company has failed to meet.)
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In our earlier stories you will have learnt that GWA has its roots in the Wild West of America, a time when the rule of law was determined by rough justice -- when OUTLAWS were dealt with without compassion.
In keeping with its wild west heritage, GWA must be regarded as an ‘outlaw’, riding roughshod over SA taxpayers by keeping a valuable State asset in its back-pocket and thumbing its nose at its legal obligations - obligations set in stone in its legally binding arrangement with the SA Govt to maintain rural railway lines in a state of operational readiness. Its blatant inaction in meeting its contractual responsibilities is by any measure OUTside the LAW which governs its lease agreement with the State. So when will this OUTLAW be brought to justice? Sheriff Weatherill and his Deputies Mullighan and Bignell have their hands on their pieces, only too happy to wave them around out the window of the Pichi Richi rail line in Quorn during their recent Mid North Country Cabinet photo-opportunity. |
The Advertiser (March 1, 2016, pic 1 above) quoted Sheriff Weatherill as saying that ...”tourism (is) the fastest way to generate jobs....(in rural South Australia)”.
The Pichi Richi rail line attracts about 9,000 visitors a year according to Sherrif Weatherill...and for the Mid North, that’s terrific.
But mention the Barossa Wine Train - with its potential to bring several tens of thousands of visits more to the glittering jewel in the State’s tourist crown, the Barossa Valley - and the cowboys’ hands remain firmly in their trousers.
Simply, Sheriff Weatherill and his mates need to have a shootout at the OK Corral with the outlaw GWA, and Federal Marshall Turnbull needs to extend his ‘rail repair’ offer to ALL States on the proviso they buy rail lines from Whyalla.
What has Sheriff Weatherill got to lose?
Reclaim our heritage, rip the rights to control SA’s rural rail lines from the dead hands of GWA, then offer those lines to open tender so that other players, operating WITHIN the LAW, can at least have the opportunity to breathe new life into South Australia’s rural regions by investing in, and reinstating, rural train and freight services.
NOTHING is being done now by the outlaw GWA - so up the ante! Call their bluff, claim their hand, boot ‘em out, and start again.
Given GWA's total distain for its contractual obligations over years, nothing less than a total 'clean slate' is acceptable.
Rural South Australia will applaud you, Sheriff - and applaud you too, Marshall - and you both might just get to keep your badges for another 4 years....
The Pichi Richi rail line attracts about 9,000 visitors a year according to Sherrif Weatherill...and for the Mid North, that’s terrific.
But mention the Barossa Wine Train - with its potential to bring several tens of thousands of visits more to the glittering jewel in the State’s tourist crown, the Barossa Valley - and the cowboys’ hands remain firmly in their trousers.
Simply, Sheriff Weatherill and his mates need to have a shootout at the OK Corral with the outlaw GWA, and Federal Marshall Turnbull needs to extend his ‘rail repair’ offer to ALL States on the proviso they buy rail lines from Whyalla.
What has Sheriff Weatherill got to lose?
Reclaim our heritage, rip the rights to control SA’s rural rail lines from the dead hands of GWA, then offer those lines to open tender so that other players, operating WITHIN the LAW, can at least have the opportunity to breathe new life into South Australia’s rural regions by investing in, and reinstating, rural train and freight services.
NOTHING is being done now by the outlaw GWA - so up the ante! Call their bluff, claim their hand, boot ‘em out, and start again.
Given GWA's total distain for its contractual obligations over years, nothing less than a total 'clean slate' is acceptable.
Rural South Australia will applaud you, Sheriff - and applaud you too, Marshall - and you both might just get to keep your badges for another 4 years....
BAROSSA RAIL LINE - A COMMUNITY ASSET SLOWLY BEING LOST TO INACTION?
The Barossa rail line through the heart of the Valley from Gawler to Angaston is marching inexorably toward ruin - and the company contractually obligated to maintain it in operational order is doing absolutely nothing about it.
The Barossa rail line through the heart of the Valley from Gawler to Angaston is marching inexorably toward ruin - and the company contractually obligated to maintain it in operational order is doing absolutely nothing about it.
The line, once used by Penrice Mines to cart ore from its Barossa mine to Port Adelaide, now lies dormant despite calls for the line to be refurbished and repurposed as a tourism/commuter line.
The line famously once hosted the Barossa Wine Train - a popular tourist train which brought tourists to the Barossa in style - style once appreciated by no less than Her Majesty the Queen, during one of her visits to South Australia. The Barossa Wine Train today lies abandoned at the Port Adelaide Rail Museum - but we're told it would only take a lick of paint and relatively minor refurbishment to get it up and running again to bring tourists to the Valley, from (among other tourist ‘catch points’), Outer Harbour - where thousands of tourists regularly disgorge from their floating palaces looking for unique wine and food experiences near to Adelaide. What better experience than to travel by train to the Barossa Valley? We’ve been following the fortunes of the Barossa Wine Train - and for a full appreciation you can see our investigations so far by clicking here. But remember to come back here for the latest, below! |
COMPANY WITH LINKS TO AMERICA’S COWBOY PAST CONTROL SOUTH AUSTRALIA's RURAL RAIL LINES
Perhaps the greatest impediment to the Barossa Wine Train gearing up again has more to do with the track it must traverse - a track in the hands of Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA), a company with links to America’s cowboy past and which is playing poker with South Australia’s dormant rural rail lines at a time when an overhaul of Australia’s road and rail infrastructure is being demanded as a critical way forward to Australia’s future prosperity.
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It must be said, fairly, that the Penrice line could still be made operational with minimal effort - at this stage. But if GWA’s total lack of care and maintenance of SA rural lines elsewhere is anything to go by, the Barossa line is shuffling with certainty toward total ruin.
Why do we say this? As part of our investigation into the Barossa Line, we did our own inspection of the track (see the pics left).... The line is in total disrepair and a disgrace to Australia's premiere wine and tourist region. AND THEN we visited railway lines in the Mid North, particularly those from Roseworthy to Tarlee and beyond. Remember, these lines are under the same legal ‘protection’ as the Barossa line - that they must be maintained to a standard sufficient that trains could operate on them within a fortnight of being required. |
NOW CHECK the state of the Mid North lines in the pics at right! THIS IS THE STATE THEY’RE IN, despite contractual obligations that GWA MUST MAINTAIN THEM IN OPERATING CONDITION. Neither GWA or the State Government give a damn about rural rail corridors at a time when rail should be playing a major part in Rural SA's rejuvenation and renaissance. THESE LINES, under the control and care of GWA, HAVE NOT SEEN any maintenance in over 20 years! We put questions to GWA about its responsibilities and how it could 'thumb its nose' at the people of rural South Australia when it is legally required to actively maintain the lines it holds under lease. (Click on the icon below our pictures at right for a .PDF of our questions and GWA’s response). But in short, GWA says in effect that it has a ‘chummy’ agreement with the State that it does not have to meet its contractual obligations! |
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What the??! If this is true, then the State, represented by its Transport Minister and Cabinet, have patently failed in their fiduciary and moral obligations to good governance, and to the Government’s ‘shareholders’. We, the people. We, the taxpayers.
GET OUT OF THE WAY, GWA! You've failed. JAY, TAKE THE LINES BACK AND MAKE 'EM PAY! Work with rural South Australia to bring new life to country SA, on the backbone of a refurbished and viable rail network. It's time to tell GWA to get the hell out of Dodge!
We're asking questions of local MPs both Liberal and Labor - and Local Government representatives - for their understanding of what's going on with rural rail in this State and exactly what their stance is on this - and we'll bring you their answers in upcoming stories.
GET OUT OF THE WAY, GWA! You've failed. JAY, TAKE THE LINES BACK AND MAKE 'EM PAY! Work with rural South Australia to bring new life to country SA, on the backbone of a refurbished and viable rail network. It's time to tell GWA to get the hell out of Dodge!
We're asking questions of local MPs both Liberal and Labor - and Local Government representatives - for their understanding of what's going on with rural rail in this State and exactly what their stance is on this - and we'll bring you their answers in upcoming stories.