On Tuesday 6th of September, Margaret and I attended an afternoon tea at the Walkerville Bowls Club to meet the Premier and some of his Ministers for an informal community discussion. I went with two items for discussion, the Rapid Bay jetty situation and the lack of protection for the Weedy Seadragon.
I was told that the Jetty had been raised at a community meeting the previous evening and they would not discuss it any further. However, we were able to explain the plight of the Weedy Seadragon to several Ministers and Government Staff. During one such discussion with Minister Rory McEwen the Premier Mike Rann joined the group and we were able to quickly explain our concerns to him. He left the group for a while and then came over to say he had decided to be “the Premier to protect the Weedy Seadragon”.
I was rather skeptical but he then went to the microphone and after announcing the presentation of computers to needy organisations said that because of representations by the Marine Life Association (Society) of South Australia he was going to immediately proclaim the Weedy Seadragon as being protected. There was loud applause at this point led by you know who. The Premier later asked if I could let him have pictures of the seadragons as he was not quite certain as to what were the differences between the Leafy Seadragon and the Weedy.
Author: Philip Hall
[…] Food and Fisheries Minister, Rory McEwen said today the decision reflected a commitment by the Premier at a Community Cabinet meeting last year to protect the weedy sea […]
[…] meeting on 6/9/2005 to voice any concerns we may have had to the relevant ministers. I was able to talk to Rory McEwan, the Fisheries Minister and to the Premier, Mike Rann, about the Leafy Seadragon. The Premier listened carefully and then went to the podium and […]