Process to amend the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan

The process to amend the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan commenced in March 2024 and is expected to run until December 2027. The amendment process will result in a revised Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan.

The process involves developing policy revisions or new policy elements in alignment with focus areas identified during the review process. These revisions are developed with support from the Stakeholder Advisory Group. They are then further tested with stakeholders and community through consultation. Feedback from consultation may result in revisions being changed and then tested again with stakeholders and community. The process is iterative as revisions are interconnected.

During the process to amend the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan all water licensing business will continue as per usual and the Department for Environment and Water is your contact for all licensing matters.

Principles that underpin the amendment process

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board recognises that amending the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan will create significant uncertainty and concern amongst individuals, businesses, industries and community. We recognise that trust in the process is critical to achieving a revised Plan. The following principles will underpin the process to amend the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan:

Decision making will be informed by:

• Local knowledge and expertise in the form of the Stakeholder Advisory Group and broader consultation.
• Traditional First Nations knowledge.
• The best available data and science constrained by what is available in a timely manner and relevant to the policy questions being asked.
• Appropriate context in relation to the region and the water resources. In the management of water resources context matters. Resource condition trends prior to and beyond the life of the Plan matter and are relevant.

The amendment process will be transparent:

Transparency will be created by providing reasonable opportunity for stakeholders and community to contribute to the process of amending the Plan:

• Communications and engagement will consider water literacy and always seek to improve it.
• Water science will not be oversold or over simplified.
• There will be a focus on the use of plain English.
• We will take time to listen, hear and support people to understand.

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board will be held accountable for the process and policy changes. This includes the timeliness of the process. In amending the Plan the Limestone Coast Landscape Board will be:

• Considered. The approach to amending the Plan will be practical and reasonable so that the logic of amendments can be tracked and understood.
• Equitable. The process will be underpinned by the values and interests of all people in the Lower Limestone Coast.
• Independent where appropriate. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board will maintain independence from influences that could undermine the process or outcomes from the process.
• Adaptable. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board recognises the complexity of the process and the need to continually evaluate and improve the process.

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board wants all people in the Lower Limestone Coast to work together to develop a revised Plan that continues support the region into the future. To work together it is important to recognise that everyone has a role to play in sustainably managing our water resources and no one party is responsible for declines in resource condition. The Limestone Coast Landscape Board will oppose inappropriate selective use of data and science to advance specific interests. This may involve calling out the spread of misinformation to undermine efforts towards a fair and transparent amendment process.

Consultation approach adopted for the amendment process

The consultation approach for the amendment process takes into account the size and complexity of the prescribed wells areas and the diversity of values that groundwater supports. A detailed stakeholder analysis has been conducted to inform the development of the communication and engagement plan. This provides the context required to determine the appropriate levels of engagement and communication. The communication and engagement plan guides messaging, media, information exchange and consultation risk management.

Consultation includes:

Stakeholder Advisory Group

A Stakeholder Advisory Group is supporting the amendment process. Group member appointments were based on relevant skills, experience, abilities and knowledge. In selecting the Group, the Limestone Coast Landscape Board aimed for a balance between geographic representation, industry knowledge, environmental understanding and gender.

They have comprehensive discussions on revisions to the Plan. The Group is chaired by the Presiding Member of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Governing body. Terms of reference, agendas and minutes can be found on the project page.

The Stakeholder Advisory Group makes recommendations to the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Governing Body. Recommendations from the Stakeholder Advisory Group that were endorsed by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Governing Body during the review process will be addressed in amendment.

Direct communications

Direct communications via email and post are regularly sent to key stakeholders, including water licence holders and industry sector groups, state agencies and local governments, local members of parliament and local interest groups.

First Nations engagement

The South East Aboriginal Focus Group (SEAFG), the traditional custodians of the South East of South Australia, have been working closely with the LC Landscape Board, and its predecessors, since 2004, sharing knowledge and culture. Committed to a continuing relationship of shared learning through Lartara-Wirkeri Cultural Governance the Limestone Coast Landscape Board and SEAFG continue to share their knowledge of water management.

Announcement, news stories, media releases and radio

Key information regarding the amendment of the Plan are published as news stories on the Limestone Coast Landscape Board website and project page. These announcements are also distributed to local print media. See ‘news and events’ on the project page to view a sample of news stories.

Following media announcements some radio interviews are held on key topics.

Community consultation sessions

First broad community consultation:

• In August 2024, 340 individuals participated in the community sessions on the amendment to the Plan held online, in Kingston, Naracoorte, Mt Gambier, and Millicent
  • Read the information session summary report [PDF, 450 KB]
  • View the presentation [PDF, 4,4 MB]

Second broad community consultation:

• Scheduled for March 2025

Third broad community consultation:

• Scheduled for September 2025

Dedicated project page to support the amendment process

Between March and December 2024, the Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan amendment project page has had:

• 6,074 views
The number of times a visitor views any page on the site.
• 3,764 visits
  The number of visits to the site.
• 2,601 visitors
  The number of unique visitors to the site. A visitor is only counted once, even if they visit the site multiple times.
• 659 contributions
  The total number of responses or feedback collected through the participation tools.
• 304 contributors
  The unique number of visitors who have left feedback or contributions on the site through the participation tools.
• 78 followers
  The number of visitors who have ‘subscribed’ to the project using the ‘Follow’ button.
• 130 quick poll responses answering varying questions
• 1,521 downloads of resources, Stakeholder Advisory Group minutes or reports.

Social media

Social media platforms are used during the amendment process to communicate announcements, upcoming events and opportunities to engage. The social media platforms can be accessed on the following links.

Facebook
X (formerly twitter)
Instagram

Feedback and polls

175 feedback forms were received following the August 2024 community information sessions. There are currently polls and questions open on the project page with over 123 responses to date.

We acknowledge that information and the process can be complex and sometimes misunderstood.

At times misinformation is also being spread to undermine the process.

We are committed to setting the record straight and have created a list of common misconceptions to clear up any uncertainty.

On the page you can questions and from those questions information will be added to the misconceptions to help others understand the process.

View the list of common misconceptions